LEVEL UP

In this year and the next, hundreds of visual artists, designers, and other creatives (will) graduate from Dutch art academies. Over the four years you’ve studied, you have developed your artistic signature, and in the final year, you’ve worked towards a final presentation, showcasing your work to the outside world for the first time. However, what often receives little to no attention is the entrepreneurship that comes with being an artist. Therefore, on Saturday, November 9, 2024, Stichting Art Projects (known for initiatives like the Young Collectors Circle) and Kunstmest (consultancy focused at art in the public domain) are dedicating an entire day to help graduating artists like yourself level up upon leaving the academy.

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Details

Date & time: Saturday, November 9, 11-17h

Location: Nieuwe Instituut, Rotterdam

Cost: €10 including coffee/tea and lunch, excluding service charges

Get your tickets now!

Presale ends on Thursday, November 7!

 

Program

11:00 Doors open

11:15 Introduction & welcome

11:20 The art market explained by Nienke van der Wal

In this presentation the graduates will be introduced to the different actors in the art world and the specific actors in the art market. We will delve into the roles of critics and curators, and of those selling and buying on the art market: galleries, dealers and the different types of collectors. We will share examples of the status quo but also of artists who are taking a different route and taking control of the art market in their own manner: by offering their new body of work at auction or by developing alternative pricing strategies.

11:50 Artist talk by Niek Hendrix

Niek Hendrix has been working on an innovative oeuvre in a menacing pace, constantly seeking images that should be understood to understand ourselves. His distinctive style of photographic black and white paintings and bold colour interpretations of 17th century Dutch paintings, are shown in thoughtful constellations that challenge the viewer. Hendrix has exhibited at prestigious places as the Royal Palace Amsterdam, Dordrechts Museum, Amsterdams Museum and exhibited in Basel, New York, Moscow and San Francisco.

12:20-12:30 Break

12:30-13:00 Talk by Hester Alberdingk Thijm

Hester Alberdingk Thijm  is the director of the AkzoNobel Art Foundation, which  was founded in 1996 and collects and exhibits contemporary art in a wide range of disciplines by internationally renowned artists and young talent. The collection has been built around  themes such as ‘Color and Research’, ‘Individual and Society’ and ‘Space’. Since 2016, the AkzoNobel Art Foundation has an open Art Space where artworks from the collection are accessible to everyone. In 2024, the collection of the AkzoNobel Art Foundation was on show at the Kunstmuseum The Hague in a presentation called True Colors.

13:00 Introduction Break-Outs

13:15 Lunch & Break-Outs

Table 1: Art world, critics & curators with Tale of a Tub and Mister Motley

Table 2: Art market, buyers & sellers with Gallery JOEY RAMONE, Nieuwe Instituut Agency and AkzoNobel Art Foundation

Table 3: Entrepreneurial Skills with Bubble Shooters Network, Pictoright and Cultuur + Ondernemen

Table 4: Funding with Amarte Fonds, Cultuur + Ondernemen and Mondriaan Fonds

15:30 Talk by Sietske van Zanten, LAM

Sietske van Zanten is director of the LAM museum, part of the VandenBroek Foundation. She developed and realized the innovative museum concept for the LAM and has built the largest food art collection in the world and often supports with up-and-coming talents. Recently, the museum made the global news when an artwork was mistaken for trash by maintenance staff. Sietske previously worked for the company collections of ING and Rabobank.

16:00 Level Up by Mette Samkalden

In this practical presentation, you will get all the tips and tricks for an optimal preparation for your graduation show, open studio presentation or a (sales) exhibition. These are after all crucial moments when you will share your work with the world. You will learn how to stand out with your work and your story, which marketing tools to have in place, and how to start building your network. Included in the presentation are suggestions and pointers from each of the experts participating in the Break-Out Talks.

16:30 Round Up

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About Level Up

Level Up is a project by Kunstmest Consulting en Stichting Art Projects in partnership with Nieuwe Instituut. Level Up is supported by VandenEnde Foundation, Droom en Daad, and Pictoright Fonds.

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About Nieuwe Instituut

Nieuwe Instituut is the Dutch national museum and institute for architecture, design and digital culture. Through exhibitions, public programs, research and other national and international initiatives, the institute engages thinkers, designers, makers and various audiences to think critically about pressing issues of the past, present and future. In addition to the National Collection for Dutch Architecture and Urban Planning, which Nieuwe Instituut manages, it is also responsible for the Sonneveld House Museum villa from 1933 on its own campus in Rotterdam's Museumpark.

 

Nieuwe Instituut's Agency department connects the design field with questions from the outside world, both regionally and internationally. The exchange and development of knowledge, international cooperation and the expansion of networks are paramount. Dutch designers are presented through various trajectories, projects and programs on various international stages and are given the opportunity to meet international curators, designers and researchers. So-called crossovers are also organised to facilitate the exchange of knowledge. At the regional level, Nieuwe Instituut collaborates with local authorities and organizations on specific social issues.