Nieuwsbrief #1: A SPACEX Blog Post by Ryan Hughes
Wolfgang Tillmans, Vote Remain Posters, 2016. Photographed by Ryan Hughes at The Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam in 2022.
I’ve been in The Netherlands for the past few days. Traveling from the Midlands via train, passing through London, Lille, Brussels and Amsterdam before arriving in Den Haag where I will be spending the next few weeks as part of a SPACEX secondment with the University of Amsterdam.
The purpose of the secondment, and of the whole SPACEX programme, is to explore how art, design and architecture can “effect public exchange and opinion formation in urban spaces, and enable more empathetic and inclusive ways of living together”.
With this aim in mind, I have built in an observational, getting-to-know-the-place period into this first phase of my secondment. Understanding the public transport system(s). Exploring the immediate neighbourhood and wider urban spaces. Visiting parks, beaches and markets. Starting to understand how fundamental the bicycle is to Dutch life.
Alongside these (admittedly very enjoyable) introductory activities, I have began meeting colleagues and visiting significant cultural institutions.
I spent an afternoon with Dr Francesco Chiaravalloti, my host for the secondment and Tenured Assistant Professor of Cultural Policy in the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Amsterdam, where we planned activities for the coming weeks and I was able to explore the beautiful, city centre campus, meeting colleagues and gaining insights into their research in art history, memory, museum studies and cultural policy.
Spending time at the Stedelijk Museum was really valuable. Their collection includes a strong selection of modern and contemporary art works alongside temporary exhibitions and interventions around the building.
Somewhat uniquely, their collections also include design objects, prototypes and publications including chairs by Enzo Mari and publications by legendary Amsterdam-based vegetarian, anarchist group Provo (who won a seat on the city council of Amsterdam) that I’ve hoped to see since discovering their work in 2015.
Poignantly, on display at the Stedelijk Museum were also a selection of Wolfgang Tillman’s Vote Remain posters. Seeing these again, in the context of a secondment and project that aims to be “a cross-sectoral and European-wide knowledge exchange” was particularly powerful and reminded me of the importance and urgency of international collaboration and friendship.
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These nieuwsbrieven will be posted frequently during this secondment.
More details on the SPACEX programme can be found here. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Research and Innovation Staff Exchange (RISE).
by Ryan Hughes