November 23–December 2, 2012
Opening date: Friday, November 23
(former) Sint Nicolaas Lyceum
Prinses Irenestraat 21
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Kunstvlaai: Festival of Independents is a multi-disciplinary arts festival, which—ever since its inception in 1997—has been the largest non-commercial exhibition of Visual Arts in the Netherlands. The festival is a platform for independent art institutions, art schools and artist-led initiatives to present themselves through live arts, exhibitions, film screenings, archival presentations, lectures and workshops. On average more than 70 institutions participate and present the work of over 350 Dutch and International artists at each edition.
The 2012 edition will be curated by Natasha Ginwala (IND) and Fleur van Muiswinkel (NL) and will take place from 23rd November to 2nd December 2012.
The upcoming edition, titled “INexactly THIS” positions itself amidst the dynamic characteristics of self-organized art initiatives and project structures. As a rejection of the exacting hyper-production that has yielded repeated collapses of global capitalism, it turns toward the fluctuating working methodologies and imaginative propositions of smaller players in the cultural field. As a curatorial model, INexactly THIS draws influence from the mathematical equation. Since, “the equation” is an inherently collaborative entity—a plotting of relationality between distinct yet co-related elements. Kunstvlaai: Festival of Independents aims to reveal an affective common ground of THISness that is also a co-habitation space for tryouts and estimation. The immanent potential of inexactness may be read as a functional mode rather than an anxiety-ridden blockage in the contemporary. For it is in the field of inexactness that factors of intuition, unlearning and collectivity converge.
Starting this year, the festival will be nomadic as a response to the precarious economic and political climate in much of Western Europe. The new festival structure is also a way to productively address forces of vacancy and gentrification that have become more apparent in our midst. INexactly THIS will be held at a former high school, Sint Nicolaas Lyceum, close to Amsterdam’s business district. As the high school leaves to operate from a new building, the festival will ‘move in’, creating a temporary community for horizontal cultural exchange and public engagement with participants from the Netherlands and across the world. This year’s edition also coincides with several other cultural events in Amsterdam such as RijksakademieOPEN, IDFA, PAN Amsterdam and Amsterdam Art Weekend (organized by Capital A).
INexactly THIS is sponsored by:
Gemeente Amsterdam, Dienst Zuidas; Metropolis M; Gemeente Amsterdam, Stadsdeel Zuid; Sandberg Instituut Amsterdam, Masters Rietveld Academie; VSB Fonds; Cultuurfonds BNG; Mondriaan Fonds; Amsterdams Fonds voor de Kunsten; Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds; Office for Contemporary Art, Norway; NSW Government, Trade & Investment Arts NSW.
For press inquiries or general information please contact:
Judith Konz, press[at]kunstvlaai[dot]nl
Opening hours: To be announced.
The festival is closed to public on Monday, 26 and Tuesday, 27 November 2012.
