Art City Amsterdam

In this first episode of Season 2, we invited Emily Pethick, director of the renowned Rijksakademie. This leader of an international artists' community talks with us about her career, the upcoming Open Studios and her vision on what drives artists today. She takes us through the differences between the London and Amsterdam art world, and their mutual precarities and fair practices. Furthermore, she stresses that networks and intergenerational perspectives are crucial for today's art eco-systems. 

Find out Emily’s favourite places in the city and lesser-known art spaces. Emily shows us around the building and we bump into two current Rijksakademie residents, Ratu R. Saraswati and Annelies Kamen, who are preparing for the upcoming Open Studios. The Open Studios are open to the public on May 14th and 15th, as part of the Amsterdam Art Week, and from May 19th to 22nd. Make sure not to miss out on this yearly peek into the international arts community of Amsterdam.

Art City Amsterdam is particularly proud to host the next generation of global art dealers. Christian Luiten and Curtis Penning started Avant Arte in 2015. Now they are one of the leading art editions businesses worldwide.

In this episode they talk about their unique approach, passion for details, and how they got noticed by Hans Ulrich Obrist and Norman Foster at an early stage. Avant Arte has worked with over 60 acclaimed international artists, and in Obrist’s words, curiosity is their driving force and it has only just begun.

They show us their favourite Omakase restaurants, streetwear stores and which artists to keep an eye on. And of course they are based right here, in Amsterdam.

Listen to the podcast and discover why they are an international leading player and how they put the Amsterdam art scene on the map.

For links to (almost) everything we talk about in this episode, visit www.artcityamsterdam.com

In this episode Robin Chadha gives us insights in the patronage of citizenM and how they have supported artists by incorporating art in hotels in unique ways, but also how they founded the new Museum of Street Art by working together with the driving forces behind the legendary 5Pointz in New York. He talks about his time in Amsterdam and the qualities of the local art scene.

Chadha takes us on a tour through the 9 straatjes and shows us his favourite stores, places to eat, to shop and other hidden gems.

For links to (almost) everything we talk about in this episode, visit www.artcityamsterdam.com

Fariba Derakhshani talks with us about her work as Chief Special Projects at the Prince Claus Fund for Culture and Development. Over the years she has built up and fostered a network of globally acclaimed artists at an early stage in their international career, such as El Anatsui, Zanele Muholi and Ibrahim El-Salahi. In this episode she also gives a sneak peek at the new strategy of the fund, the plans for their 25th anniversary and how they have stayed ahead of the curve.

She takes us through defining moments in her career, her favourite places to eat and stay in Amsterdam, and which artists to keep an eye on. Fariba also teaches us how to combine serious subject matter with a certain glamour and joie de vivre.

For links to (almost) everything we talk about in this episode, visit www.artcityamsterdam.com

Remy Jungerman takes us through defining moments in his career, the ideas for his upcoming solo exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, and when his work was first shown there in 1996. He elaborates on the layered references in his practice, like Winti religion, Surinamese Maroon culture, and De Stijl, but also how the visual language of modernism allowed him to reach a broad audience.

Jungerman leads us through the Amstelpark where he often visits the monument ‘Rozenoord’ by Ram Katzir. Concluding he tells us where he listens to live jazz, which artists to keep an eye on, and his favourite art space in the middle of the city.

For links to (almost) everything we talk about in this episode, visit www.artcityamsterdam.com

What is the evolution of the Stedelijk Museum? Rein Wolfs talks about his first year as director, and how what started as an evolution of the country's foremost contemporary art museum might become a full-blown revolution. He explains why Ulay and Hito Steyerl were the first shows he programmed, the role of the four new curators he has appointed, and which artists are on his wish list for the collection.

In our outdoor segment Wolfs takes us on a walk from the first location of De Appel all the way to the river IJ, through the historical Prinseneiland neighborhood, showing us where Ulay, Marina Abramovic and Paul Thek worked when they lived in Amsterdam. The episode concludes with a list of the galleries and project spaces on his radar.

For links to (almost) everything we talk about in this episode, visit www.artcityamsterdam.com

In our very first episode we interview Nina Folkersma, director of Amsterdam Art. We ask Nina about her curatorial work, her plans for Amsterdam Art Week, off-the-beaten-path art spaces in the city, and a new generation of curators. Along the way we learn about the annual open studios at the Rijksakademie, the National Slavery Monument in the Oosterpark, and the time she was nearly arrested executing a Maurizio Cattelan artwork.

For links to (almost) everything we talk about in this episode, visit www.artcityamsterdam.com

Welcome to Amsterdam! Whether you are planning your first visit, or have lived here for years, Art City Amsterdam gives you a taste of the city's rich and diverse art scene.

In this brief trial episode, Rubiah and Joost test their microphones, and chat about their plans for the podcast. So if you want to know what to expect this season, tune in.