Be[com]ing Dutch

Be[com]ing Dutch

VAN ABBEMUSEUM
BILDERDIJKLAAN 10
EINDHOVEN – THE NETHERLANDS
31 [0]40 238 1000
info [​at​] vanabbemuseum.nl
www.vanabbemuseum.nl/gatherings

Be[com]ing Dutch seeks to put our ideas of national identity under pressure and to examine and challenge the processes of inclusion and exclusion in The Netherlands today. As questions of cultural identity and normative national values become ever more of an issue in political and cultural debate the concept behind Be[com]ing Dutch is to move the agenda of multiculturalism from notions of toleration and difference towards building a shared but agonistic democracy on a cultural level through the use of one of the few remaining public sphere institutions left to us the museum. It requires wide public participation, that is encouraged, prepared and committed to over a longer term than a single exhibition.

Be[com]ing Dutch Be[com]ing Dutch is a two year project developed both inside and outside the museum, which consists of debates, reading groups, artists projects, exhibitions, residencies, and other forms of collective participation and production. To begin Be[com]ing Dutch, the Van Abbemuseum launches a three day Gathering between the 26 -28 January. After that the project leads up to an intensive three week international Caucus [meeting] in November 2007. The final phase will be a large scale exhibition of newly commissioned works in the Van Abbemuseum in May 2008.
The Gatherings 26 – 28 January 2007
To begin the project Be[com]ing Dutch we are issuing a call to join us in Eindhoven for a three day Gathering. We invite you to come together to listen, debate and discuss with a variety of invited artists, thinkers and activists including (a.o.) Babak Afrassiabi, Abdellatif Benfaidoul, Bik Van der Pol, Igor Dobrovici, Surasi Kusolwong, Sarat Maharaj, Sohelia Najand, Maria Pask, Mario Rizzi, Superflex, Nasrin Tabatabai, Abdelaziz Taleb, and Aline Thomassen. They will present ideas and models of art practice that challenge and critique our various understandings of identity and visibility and offer imaginative possibilities for organising ourselves collectively.
For a complete overview of the programme, go to:

www.vanabbemuseum.nl/gatherings

JOIN US!
Entrance is free. If you would like to participate in any or all of the days of The Gatherings, register now on www.vanabbemuseum.nl/gatherings as space is limited. Registration closes on 22 January 2007. Please specify which date[s] you will attend. More information on reservation and dinner can be found on www.vanabbemuseum.nl/gatherings .

Be[com]ing Dutch is being developed by Charles Esche and Annie Fletcher and many others in- and outside the Van Abbemuseum. Institutional partnerships: BAK [Utrecht], New Museum of Contemporary Art [New York], Goldsmiths College [London], Kosmose [Eindhoven], Stichting Interart [Arnhem]. The project Be[com]ing Dutch by the Van Abbemuseum has been awarded the Development Award for Cultural Diversity 2006 by the Mondriaan Foundation