Be[com]ing Dutch
The Gatherings, December 26-28, 2007, Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven
Exhibition design by Nathalie Schellekens and Jan Dijkstra
Image courtesy Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven
Overview
-Annie Fletcher and Charles Esche, Van Abbemuseum
Be[com]ing Dutch is a two-year project developed both inside and outside of the Van Abbemuseum. The project consists of debates, reading groups, artists’ projects, exhibitions, artists in residence, and other forms of collective participation and production. Questions about cultural identity and normative “national” values are becoming more and more an issue in political and cultural debate. Be[com]ing Dutch wonders whether art can provide alternative ways of contemplating contemporary society. Be[com]ing Dutch aims to examine our ideas concerning cultural identity and to investigate current processes of inclusion and exclusion.
The second phase of the project is the Eindhoven Caucus from November 9 and December 6, 2007: a four week period of lectures and intensive discussions. This part of the project will look at Eindhoven and its environs as a place where diversity is part of everyday life. The Van Abbemuseum will be a central gathering place for the Eindhoven Caucus.
This autumn, Be[com]ing Dutch will be included in a series of documentary exhibitions at the Van Abbemuseum as an extension of the Living Archive. The Be[com]ing Dutch display in the tower of the Van Abbemuseum and in the New Museum allows visitors to follow phases of the project and track ongoing developments. We welcome you to contribute your ideas and opinions at the project’s website, www.becomingdutch.com.
The final phase of Be[com]ing Dutch will be an exhibition of newly commissioned works in the Van Abbemuseum in May 2008 and a publication in November 2008.
