A week of art and creativity, of visiting new places and discovering new artists. Art Rotterdam Week 2020 challenged the storm and presented a Valhalla for art lovers.
Art Rotterdam Week is a yearly event that shows the artistic side of Rotterdam. All over the city, you can visit art fairs, exhibitions especially created for this week and meet with like-minded people. The 2020 version was held between 5 and 9 February.
Braving the storm Ciara I ventured out to visit two fairs and an exhibition. No FOMO; I can’t visit them all while working forty hours a week. Instead, I made a selection based on the venues, because I was really interested in seeing the (historical) buildings these events were housed in from up close:
- The New Current at the Spaanse Kubus (Spaanse Polder);
- Art Rotterdam at the Van Nelle Factory; and
- OBJECT Rotterdam at the HAKA Building (Merwe-Vierhavensgebied).
Free shuttle buses connect the venues and it is also possible to park for free nearby.
The New Current exhibition
The New Current is located at the Spaanse Kubus in an industrial area in Rotterdam; an area I only visit to buy groceries from wholesalers. But I had never heard of this former parking garage named the Spaanse Kubus.
The parking garage proved to be the perfect location to showcase experimental work from new artists: it is spacy and the artists use this space to create more meaning for their art. The works on display examine the space between human experiences and digital technologies. All of them tell a message that is not always clear without reading the description. And many of them just look beautiful in the dark exhibition space where the reflection of light can do its work.
I could also appreciate the variety. Not one of them looked the same (though I had seen the one by Ouna Clitan before at Het Nieuwe Instituut Rotterdam). And more than that: when you move around the room and your perspective changes, what is expressed changes as well. I always like it a lot when I can walk around and in between a work of art because it provides a deeper experience like you’re discovering more about yourself. Especially if the artworks are about human experiences and digital technologies: something that I am part of. It makes you think.
Art Rotterdam fair
I have wanted to visit the Van Nelle Factory for a long time and even more since seeing the movie about it at the Chabot Museum Rotterdam. The factory was designed by the same architects as Sonneveld House Rotterdam, a former residence in the Dutch Functionalist style turned museum. I had no doubt such a building would stand its own against Ciara.
The exhibition hall of the factory was transformed into one big fair with exhibitions from many local and international art galleries. Not only was there a big variety of art on display there was also a video section providing an augmented experience. The short movies were accompanied by sound that was perfectly tailored to the message the movie aims to express.
While the exhibition at The New Current was about the experience for me, the fair at Art Rotterdam was all about discovery. About discovering new artists to keep track of and new galleries to visit. I saw many interesting artworks at this fair and was quite happy I could take pictures of some of them to look at later.
If you are interested in visiting the Van Nelle Factory: the Chabot Museum Rotterdam organizes tours regularly.
OBJECT Rotterdam fair
The design fair OBJECT Rotterdam was held for the third and last time at the industrial HAKA building near the harbor of Rotterdam. The idea of there being an interesting industrial building that I had never seen before (and might not have a chance to later) is what made me visit OBJECT Rotterdam.
After I enjoyed Experiencing and Discovering at the two previous sites, it was now time for Inspiration.
All seven floors of this architectural monument were used for the fair and many artists made optimal use of the space by positioning their designs in front of holes in the wall, rectangular windows and small nooks. The designs made the building shine and the building added to the feeling an object gave off.
Many objects were things you could imagine yourself spicing up your living room with. You could see furniture, fashion, jewelry, architecture, and graphics. The designers themselves were present to tell more about their work. What’s more inspirational than that?
With all objects displaying a different style it is only natural that not all of them appeal to you, but some of them I would have liked to have in my house. If I had a bigger house and budget that is… I was quite happy to see there are so many creative people in the world designing new things that may someday find its way into my home or yours.
Final thoughts
A city turned into a Valhalla (and mecca; the website seems confused) for art lovers. Many beautiful works of art and designs exist in the world and events like this help you see them by gathering them all in one spot (or city). For me, Art Rotterdam Week 2020 was all about experiencing things myself, discovering new artists and getting inspired. As I could not see it all this year, I have high hopes for next year.
Let’s keep an eye out for Art Rotterdam Week 2021 at Artweekrotterdam.com.
