Introducing a new online platform

Since mid-March, Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art has been temporarily closed to the general public in an effort to help mitigate the coronavirus pandemic. Since then, we have been exploring ways to keep serving you and to remain connected with our immediate community and general public. Common and recurring questions of the day, such as “How are you feeling?” and “How can we contribute to mitigate this multidimensional crisis?” soon became the basis for exchanging ideas and developing platforms.

As it pertains to social distancing, members of our community have been delving into experiences of isolation, as well as of studio-based and social practices, affective networks, and cultures of care. With the rise of program postponements and impending cancellations, a number of peers are facing difficulties in making ends meet. These outlooks were motivating factors towards turning our Instagram account into a presentation platform, providing honorariums for guest contributors. We have been publishing posts by artists and cultural practitioners who often work with us as art mediators, gallery attendants, installation assistants, and workshop leaders.

Certainly, the investigation and work by the artists and curators of our four current exhibitions have also been on our mind. We considered that certain aspects of their work could be experienced remotely, and thus created homemade slideshows picturing works featured in our galleries, at times, overlaying these with voice-overs by the artists and curators. Relatedly, we created art activities, which can be made by people young and old, whether alone or in the company of others. We likewise compiled thematic reading-lists from our bookshop and digitized a handful of books we have published over the years. Additionally, we programmed a couple of online sessions in the spirit of our dynamic live events. 

We invite you to experience all this in our new online platform: www.offsite.wdw.nl.

We are aware that a digital strategy does not replace our core activities, which involve spatializing knowledge and socializing information. And yet, we trust this new online platform may at least allow us to publicly share research in motion and a present structure of feeling. We do miss the energy and discussions catalyzed by the flow of art, people, and ideas in our galleries and at our live events. We are looking forward to personally welcoming you to our spaces soon. In the meantime, we will continue working with the conviction that being with art and within a community prompts new imaginaries; that these are vital to create a deeper awareness and better understanding of the ecosystems each of us comes to shape, affect, and foster. 

Founded in 1990, Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art presents a changing program of art commissions and exhibitions, educational initiatives and events, as well as publications that range from artist’s books to catalogs to web-based editorial platforms. Recently, and after a series of public debates, the institution has been examining the origins and limitations of its name. To read more about this, click here.

Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art is supported by the city of Rotterdam and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science in The Netherlands. Its activities are also supported through foundation grants, project sponsorships, individual donations, and income from admission tickets, sales, and events. The institution’s new digital strategy is in part supported by Stichting Droom en Daad.