2_3_DiscoverBenelux_Issue14_January2015_Scan Magazine 1 26/01/2015 19:18 Page 47
Discover Benelux | Special Theme | A day at the Museum
LEFT: Kunsthal Rotterdam. Photo: Jeroen Musch. TOP MIDDLE: Kintera; Bad News, 2011. MIDDLE: Piet Parra; Jesus interrupted, Zeefdruk, 2009. RIGHT: April Fools Day.
Always something sensational TEXT: BERTHE VAN DEN HURK | PHOTOS: KUNSTHAL ROTTERDAM
The Kunsthal Rotterdam displays culture in the broadest sense of the word. A visit to the Kunsthal is a fascinating journey along modern masters, contemporary art, photography, forgotten cultures and design. “We are able to organise circa 25 exhibitions every year. Visitors can experience different continents and art movements while there are always several exhibitions on at the same time,” says Emily Ansenk, director of Kunsthal Rotterdam: “The Kunsthal is for everybody, whether you are eight or eighty years old.”
International collaborations The building itself is worth a visit; created by the famous Dutch Architect Rem Koolhaas, and recently renovated, the Kunsthal Rotterdam is a true piece of art. The Kunsthal in Rotterdam is not a museum, but an exhibition building. What is the difference? They do not have their own collection.
For the realisation of their exhibitions, the Kunsthal collaborates with artists, museums and galleries worldwide. Like the 2013 exhibition The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier, which was a collaboration with the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and Maison Jean Paul Gaultier in Paris, and the Designing 007: Fifty Years of Bond Style (on show until 8 February) that has been organised by Barbican Centre, London, in partnership with EON Productions. The Kunsthal also focuses on ‘new discoveries’ and ‘forgotten surprises’ and showing the work of renowned artists that hasn’t been on display in the Netherlands for a very long time or ever before.
Freaky spring Kunsthal Rotterdam 'goes freaky’ with its spring exhibition programme: ‘freaky’ in terms of strange, disturbing, dark, and also ‘freaky’ in the sense of intense, imaginative and sparkling. This spring, there will be various exhibitions; the humorous and cut-
ting-edge installation The Theory of Freedom by the leading international GermanNorwegian video artist Bjørn Melhus, the powerful and absurd installations by Czech artist Krištof Kintera, the intriguing portrait series by Belgian photographer Charlotte Lybeer and the ironic drawings and playful designs of Dutch artist PARRA. But that is certainly not all. Kunsthal Rotterdam is organizing ‘a freaky weekend’ on the weekend of 18 April. During this weekend there are several activities for all ages, from Friday night dance and drinks to a Family Sunday. The freaky spring ends with the family exhibition about the wonderful world of postcards from the early 20th century, in which mysterious dreams and surreal fantasies are central. Find out more by following the Kunsthal on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @kunsthal. www.kunsthal.nl
Issue 14 | February 2015 | 47