“On the Move” debuts at Stedelijk Museum
Stedelijk Museum organizes an annual exhibition for the Proposals for Municipal Art Acquisitions project, financially supported by the City of Amsterdam. A different theme is employed every year. This year’s exhibition, “On the Move”, covers storytelling in contemporary photography and graphic design. The exhibition consists of four halls, where 28 different works will be exhibited till November, after which they will be replaced by a new selection. The current selection offers a wide range of expressive methods and topics. Artists featured include Thomas Kuijpers, Marc Roig Blesa, Andrea Stultiens and Sara Blokland.
Visitors are welcomed through an engaging time passage. Images portraying 200 different science fiction films are displayed alongside the escalators that lead to the exhibition on the first floor of Stedelijk Museum.
The first hall shows different aspects of community life, including a wall-display of Club Donny, an unedited urban environment magazine, and Blokmapping, a memoir of Rotterdam’s Hillelsluis area created by inventorying every step, from people to trashcans, within a 333 meter radius of the artists’ home.
The second hall explores different expressions of memory. A wide range of individuals and groups are covered, including a video memoir of a woman reflecting on the effects of her Jewish heritage, a book on Ugandan history, merging the political story of Uganda with the personal life of the journalist, and a photo-journal depicting the lives of Afro Turks and their unexplored identity.
The third hall is devoted to politics. Perspectives on citizen journalism, self-involved observations of the anti-Syrian war Twitter protest #IDidntJoin, as well as a journalistic investigation of opium trade are only some of the works displayed.
A separate hall is dedicated to Gabor Osz’s Das Fenster (The Window), which uses film and photography to portray Adolf Hitler’s panoramic view of the Unterberg. The view is mixed with different visual effects, communicating Osz’s message.
Most of the books and publications showcased at the exhibition are available for purchase at the Stedelijk Book Shop, located at the entrance of the museum.
The exhibition debuted on the 29th of August. A gallery talk was hosted by Anne Ruygt, junior curator of photography at Stedelijk Museum. She gave a guided tour of the exhibition to its first visitors, engaging viewers with her personal narrative, as well as answering questions regarding the work displayed. Ruygt stressed that storytelling does not need to be limited to photography, but can employ all kinds of media.
3 more talks will be held this year: on October 3rd by Dimitri Nieuwenhuizen (co-founder of design studio LUST), November 7th by Ad van Denderen (photographer), and December 19th by Mirjam Kooiman (curator of photography in training). 2 more will be held next year: on January 9th by Karin Krijgsman (photography course leader at the AKV St. Joost), and January 16th by Caroline Glazenburg (curator of graphic design at Stedelijk Museum). The talks are a great opportunity to experience the artwork from the perspectives of those involved, transcending the information provided at the exhibition.
“On the Move” caters to a wide range of interests, from unexplored political issues to biographical works. The one thing common to all works is truly original storytelling content and techniques. The exhibition will be on till the 18th of January. Make sure you don’t miss out!
For more information, visit: http://www.stedelijk.nl/en/exhibitions/on-the-move.
