March 8, a day that focuses on equal rights and opportunities, women's freedom and militancy around the world. Throughout history, tremendous progress has been made towards gender equality, but we are far from there. Little by little, however, change is beginning to take effect, partly due to individuals who safeguard these values in their work. But what do you actually encounter as a curator and/or program maker when you work for an inclusive and equitable cultural sector? As soon as all three of us have a good cup of tea for us, Ewa gets started: “What equality and inclusiveness mean, and how they are implemented, is different for each cultural institution. I see that at NDSM, we are more concerned with accessibility from a broad perspective. I was very impressed with Sarah van Lamsweerde's performance at the Stedelijk in 2020 where, together with the visitors, we investigated how sharpened senses enable you to “see through” the works on display. At the foundation, we have been working with diversity and accessibility since 2020; who feels welcome in the public space, who can be there?”

“Woman (s) *” is used here as a term for any person who identifies as a woman.

“Since we relate to the public space,” Petra continues. We literally program outside and feel that these are necessary questions to ask. Through projects, we question the public nature of public space, that it is actually about making a multitude of different voices sound. Ask artists which under-represented people or themes deserve more attention. In the context of developments at ndsm, how do you ensure that you do not develop exclusive (public) spaces where only large chains nest for a certain group of people, but public space is created, programmed where the white straight cis man is not the norm. For example, we are now working with AFARAI's Afaina de Jong on a design for a “square/installation” at NDSM where she looks at various challenges from a feminist perspective and mainly wants to relate to the normative, white, male image of public space and its design. '

Then I ask my two interlocutors whether they still think International Women's Day is necessary. Ewa is the first to elaborate on this: “I would hope many things are no longer necessary: feminist march, international women's day, protests against racism, extinction rebellion, but we live in a reality where I think we should be glad that people are not accepting the current status quo and going out on stage for change. Unfortunately, there are a lot of reasons why March 8 remains necessary; femicide and abuse worldwide, the wage and orgasm gap, the unpaid work that is often done by women (tip, check the studies by Women Inc.)”. “And often not as unpaid work”, Petra adds, “but seen as' care '”. Ewa nods: “just to name a few examples”. “But I also find it complicated sometimes,” says Petra, “fighting for one issue seems to push the other issue for attention, even though so many issues are important. You can't rank them by importance.” I did tell my kids about International Women's Day today, but in the end, it's about leading by example.”

“Especially within the cultural sector, many steps have been taken in recent years,” Ewa continues, “at the front, better representation of non-dominant perspectives in collections and exhibitions (for example, look at enhanced collections from major museums, platforms such as Titty Mag, podcasts such as Naked on a Dress, etc.), there is more attention for forgotten/invisible icons, and a growing number of (young) non-male directors at the back. Making numbers or percentages leading doesn't seem like the sustainable solution to me, it's about embracing representation in the broadest sense, of different worldviews.”

“We also can't tar all women with the same brush and expect everyone to look the same.” Petra adds, “feminism is quickly seen as something that defines your identity, while education, background, etc. are also enormously decisive and are reasons why not every woman thinks or expects the same about feminism. Feminists and activists also sometimes attack each other harshly for not being activist enough or reacting or acting incorrectly. This makes it difficult. The sensitivities can also be crippling.”

Then I ask about the practices at NDSM: what are the challenges you face when it comes to diverse and equal art programming at NDSM? Ewa: “We use the context of NDSM and the scale of the site to create large installations in the public space. However, finding female artists who work on the large scale that fits in a field like NDSM is sometimes a challenge.” The word phallus art (by men) is mentioned for a moment. “So here's an appeal to all female artists who have big plans/works or are looking for a place to grow in them,” Petra adds, “call us, all tips are welcome.”

“At NDSM, we try to work from an intersectionality, along different axes. A good example of a project last year that dealt with this theme was 'An-Sisters [NDSM] 'by belit sağ. belit commissioned us to create an audio-video installation in which they illuminate the invisible stories of Turkish female migrant workers by means of video portraits. belit interviewed several women for this work who worked at NDSM in sewing workshops after the shipyard, and a daughter of them who were now working at NDSM. happens to live at NDSM. We think it's important to realize such projects and show them in public space, in order to let a wide audience learn about these kinds of pieces of history of the place, of Amsterdam and the Netherlands, that are really underexposed.”

Finally, I ask Ewa and Petra if they have any reading tips for those interested in this theme. Ewa council I Am My Muse by Loes Faber, “about quirky women who changed art history”. Continue to check out the artist's work Carmen Schabracq, Umaversity, Yamuna Forzani's projects and love for my girlfriend Tina Fariteh which is now a expo curated with work by female Iranian artists.” Petra: “my little Bible until something takes its place is Witches, Witch Hunting, And Women by Silvia Federici. Shocking, but super relevant, and also check out videos/lectures of her, an incredibly inspiring woman! Furthermore, the artist inspires Agnes Denes me because of her grand project with the grain field in New York. In addition, I've been a fan of the Feminist Handicraft Party. And I would like to give a shoutout to a number of friends and power people in my life, such as Ama van Dantzig, and Orlando Maaike Gouwenberg, director of Jester and curator of the NL entry of the Venice Biennale with Melanie Bonajo (heart).”

Daniele, can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your background?

I was born in 1985 in San Francisco, California. I moved to New York City to study at the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art and graduated in 2007. Since then, I've stayed in New York, and I currently live between Manhattan and the rural north of the state. Here I have a studio where I sculpt, draw and write. My work usually deals with the politics inherent to public art itself, within that framework I address topics such as gender inequality, the difference between public and private space, and the definition of ownership.

Can you explain the idea behind the work 'It Takes Two'?

'It Takes Two' is a piece that uses the material language of advertising to address issues of cooperation, miscommunication, the politics of urban development, and the use of public space. As undermines many of my works, 'It Takes Two” familiar images to humorously encourage people to think about complex issues — in this case the relationship between art and gentrification. As the hammer and nail try ceaselessly to carry out their goal (the hammer that hits the nail on the head), their unfortunate movements and repeated failures comically signal to passers-by that on the empty lot they occupy, construction activities are “really coming soon”. Unlike an ad for a car shop or a car wash, these anthropomorphic figures announce the futility of their own message: that change is imminent and there is nothing you can do about it.

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'It Takes Two' is now available on NDSM. We found it interesting to exhibit your work in the context of the former shipyard, but also with current housing developments on NDSM-West and the relationship between those two identities with the many artists who now have their studios and maker spaces in this area. But It Takes Two has also been shown at other locations, can you delve deeper into these locations and what they mean in the context of this work?

'It Takes Two' was originally designed specifically to be installed on a vacant lot in Miami, Florida, that was intended to be developed into luxury real estate. While the circumstances of the occasion were unique, the phenomenon of gentrification is universal, contributing to the portable nature of the work. Other locations asked for the work to be shown because the message, while nihilistic, uses humor to appeal to viewers who wouldn't normally think about the politics of empty public space.

The work is an intentional “vulgar extravaganza”

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The work has been shown at Socrates Sculpture Park (a former landfill that has now become a public art site), The Oxbow School (an interdisciplinary high school boarding program in the rapidly gentrifying Napa Valley), Central Park (a man-made piece of nature), Sweet Pass Sculpture Park (an artist-run nonprofit site in a vacant lot in Dallas, Texas), and City Hall in Boynton Beach, Florida (not far from affluent West Palm Beach and Mar-a-Lago, areas that are seriously threatened by rising sea levels due to climate change).

You have 'A Vital Mess' created especially for the NDSM context, can you share your ideas behind this work with us?

'“A Vital Knife” is my first text-based work. The title comes from Learning From Last Vegas by Roberts Venturi, Denise Scott Brown, and Steven Izenour, a groundbreaking architectural text that formally explores the postmodern architecture and signage of the Las Vegas comic in the context of the history of architecture in general. Equipment closes'“A Vital Knife” similar to many of my public kinetic and wind-based works because of the convenient ability to reach a monumental physical scale (8 meters high in this case) with hollow volumes such as these. Since my work in the past has undermined the typical associations of the materials I use (plastic-based performance textiles for outdoor use), '“A Vital Knife” also the thing itself: a roadside ad — visual pollution — designed to make people stop and watch. To quote Robert Venturi again: “The play is an intentional 'vulgar extravaganza'”. Instead of criticizing capitalism's visual and material language sideways, this hodgepodge of “sky dancers” loudly proclaim themselves as a monument to the stickiness and tactlessness of contemporary ways of persuasion and seduction. The human-like forms and anthropomorphic movements reflect the viewer; they are a mirror. The culture has been hypnotized by these omnipresent roadside spectacles that look like us, which is why we recognize ourselves in them. We are the ad and the ad is us.

Both works use a medium that is often used for advertising purposes: the “sky dancers”. Why do you specifically use this medium?

What undermines the material and shape of these objects is the text. I specifically chose phrases and words that are vague, philosophical, open and confrontational. The messages on both sides of the sky dancers are contradictory. The entire “system” that dictates the rules of this piece is intended to challenge the principles of advertising but ironically deliver the same in the sense that I propose that the promises of the visual capitalist lexicon are empty. These promise everything and nothing. These types of signs indicate desperate and cheap requests for attention, but what I present are the signs as the destination itself, imploring the viewer to expect one thing from afar, only to see that expectation distorted upon investigation: an 8-meter-long figure adorned with TRUTH, APPEARANCE, SHAPE, CONTENT. I ask the viewer, what is the truth and content of the shape and appearance of our commercial visual landscape?

Then a little bit more about yourself and your approach to work: What do you like/find interesting about making work in public spaces? And how does this relate to other art you make?

Making work in public spaces satisfies my desire to work outside, generate work on a large scale and to make the viewer's creation and reception of work social and egalitarian. Most traditional galleries are inevitably linked to (commercial) market systems and rely on selling works of art to maintain space. I'm drawn to working outside that system, literally and figuratively, in the idealistic hope that art that doesn't depend on ownership will be inherently radical.

I keep notebooks full of fragmented ideas

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What are your general thoughts about NDSM, what do you think about the idea of making art for a place like this?

NDSM is a suitable location for my work because of the diverse functions that the warehouses and outdoor spaces have. It's an excellent place for me to address the complexities of art and commercial endeavors, which sometimes share the same physical space.

And finally: which artist (s) inspires you and for what reason (s)?

I can really fill hours so I'll keep it short: here's a short list of artists I appreciate for their humor, criticism, use of materials, and attitude to the culture of the art world: Lawrence Weiner, Mike Kelley, Rosemary Mayer, Ree Morton, Rosemarie Trockel, Robert Smithson, Paul Thek, Hans Haacke, Fred Wilson, Christo & Jeanne Claude, Isa Genzken.

A pop-up exhibition, spatial installation or a performance; the interpretation is open. The idea is to open up and make working in public spaces, outside a white cube setting, more accessible. This year is Anne-Jet de Nas invited as Young Curator. On Thursday, September 28, 2023, she will program a performance with Henk Schut's work IN TUNE, a bronze tuning fork in the water of the Y-slope at NDSM that addresses the balance between people and the environment. Time to get to know this young Amsterdam curator better and hear all about the program she wants to show at NDSM.

Anne-Jet, can you tell us about yourself and your background?

I've been fascinated by art, fashion and design all my life. As a creator and as an observer. That's why I graduated from ArtEZ (a Dutch University of the Arts, ed.) and took a Master's degree in Art History. To learn how to use my creativity more broadly and commercially, I worked as a creative at an advertising agency. With these experiences, I learned to speak the language of the artist, art and the wider public. And I call myself a creative translator. Someone who connects and builds bridges. Someone who listens, watches, thinks and translates. Someone who brings ideas to life.

Nowadays, you work, among other things, as an independent curator, for example, you have the exhibition this summer About.Life. co-curated at Sexyland World. Which artists or works inspire you?

Yes, that's right. In collaboration with artist, curator and collector Appie Bood, an (un) retrospective exhibition has been made of his art and collections. The most important point of this was that we completely let go of time and chronology in order to arrive at new insights and installations. Along with Sexyland World we turned these ideas into a physical exhibition.

Apart from the fact that working with Appie Bood (and his wife Agata Zwierzyñska, also a good artist!) inspiring me, I also recently developed a fascination for the American painter and musician Issy Wood. Her work evokes a melancholic, powerful feeling in me. She paints everyday objects in a tangible yet anonymous way. Because she often paints with oil paint on velvet fabric, her work becomes almost fetishistic. I find it fascinating how she attracts but also repels with her work.

I am very curious about the future of NDSM, and about the future of sanctuaries like this in the city

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You will soon be curating an intervention at NDSM with Henk Schut's work IN TUNE. How do you know NDSM as a terrain, what is your association with the place?

Hmm, a tough question! My association with NDSM varies. For me, the NDSM symbolises creativity, freedom and autonomy on the one hand. The history of NDSM as a sanctuary shows that you can make big changes with art and literally take up space to give art a voice. But on the other hand, for me, this place also stands for urban LED culture regeneration, or gentrification through art. In a way, art and artists at the NDSM are also an instrument for (cultural) policy and gentrification in this urban district.

Fortunately, the NDSM-werf Foundation is carefully considering the impact that gentrification has on the original function of this site. It is important that a place like NDSM continues to strive to be a place to thrive as a person and an artist, and not to become a particular urban experience. I am very curious about the future of NDSM, and about the future of free spaces in the city. Where there used to be room to claim a free spot, this is more difficult today. I therefore hope that the city takes care of this place.

Your intervention focuses on the work of Henk Schut, an installation of a tuning fork in the dock near the Y slope. What was your first impression of the work when you saw and heard it for the first time?

Yes, the big iron tuning fork in the dock. I really like the installation to blend in with the environment, as if it has always been there. Coincidentally, the sound of IN TUNE sounded right away the first time I was there. A low frequency spread across the Y slope, which also subsided. To be honest, I felt a bit awkward for a moment. What exactly should I feel? I became aware of myself for a moment. Henk's work is about finding a new balance between people and the environment. And it took a while for the sound to work on me, but I later realized that experiencing this conscious awkward feeling might be the goal.

The city seems to be overcrowded in many ways, and IN TUNE calls on us to think about this.

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Can you take us into your creative process; how did you end up with an idea?

After my first impression, I started to delve into Henk Schut's work. What does he want to achieve with the work? I particularly noticed two aspects here; firstly, the appeal to people's ability to hear and listen through sound. Secondly, with this installation, he asks questions about the value of emptiness, both in the city, at the NDSM shipyard, and in ourselves. This value of emptiness also inherently reveals the problems of our city. The city seems to be overcrowded in many ways, and IN TUNE calls on us to think about this. These insights were the starting point of my own creative process.

Because the city, the immediate surroundings and the people in the city are at the center of Henk's work and are connected by a sound, I thought it would be nice to follow this up by having a voice respond to this sound. A voice that can expand and question the underlying ideas of the work.

It's the first time you're curating a performance in the public space, what makes that context different from what you're used to?

I've only just started my own business and this is indeed the first time I'm curating a performance in the public space. What makes this different, for example, from the exhibition at Sexyland World that ran over several weeks, is that I now have to think about how to create a powerful story and a lasting impression within a much shorter period of time.

What are you looking forward to the most?

I think I would formulate it as 'the moment of the transfer'; the moment N TUNE creates a new work of art, Ray's spoken word performance. I'm looking forward to seeing Ray's words and how they resonate with me and the audience in their own way. Just like Henk's sound does it in its own way.

Art on the ferry from CS

Your Museum Night 2023 starts on ferry F4 from Amsterdam CS to NDSM. It Amsterdam Ferry Festival at Museum Night, in collaboration with the Van Gogh Museum, presents how the changing city is a subject that fascinates artists. Six contemporary photographers (Sem Langendijk, Hans Boddeke, Simone Peerdeman, Anna Swagerman, Hanane El Ouardani, Sanja Marusic) who capture today's Amsterdam with their cameras have been invited to make new work. The ferry between CS and the NDSM site will become their 'canvas' from 4 November during Museum Night. For this presentation, they are not only inspired by the frayed edges along the IJ, but also by the paintings that Van Gogh and his contemporaries made of the transition areas around Paris.

In addition to watching these images, you can also listen to a spoken-word performance at the point between NDSM and CS by Luna Wicks between 19:00 — 20:00. Under the musical accompaniment of musician Froodough (Daniel Lee), this duo takes you into a story about the changing city.

Grand light installation by Boris Acket

NDSM-werf Foundation and Kinetic North Foundation will present two site-sensitive works during Museum Night, to be seen and listened to on this evening only. Boris Acket creates a grand passage that plays with the notion of boundaries, an installation of light and sound that connects the outdoor area with the interior of the NDSM Loods. The soundscape's echo system is powered by field recordings made around NDSM in the weeks before the event. We had a conversation with Boris about his work at NDSM during Museumnacht, you can find the entire interview in our online magazine.

With music specially composed for NDSM, Off-Track adds an extra layer to the environment, the water and the monumental buildings, and allows you, as a visitor, to experience NDSM in a different way.

New Dakota Art Space

Bee New Dakota you can immerse yourself in love and what love means. Artist duo Tengbeh Kamara & Sophie Engels take you on a loving journey into the exhibition Yes, I Do where you can also have yourself and your loved one (whether that's your partner, family member, or pet) captured. You can immediately take the polaroid photo, which is taken by the artists, as a witness to your special band.

During the evening, artist Marieke van Rooy, also one of the participating artists in the exhibition, will Yes, I Do, be present to perform an ongoing performance. In addition, New Dakota also organizes a silent disco where you can let your (and your loved one's) feet off the floor.

Restaurant and art space Contrast

Bee Contrast celebrate the wonders of the water. Immerse yourself in conceptual cocktails and delectable snacks while listening to live DJs, and descend into an exhibition exploring Symbiosis' intricate dance in a project by Italian photographer Giacomo d'Orlando. Learn how more than 3 billion people depend on marine ecosystems for their livelihoods and consider the delicate balance that is being disrupted by climate change and overfishing. An evening of music, art, and awareness.

STRAAT Museum

STRAAT, the largest street art museum in Europe, also opens its doors during Museum Night. In addition to wandering around among the impressive murals, you can also have several artists at work live on this evening. Do you prefer to take control of the spray can yourself? Participate in a collective work of art and let your creativity run wild.

So a lot to do at NDSM during Museum Night! Do you still want to know more about the program of other museums for this special evening? A special “Route Noord” has also been put together so that you can see all the gems of Amsterdam North during Museum Night. Click the button below for more information.

On November 4, during Museum Night Amsterdam, Acket will use the philosophical concept of borders as the starting point for a work of light and sound at NDSM. The work can only be seen this evening. Time for a catch up with this versatile artist.

In your installations, all kinds of disciplines come together to create an experience together. As an artist, this now gives you a recognizable style that continues to develop. How would you describe your own practice, the point where you are as an artist right now?

My practice has always had sound as a starting point. In the beginning, this was always' musical 'sound; in recent years, this has changed more and more in the sound of the installations: sound that is characterized by the rules, parameters and boundaries of the artwork itself. In my work at NDSM, for example, I will use my echo system, a system that I developed with a classmate at art school and then developed into a complex instrument with percussion in The Hague, among others, into a complex instrument that develops an endlessly drastic effect of duplicates in light and sound from a single sound source.

The cool thing about this very temporary work is that it will be located in a place that is very dear to me, the Docklands and the NDSM Loods at NDSM. A few years ago, I made SKYLINE I in the North Strip, in collaboration with 4DSOUND and Bob Roijen, among others. This work was also located in a transition area, above an entrance where 20,000 people had to go through every day anyway.

Where does your inspiration come from?

I love philosophy, science and human issues about their own consciousness. I think that experiential or phenomenal art is the ultimate way to trigger people's thoughts. Time, and our experience of it, fascinate me enormously. How a person, with all her memories and expectations, always constructs their own 'now', completely different from that of the person next to her, them or him, just because you have a different background and a different expectation for tomorrow, fascinates me immensely.

Time, and our experience of it, fascinate me enormously. How a person, with all her memories and expectations, always constructs their own “now”.

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In the experiences I make, I often notice that the conversations between visitors or participants afterwards are very interesting. The shared experience of a new ritual — for example in an ultrasound piece in collaboration with Slagwerk Den Haag — can remove social boundaries. Although everyone has seen, experienced, and constructed a completely different experience, everyone who shared the experience can still talk to each other and sometimes even come closer to each other.

Impression of Boris Acket's work on NDSM, credits anna bogmolova, blitzkickers

My practice — just like it always was — is actually still very diverse. From theater scenography to a full exhibition, and from a show for a pop idol to a temporary sound light tunnel like this one at NDSM. For me, the constant lies more in themes and thoughts than in media and project form, and I love that.

Your work has been shown in clubs such as De School and festivals such as DGTL and Down The Rabbit Hole, as well as in public spaces such as the upcoming Museumn8. What fascinates you about working in the public domain?

When it comes to this specific work, I am reminded of the theme of PASSAGE — a work I made at the shipyard last year in collaboration with Bob Roijen. I then found a book by Thomas Nail about borders:

“Fundamentally, boundaries are inflection points where flows change direction. Any social construct — fence, wall, passport, browsing history — that changes people's movements is part of the social kinetics of borders.

It follows from this definition that borders are not about stopping things from moving, they are about movement itself.” — freely after Thomas Nail

I think this is the ultimate definition of public space. Public space is full of man-made borders, temporary villages that call themselves festivals, barricades that function as a doorway again a day later. NDSM is one such area, and I think it's very important that we cherish and preserve these kinds of areas. That is why I am so close to that with the theme of the work on 4 November.

In the experiences I make, I often notice that the conversations between visitors or participants afterwards are very interesting. The shared experience of a new ritual can remove social boundaries

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The sounds that run through the echo system all come from the environment itself — I go out in the week of the museum night with a field recorder. This way, the work becomes a kind of feedback loop that suddenly makes the tranquil place a little more important. Acoustic ecologist Gordon Hempton — someone I worked with a few years ago — aptly said that everything you put a microphone on becomes more important. You could say that in this journey, you spend a moment listening and watching a self-manifesting piece of living NDSM, in light and sound.

As with all my works, the exact meaning may not be very interesting, but the conversations and interpretations of people who have walked the procession: ultimately, it's about them.