For the First and the Second Time
Curated by: Virginija Januskeviciute and Valentinas Klimasauskas
November 22, 2008 – January 4, 2009
Stroom Den Haag
Hogewal 1-9
2514 HA The Hague
The Netherlands
CAC Vilnius
Vokieciu 2
LT- 01130 Vilnius
Lithuania
The exhibition ‘For the First and the Second Time’ features the work of the Dutch artists Channa Boon, Ton Schuttelaar and Bram Vreven from The Hague (The Netherlands). In 2007 they were the recipients of a Stroom Premium subsidy.
As a result of an inspiring subsidy policy implemented by Stroom Den Haag and a series of stimulating activities, more and more artists from The Hague are making a name for themselves on the international art scene. In addition to established names like Philip Akkerman and Marcel van Eeden, for example, Justin Bennett took part in the Istanbul Biennale; Harold de Bree in Manifesta 7; and Navid Nuur in amongst others the Armory Show, Liste Basel and ArtForum Berlin. The latter also had a solo exhibition in Plan B, Berlin. Early November, at the emerging art fair Preview Berlin, Stroom presented the work of Ton Schuttelaar, a typical representative of the lively art world and blooming underground scene of The Hague. The magazine ‘DH/’, available at Stroom, illustrates the cultural diversity of The Hague, a city that aims to become Cultural Capital of Europe in the year 2018.
Every year the Stroom Premium subsidies are accompanied by an international exhibition. In 2007 Francis McKee from Scotland curated the exhibition ‘Lost Tongues Rediscovered’ at Stroom Den Haag. This year Virginija Januskeviciute and Valentinas Klimasauskas present the exhibition ‘For the First and the Second Time’ at CAC (Contemporary Art Center), Vilnius. Artworks remaining from previous exhibitions at CAC are inserted in between the new works by Channa Boon, Ton Schuttelaar and Bram Vreven and the tradition of modernism as represented by the building of CAC. In the context of daily activities of the Contemporary Art Centre this exhibition could be said to be a pseudo-museological endeavour.
The Stroom Premium subsidy is a high-profile grant for individual artists from The Hague, which enables them to deepen and further develop their work. In January 2009 separate publications on each artist will be released. In 2008 the Premiums were awarded to the artists Rachel Bacon, Gamal Ez, Zeger Reyers and Marleen Sleeuwits.