On our agenda

The rapidly changing and growing city requires a flexible approach to existing works of art and a strong strategy for works of art yet to be realized. The concern for the quality of public space, and the art that is given a place in it, is not only tested by the Stadscuratorium on the basis of aesthetic criteria. Above all, the quality of the works of art in the public domain is assessed on the basis of the effect the works have on the ecology of a place or area. Who does the work of art address, to whom does it appeal, what stories does it tell and what kind of experiences does it evoke?

Boost
The public space of Amsterdam isn’t a site that is anchored and demarcated, but an area that remains open, changes character continuously and allows all kinds of uses. This dynamics require involvement and a constant questioning attitude. In the view od the Stadscuratorium, the public space should not be filled in, but rather stretched. The public domain is also a place for experiment, where Stadscuratorium Amsterdam functions as a catalyst for new forms of commissioning and artistic expression. By generating challenging assignments, space is created for experimentation, which offers new opportunities for both artists and their practice.

Connect
There’s a lot of expertise on art in the public space in the city. Stadscuratorium aligns its views and policies with existing cultural networks of artists, mediators, trailblazers, officials, designers and residents dedicated to art in the public space. Together, we work on art in the city at both the district level and the municipal policy level. The Stadscuratorium’s activities are in line with relevant strategic policy agendas such as the Environmental Vision and its role is supportive rather than directive. The ideal is a city in which the public space can be questioned time and again, by artists in practice, by citizens in daily life, by thinkers with ideas and by officials with an open mind. In all of these cases, the Stadscuratorium functions as a central point of contact.

Collaborate
Stadscuratorium Amsterdam believes being committed to the city is of the utmost importance and makes every effort to create optimal collaborations. It monitors the parties involved in projects in the public space to make certain that agreements about process, content and financing with major players such as housing associations, developers and the (port) industry are made on time. In addition, Stadscuratorium ensures that there is room and attention for art projects throughout development trajectories. All too often, the context in which artists are expected to create their work are laid down without consultation with experts, leaving them too little room for artistic experimentation or innovation. To prevent this, the Stadscuratorium supports processes in which there is sufficient time and space for research and in which art projects can be realized that fit in with the ecology of a location.

Value
The management and preservation of existing works are crucial to the public character, atmosphere and overall quality of the public space. Management involves more than the maintenance of works of art. Management also means sharing the care and keeping works alive spiritually, for example by providing good explanations. Stadscuratorium also labours for existing works in semi-public locations: works of art that, although the city does not own them, are of image-defining value to Amsterdam. Urban renewal can threaten the city’s long tradition of building-related art, either by making such art invisible or by even removing it. Cities are constantly changing, but the preservation of their visual memories is important, too. This can be done by taking care of works of art that have played an important role in the development of the city. If a work of art cannot stay in its existing location, the Stadscuratorium will investigate possibilities to have it placed elsewhere.

Initiate Dialogue
Today, works of art in the public space are often expected to bridge differences and provide narratives – but how they are supposed to do this remains unclear. Works of art that focus too emphatically on the interests or tastes of a particular demography exclude other demographies, whereas works of art that want to please everyone are often no more than non-committal decorative pieces that offer nothing extra to the public space. Social support is an apparently simple concept that hides a complex reality. Stadscuratorium Amsterdam  intends to investigate, support and test new ways to involve citizens.

What we do

Stadscuratorium provides Amsterdam’s municipal executive with solicited and unsolicited advice on art in the public space. Through its advice, the Stadscuratorium encourages the exploration of new forms of commissioning, financing and conservation and initiates new opportunities and directions for artistic expression. Stadscuratorium encourages and actively creates connections with and between artists, the city and cultural institutions. Stadscuratorium thus promotes the public character and overall quality of the city’s public space.

Its inspiration is the pursuit of a public space that is shared and not claimed, exploited or appropriated. This is why the Stadscuratorium wants to increase the commitment to and support of art projects among residents, users and financiers. The Stadscuratorium, by actively seeking to start a dialogue with the city, takes the importance of art in the public space to the next level. The Stadscuratorium intends to achieve this by organizing public programmes such as public debates, but also by initiating collaborations. It is also committed to unlocking the stories of the Amsterdam Art Collection – both online and on location. In this way, the Stadscuratorium ensures the inventory and appreciation of the existing works of art in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area.

Read more about this subject in our Rules and Regulations.

Urban Dialogues (Stadsdialogen)

The Covid-19 crisis has made the organization of physical meetings impossible for everyone. This has not stopped the Stadscuratorium from entering into (alternative forms of) dialogues. In the ongoing project Urban Dialogues (Stadsdialogen), the members of Stadscuratorium talk with artists, stakeholders and mediators about striking and prominent works of art in the public space of the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area. In these dialogues, the hidden stories of art in the public space unfold; the Agenda of Stadscuratorium is central.

In the first series of Stadsdialogen/Urban Dialogues, the members of the Stadscuratorium talk with Jeanne van Heeswijk, Afaina de Jong and Simon(e) van Saarloos.

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Who we are

Claudia Linders (chair)

Claudia Linders is a Dutch architect, curator and visual artist. In 2001, she founded Atelier Claudia Linders, a studio for interdisciplinary research and design in Amsterdam. Claudia holds various advisory and board positions; she is chair of the Examination Board at the Design Academy Eindhoven (DAE), member of the Visual Arts Committee and the Advisory Committee Groei for the cultural sector of the Municipality of Nijmegen. She is a member of the advisory board of OASE Journal for Architecture. Previously, she was, among other things, head of the Department of Interior Architecture and Furniture Design at the Royal Academy of Art (KABK) in The Hague, Director of the Fontys Academy for Architecture & Urban Design (MA+U)Tilburg and board member of the Centre for Architecture and Urban Design Tilburg (CAST). Claudia Linders has curated several international transdisciplinary exhibitions and programmes and coordinated the Interdisciplinary Design Studies at the Academy of Architecture Amsterdam. She was chairman of the supervisory board of Kunstcentrum Heden The Hague and, in Amsterdam, advisor Art in Public Space of the Commission for Spatial Quality (CRK) and member committee ateliers & incubators Amsterdam (CAWA).
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Radna Rumping

Radna Rumping is an independent curator, advisor and writer/radiomaker. Previously she was a member of the Advisory Board Visual Art and Design at the municipality of Utrecht, and she developed programs and performances at, among other places, Oude Kerk in Amsterdam and Stroom in The Hague. She is the co-founder of Ja Ja Ja Nee Nee Nee, an online radio platform devoted to the arts, and partner at Loom - practice for cultural transformation. In her own artistic practice she combines text and sound, resulting in audio essays that find their way in public, museum and digital spaces.
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Selby Gildemacher

Selby Gildemacher is a visual artist and co-organiser at Hackers & Designers. He is a specialist in contemporary technology in relation to public art. He is also advisor of Visual Art in Public Space at the municipality of Assen, and a member of the Program Commission at Arti et Amicitiae.
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Vincent van Velsen

Vincent van Velsen is writer, critic and curator with a background in art- and architectural history. He writes for artists, institutions, magazines and publications; is editor at Metropolis M and collections curator of thephotography collections at Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. Previously, Van Velsen was a resident at Jan Van Eyck Academie, and a guest resident at the Rijksakademie. He is committed to a new generation of artists and representation in the arts.
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Annemarie de Wildt

Annemarie de Wildt is a historian and curator at the Amsterdam Museum. She compiled and curated many exhibitions concerning themes and histories surrounding the city of Amsterdam. She is committed to connecting the history and current affairs of Amsterdam, with a pluriformal approach to history. De Wildt is a member of the Adviesraad naamgeving openbare ruimten (ANOR).
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Jeroen Boomgaard

Jeroen Boomgaard is a senior researcher at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy. He is an independent advisor connected to knowledge center LAPS (lectoraat Art & Public Space), which stimulates both research around art in public space and research for clients in this professional field.
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Tanja Karreman

Tanja Karreman was director of Nieuw Dakota, a platform for contemporary art in Amsterdam Noord, for ten years. She is an advisor in art in public space at Bureau Spoorbouwmeester in Utrecht, and a member of the art-committee at the municipality of Deventer. Since June 2021 she is the secretary of Stadscuratorium Amsterdam.
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Suzanne Sanders

Suzanne Sanders is an art historian, curator and advisor based in Amsterdam Oost. She researches post-disciplinary ways of collaborating based on equality and generosity, and works on a variety of contemporary monuments in public space. She is the co-founder of Gemene Grond, a commons art program in and about public space in Utrecht, and she co-founded the art residency Atelier AM in Almere. Suzanne works for, among others, Public Art Amsterdam, the Frankendael Foundation, Gerrit Rietveld Academy, Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Zentrum für Kunst und Urbanistik, TAAK, Frans Hals Museum and De Brakke Grond.
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Jeroen Koolhaas

Jeroen Koolhaas is a visual artist, advisor in murals and teacher of the course 'Image in Public' at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague. As an artist he mostly creates macro-murals abroad. He is the founder–and from 2005 to 2019 the creative director–of Favela Painting, an organisation that realises participatory art projects in, among other places, Rio de Janeiro, Philadelphia and Port au Prince.
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Jan-Pieter 't Hart (communications)

Jan-Pieter 't Hart is an artist, art worker and writer, active in different collaborative projects. He is co-founder of publication platform Outline, and a platform for online music culture called corecore. Besides this, Jan-Pieter is a part of the curatorial team of OT301, he hosts a monthly radio show on Stranded FM, and he is freelance writer for Metropolis M.
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