CELEBRATION! 25TH ANNIVERSARY
An absolute highlight for 2017 was the celebration of the Kunsthal’s 25th anniversary. Of course this included a typical Kunsthal programme focusing on the long-lasting friendships with our important relations and of course our public. Philosopher Henk Oosterling gave an anniversary lecture, architect Rem Koolhaas gave a masterclass, the exhibition ‘Paul Delvaux, Masters of the Dream’’ was opened and Wende Snijders performed her theatrical concert ‘Mens’. Thanks to an extra donation by ING we were able to offer our visitors free admittance during the anniversary celebrations on 4 November. Under the title ‘Celebrate Friendship’, many partners contributed to organising additional activities at the Kunsthal.
Paragraph from director Emily Ansenk’s opening speech.
“While running the risk of waking you from your nostalgic dreams – ‘Ah, I remember it well!’ and ‘I saw it being built’ –, we have asked the writer, philosopher and Erasmus University lecturer Henk Oosterling to catapult the Kunsthal into the future, but only after giving some critical comments, of course. We asked Henk the following question: Will the Kunsthal still be relevant in the future and what will it take to remain relevant?”
Paragraph from Philosopher Henk Oosterling anniversary speech:
The first sustainability principle of the Kunsthal is: recycle and upcycle the things that are available. In other words: take the collections of others and set them up in your own specific way, as was the case with the Peter Lindbergh exhibition, for example.
Art is defined by interaction. Art is relational, interaction is decisive for art becoming art. Relational art is not about the expressions of a single genius, but about something that happens between people. Creativity is not in people, but between people. Culturality is not in a culture, but between cultures.
