Alexandra Landré appointed as new artistic director

Stroom Den Haag, the platform for visual art in The Hague, is pleased to announce that Alexandra Landré has been appointed as its new artistic director. As of this month she will be leading the Dutch art organization, which celebrated its 30th anniversary last year, adding a new chapter to Stroom’s rich history.

“Alexandra Landré is the right person at the right time. We are confident that she will contribute an inspiring vision to an institution like Stroom, which is known for its progressive stand,” said an enthusiastic Sharon Gesthuizen, chair of the Stroom board. “The Hague has a very dynamic art scene and is—as the International City of Peace and Justice—home to many cultural communities. We feel assured that Alexandra will facilitate many inspiring encounters for a wide range of voices. Furthermore, the board is excited about the wealth of experience and expertise which she and the new managing director Bas Mulder will bring to the table, strengthening Stroom’s mission and sustaining the art scene in these challenging times.”

Alexandra Landré is excited about her new position in The Hague: “I am very much looking forward to working with the newly appointed managing director and Stroom’s entire team. Over the past 30 years, Stroom has succeeded in establishing an extraordinary position, both locally, nationally and internationally. The organization has a vast and continuously growing network of supportive partners and I am excited to collaborate with them. Also, the focus on the relationship between art and society deeply resonates with my personal professional convictions.”

In the significant diversity of programs and tasks offered and performed by Stroom, Landré envisions many opportunities to facilitate contemporary art practices that provide critical reflections on the world we live in today. “Finding the right balance between content, ethics, and the realities of a cultural infrastructure is an area of expertise Stroom already possesses. A cross-disciplinary approach, enabling polyphonic collaborations and using translocality are also central to my own vision and practice. It enables room for alliances, new partnerships, different stories and the creation of new cultural values.”

Alexandra Landré holds an MA in Art History from the University of Amsterdam. She has been involved in a large number of national and international cultural projects, with a particular focus on innovative forms of co-creation, new commissions and audience participation. Until 2020 she was the artistic director of Kunstvereniging Diepenheim (NL), where she presented acclaimed exhibitions like Disconnection (2019/20) and programmed a living collection of land art projects with artists like a.o. herman de vries, as well as artists-in-residency-programs in collaboration with the Mondrian Fund. In her curatorial career she has collaborated with De Appel in Amsterdam, Stedelijk Bureau Amsterdam, Synch Festival in Athens (GR), Jindrich Chalupecky Society in Prague, Kunsthalle Münster Münster, Germany, and Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna, among others. In addition, Landré is a prolific writer, mediator, and educator with a keen eye for talent development. In recent years she has been affiliated with the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam, Royal Academy of Art in The Hague, Higher Institute for Fine Arts / HISK in Ghent, Belgium, and The Glasgow School of Art, UK.

Stroom Den Haag has gained an international reputation as a contemporary art center. Its activities range from creating an innovative policy stimulating local art and artists through the production of monumental projects and programs of (inter)national acclaim. The organization is well-known for commissions of art in public space, including major art works like James Turrell’s Celestial Vault (1996), Cyprien Gaillard’s Dunepark (2009), and last year’s unveiling of Huang Yong Ping’s Ling Zhi Helicopters (2020).

Stroom offers a year-round experimental program contributing new insights to the relationship between art, the city and society. Notable activities include the Stroom Invest Week, an international visitors program; Our House, your Home, an engaging exchange format based on hospitality between Stroom and other art institutions; and Uncertainty Seminars, a series of hybrid events embracing doubt and hesitation as cultural strategy.

Stroom Den Haag is generously supported by the City of The Hague. The program is also made possible by the Mondriaan Fund and BankGiro Loterij Fonds.