Increasingly, project developers, consortia, enterprises or foundations are the commissioners of art in public space. QKunst has a lot of experience in art in public space for a variety of clients. Often, (re)building gives rise to realising art.
QKunst accompanies the formulating of the commission, suggests artists or designers and tends the whole process, from design to implementation and management. We focus especially on the exchange of ideas between the involved parties, making sure the artist is given enough space to realise a special artwork and at the same time, creating public support for art.
Especially for potential commissioners that are not yet or insufficiently familiar with commissioned art, we developed the hand out ‘Art on view’. Interested? Please contact us.
A sluice that seems to be lifted from the landscape. This new artwork by artist duo Gijs Van Vaerenbergh (BE) can be seen on the slope that borders the A12. Placed on a strategic location near the cycling bridge and close to the exit of Laagraven and the intersection of Lunetten, the artwork draws the attention of cyclists, hikers and automobilists to the landscape of the ‘Nieuwe Hollandse Waterlinie’ in Laagraven, which was recently declared UNESCO World Heritage.
The ‘Nieuwe Hollandse Waterlinie’ and the ‘Stelling van Amsterdam’, that already had World Heritage status, together form the ‘Hollandse Waterlinies’, the Dutch Water Defence Lines. With the sluices of the Dutch water defence line, pieces of land could be inundated to stop the enemy. Artist duo Gijs Van Vaerenbergh expressed this feat in their artwork, building it with one component, a steel cylinder.
Monument for the Waterline is an initiative from Recreatieschap Stichtse Groenlanden made possible by Rijkswaterstaat, the Province of Utrecht and BPD Cultuurfonds, in collaboration with Down Under and the city councils of Houten and Nieuwegein. QKunst guided the whole process.
Sometimes we as QKunst take the initiative to commission art. Indeed, for our fifteenth anniversary, we decided to share art. We gave away the concept sketches for a location chosen by the public. The three winning locations: the ‘Van Gend & Loos-building’ in the railway area in Helmond (Southern Netherlands); Longstreet in Soweto, Johannesburg; and the Ritakerk in North Amsterdam.
In Helmond, Gino Bud Hoiting (Utrecht, 1984) made a design for the 100 meters long wall at the rear side of the building. Bud Hoiting was inspired by the collections of the EDAHmuseum (EDAH was a chain of supermarkets in the area) and the Draaiorgelmuseum (Barrel organ museum), that have both moved into the building. The artist was commissioned to place the stories of both collections in the broader context of the workers’ life in Helmond, in the past and the present.
The involved parties were so thrilled with the sketch that they searched and found funding to realise it. The result is a special line drawing in black and white that represents a day in the life of couple from Helmond in the ’30s / ’40s of the last century. The mural can be enjoyed both from the train and the platform.
The municipality of Bunnik has a new piece of public art! Bart Lunenburg’s work in the tunnel near Vechten was on 14 October 2019. The tunnel and the surrounding area needed to become cleaner, safer and more liveable, the artwork helps to achieve that.
The Living Frontier makes the historical surroundings of the tunnel visible. On the side of the Waterliniemuseum, the New Dutch Waterline is represented through scale-models of several types of hiding places. On the side of hamlet of Vechten, one can see Roman watch towers.
The advisory commission chose Bart Lunenburg’s (Utrecht, 1995) design at the beginning of 2019. The artist then further developed it, in close consultancy with the Province of Utrecht, the municipality of Bunnik and the Department of Waterways and Public Works. Bart was accompanied by QKunst throughout the whole process.
QKunst celebrated its fifteenth anniversary last year. As part of an anniversary project, artist Yasser Ballemans (Breda, 1981) travelled to Johannesburg in October 2019 for a two-week residency in Longstreet, Soweto. Unlike in the other locations (the Van Gend & Loos building in Helmond and the Ritakerk in Amsterdam Noord), we opted for a residency in Soweto instead of a concept sketch due to the nature of the location.
Indeed, Longstreet actually consists of two places and the social connection between them: on one side of the street, a primary school is located, on the other side of the street a church, where gogo’s (grandmothers) and umkulu’s (grandfathers) find support and shelter during weekdays. The gogo’s and umkulu’s often provide daily care for the children.
During his residency, Yasser worked closely with the elderly people and the schoolchildren. During workshops and gatherings, they explored the possibilities for a more permanent artwork. This led to a concept sketch that was met with enthusiasm by the involved parties that are now looking for funding to realise it.
The Kromhout Barracks (headquarters of the Royal Netherlands Army), nearby Galgenwaard Stadium in Utrecht, houses about 3500 defence employees. Commissioned by ISS Facility Services for builder Bouwcombinatie Komfort, online gallery ArtOlive took care of all the art on the military grounds, including five large-scale commissioned artworks.
ArtOlive asked QKunst to manage these art commissions: defining the starting points, selecting the artists, judging the designs together with the art commission, and taking care of the project communication. All in close cooperation with then Meyer en Van Schooten Architecten. The artworks were completed in 2011. Would you like to know more? Contact us to request the special publication about the project: ‘Not your average fare – Art for the Kromhout Barracks’.
