I recently set up an exhibition in the headquarters of the Humanistic Institute for Development Cooperation (Hivos) in The Hague. The works are by the young Syrian artist Mahmoud Dayoub. Hivos headquarters are situated on the Raamweg 16 in The Hague and the exhibition can be seen every weekday during office hours (8am to 6pm) until 7 December 2011.
Mahmoud Dayoub, untitled; oil on canvas, 180 x 140 cm, 2011
The prospect of having performance artists dressed up like Disney’s Snow White parading with toy guns in the city hall caused quite a stir in The Hague over the last weeks. It is not that the Dutch are easily scandalized – they are rather hardened in matters of artistic provocation – but the consistency in the branding of a city such as the The Hague is becoming a more important principle than artistic freedom. The Hague likes to present itself as the international capital of peace and justice, and to start with, the officials in charge of city marketing didn’t like the theme chosen by Todaysart festival 2009, “The Hague City of Conflict”. Continue reading
Performance organized by me on 22 Sept in the city hall of the Hague
On 26 September a group of Snow Whites will invade the city hall of The Hague. This performance by the French choreographer Catherine Baÿ will be accompanied by an sound and video installation on the adjacent Spui Plein and an exhibition in <tag>, a temporary exhibition space nearby. Continue reading