anoukvanreijen - Tumblr blog

[anoukvanreijen]

"If a visitor of an exhibition has the opportunity to rent an artwork and to take the artwork home. What would they do with it?"

This artwork is currently showing at Anouk van Reijen was invited by the Atelier Mixed Media from Ghent (Belgium) to participate in the exhibition called: 'Liberty inviting artists to take part' in W139, Amsterdam. She came up with the idea to organize 'Art for Rent'. A concept which allowed visitors to rent artworks which were part of the exhibition. She asked the participating artists to donate their work or a residue of their work for rent purposes. She numbered these artworks. The numbers corresponded with the catalog she specially designed for this exhibition. Her main goal was to expand the exhibition space and she was curious how 'high-art' would find a place in the homes of the exhibition visitors.

This upcoming month Van Reijen is going to visit the people who rented an artwork.

[anoukvanreijen]

"I asked opera singers, a dancer, actor and poet to guide visitors through the graduation exhibition of the Rietveld Academie. They all approached the visual arts from their own expertise."

Guided Tours For her graduation project Van Reijen researched the concept of ‘tour guides’. The guests of the Gerrit Rietveld Academy´s graduation show could sign up for a guided tour. This tour was not hosted by normal tour guides but slowly changed into a performance that would focus and reflect on the works of other graduating artists. Not only would the tours change into a dance, a poem, a song or a play, they also gave the audience an important role, letting them reflect on the notion of the artwork. Van Reijen expanded the graduation shows frame by including  secondary activities like a tour and turn them into autonomous works of art themselves.

Special thanks to: Sjors Wijers, Sakurako, Roberta Petzoldt, Elea Bekkers and Frederique Klooster.

Frederique Klooster is singing in front of the work of Nil Ilkbasaran

Sakurako is dancing in front of the work of Vlindertje (Linda Smit)

Sakurako is dancing in front of the work of Juri Suzuki

Sakurako is dancing in front of the work of Tirza Kater

Roberta Petzoldt is reading a poem in front of the work of Kaisa Soot

Sjors Wijers is acting in front of the work of Kyle Tryhorn

Photo's are taken by Iris Duvekot

[anoukvanreijen]

"People really believed that I had something to do with the brokerage. And when a typically Dutch man who lived in the neighbourhood gave me the heads up, it felt real."

Gallery for sale In 2012 van Reijen did a residency in a gallery in Winkel, a small conservative village whose name literally translates as ‘Shop’. The inhabitants of Winkel didn’t care for the gallery and even went so far as calling it the ‘Devil’. Van Reijen was curious what the inhabitants of Winkel would like to see on this location instead of the gallery. So she put the gallery up for sale and pretended to work as a broker. Letters and surveys were sent out and she invited the neighbours for a meeting to discuss a new function for this space. They came up with a lot of different ideas, ranging from a sex shop to a museum or a yoga centre. One of the visitors was interested in buying the place to turn it into a yoga centre. So in the context of the gallery Van Reijen asked this lady to transform the gallery space into a yoga studio for one day, and all the neighbours were welcome to join the class for free.

[anoukvanreijen]

"I slept all alone in the 'Oude Kerk' in Amsterdam. It was one of the most magical moments of my life. I wasn't scared at all, it really became my home for one night."

The house of Anouk / The house of God In 2012 van Reijen worked with the ‘Oude Kerk’, one of the oldest churches in Amsterdam. She invited the pastor and a member of the church to have a religious conversation outside of the context of the church in Van Reijens own apartment. They accepted her invitation and, in her living room, discussed how important the church is as a location and it’s contemporary role in society. Van Reijen also asked the choir of the Oude Kerk to sing in her living room. As a return favour, she slept for one night in the big space of the Oude Kerk instead of in her small intimate bedroom.

[anoukvanreijen]

"I set up a lottery in a little village called Hornhuizen. The inhabitants had a chance to win a weekend trip to my appartment in Amsterdam. But ofcourse I would not let just anyone sleep in my bed."

Best Friends Lottery In 2011 Van Reijen set up a lottery in a little village in the North of The Netherlands. The lottery was called ‘De Goede Vriendenloterij’ (Best Friends Lottery). People could buy tickets and had the chance to win a weekend trip. What they didn’t know was that they would stay in the artist’s own personal space, a small apartment in Amsterdam. Van Reijen manipulated the lottery by choosing people she liked instead of letting fate decide. While selling the tickets, she visited people in their homes to find out how hospitable and tidy they were, but also to discover what she had in common with these strangers. They showed her around, gave her a peek in their private rooms and they told her personal stories, which were hidden in these spaces and suddenly appeared again. In the end, Van Reijen confessed it wasn’t a normal lottery and that she had chosen a winner: Annie, who was born on the same date as Van Reijen.