This morning our founder Jeroen Everaert signed a new contract in China with Madame Cheng, owner of the Xian Long Group, to develop three icon buildings in the Sunshine Childhood project. Signed with Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb in Shanghai. Proud to grow into the next phase.
February 13th the Beaver bridge at De Zaag nature reserve was officially opened. The event was planned on January 11th, but was postponed because of the storm raging over our country that day. Circa 100 people attended the opening of the work of art by Observatorium, the Rotterdam artists’ collective. The arrival of the Beaver bridge is the conclusion of the redevelopment of De Zaag as a recreational area. The intention is for more people to come and enjoy this beautiful place, located between Dordrecht and Rotterdam.
The Beaver bridge is the first work of art of RiverArt in this region. In the coming years, RiverArt, in collaboration with Mothership and Observatorium, will realize a dozen iconic works of art on the banks of the river Noord between Rotterdam and Dordrecht. The works of art will connect the region and make it more attractive to visitors, residents and entrepreneurs and at the same time draw attention to the rich history.
For an impression of the construction and installation of this imposing work: click here.
The ‘Make it Happen’-series is expanding! Bart Smeets (Boompjes), Daan Botlek (Schiedamse Vest) and Calvin Sprague (Delftsestraat, Annabel) already proved that they know how to create interactive artworks. Eelco van den Berg is next in line.
On the corner of Bloemkwekerstraat and Nieuwe Binnenweg owl, dear, dove, toucan, sparrow and dog are waiting for you. A small fox with pointed up ears wanders from this colourful world onto the sidewalk. Sitting on its mosaique coat you’ll take the best selfie in town!
March 11th Motherships own Jeroen Everaert signed a contract in Guangzhou with madame Cheng, project developer of Xian Long Real Estate. Mothership revealed the concepts at the same time the Dutch trade mission of Prime Minister Mark Rutte was present in Guangzhou.
In 2019, iconic Dutch edifices with accompanying landmarks will appear in the ambitious recreation park Sunshine Childhood, in the Chinese province of Wulong. The park has an international character. For the many Chinese who do not have the chance to travel around the world, the theme park shows different countries from all over the world. Mothership has been asked to demonstrate the Netherlands thematically and has chosen history (the Golden Age), water management and the Dutch business spirit as leading topics. In the first phase, three concepts developed by Mothership were received enthusiastically. In the phase that follows now, the sketches will be further developed.
“Wherever I lay my hat, that’s my home” has been sung in different covers for decades. Those who wonder where that text actually comes from can, since April 30th, have a look at the façade of the Albeda College at the Sister Hennekenplein at the back of the Central Station. This is where the statement “Where I feel good I’m at home ” shines, as part of the wisdom of Erasmus that spreads out over the city.
The neon text points out that world citizens can be at home anywhere in this age of globalization. Ever so true for a city like Rotterdam, where more than 170 nationalities live together.
“The whole world is my homeland”, Erasmus said on Nieuwe Binnenweg, and on Wilhelminaplein we already learned “Young people are the hope of a country”. And everyone who walks out of the Central Station knows it: “The most important condition for happiness is that you want to be what you are”.
Erasmus has many more brilliant one-liners and if it is up to Mothership the city is further enriched with his wisdom. We need it.
The history of the province of Noord-Brabant is inextricably linked to the Zuiderwaterlinie as a defense work, functioning from the seventeenth century until the end of the First World War. The 165 kilometer long line forms a coherent whole of forts, sconces, fortifications, dikes, locks and floodplains. With the arrival of the airplane the function of the Linie disappeared.
In consultation with the Province of Brabant, Brabants Erfgoed, Bureau Kwant and the Stuurgroep Zuiderwaterlinie, Mothership developed a concept to bring attention to the Zuiderwaterline’s special history both nationally and internationally. The plan will be executed in stages in the coming period. The Stichting Zuiderwaterlinie Events has been established to reach this goal.
The first event that will take place in this context is De Sprong (The Jump). On Saturday June 23d, dozens of parachutists jump out of planes that fly in formation over the entire Zuiderwaterlinie. They land on five different positions across Noord-Brabant, where they are festively welcomed by local administrators and residents. The parachutists carry a symbolic picket pole with which they will mark the line.
At the five locations where the Jump ends, the Zuiderwaterlinie Festival takes place at that moment. A festive cultural program points to the ‘hidden pearl necklace’ that forms the Zuiderwaterlinie.
It turns out we have family in Australia! These ‘creative developers’ organize large art projects and advise government and companies in the field of art. Cultural Capital already has large projects to their name, both in their own country and abroad, such as the United Arab Emirates. They are working hard to realize their ambitions, just like we do. Various projects are described on their website. Have a look: http://culturalcapital.city
April 2018 Mothership and Cultural Capital entered into a partnership to jointly acquire major international projects. At our last meeting in Rotterdam, we extensively discussed the opportunities that we can embrace in the Far East and Australia. We underline their vision on the role of culture in urban development and culture as a ‘binder’ within different communities. We share their enthusiasm!
A lot of Rotterdam inhabitants and visitors do not know what is happening in the Port of Rotterdam. Nevertheless, the Port of Rotterdam is taking the lead when it comes to important developments. Mothership was asked to make one of these vanguards more visible.
Dolphins 83 is a berthing place in the Caland channel at the peninsula of Rozenburg. Soon, one of the biggest LNG carrier will be berthed here. LNG is a clean fuel that will be used in the transition of fossil fuel to newer fuels. For the Port of Rotterdam, we have developed a remarkable object to create more attention for this development.
Our inspiration came into being from the port itself: the people and the materials. Less and less people are visible working at the port, but indispensable are the rowers. They are still the people who accomplish the handwork by berthing of giant carriers. The twined cords they use can be found again in the spiral staircase, which are heading to the viewpoint of the object. A viewpoint of a 22- meter- high recycled bollard that replicates the ones which are still used in the port. The recycling of this bollard stands for the pursued sustainability of the Port of Rotterdam.
At the 16-meters-high terras, an information panel is placed which gives information about the view, LNG, sustainability and other subjects concerning the port activities.
The projects of Make It Happen have not been unnoticed. Around the city of Rotterdam, multiple projects popped up and made the city livelier. Every Make It Happen artwork should have a special revelation, with mayor Aboutaleb as special guest! At the Witte de With street, Schiedamsevest corner, our mayor took a picture with the artwork of Daan Botlek. He made it special by stepping on the step which is especially made to be fully part of this interactive artwork! On social media, the interactive artwork is shared multiple times, and some of them are really hilarious.
Earlier this year, the boat of artist Bart Smeets at the Boompjes street was revealed. The other Make It Happen projects will be reported soon in the upcoming newsletters!
Soon China is getting to know the unique world of Mothership. In September, we have signed a contract with Dan Zhu (of project developer Xian Long Real Estate) to establish divers iconic projects in the province of Wulong. The development will take approximately two years. The landmarks will be part of a holiday park which will have an international character. This theme park will be the ultimate solution for many Chinese people who do not have the chance to travel the world, as this theme park will represent varies countries from all over the world. Mothership is asked to develop the Dutch theme: its history, its water management and its Dutch business instinct. These subjects will be leading subjects. In cooperation with national and international artists we are going to realise this project. We will keep you in touch!
Mothership developed in consultation with the Province of Brabant, Brabants Erfgoed, Bureau Kwant and Stuurgroep Zuiderwaterlinie a concept to make the exceptional story of the Zuiderwaterlinie known, nationally as well internationally. This plan will be executed in several phases.
The history of the Zuiderwaterlinie is of great importance for the landscape of Brabant. During war times, the waterline was used to keep out the enemy by flooding the land. With a length of 160 km, 14 fortified cities and 13 fortresses, it is the biggest area in the Netherlands that used this technique. By connecting the fortified cities and fortresses, it was easy to stop the threat from the South.
This story of Brabant plays a significant role in the homeland of The Netherlands.
That is why it should be celebrated! 840.000 Inhabitants who live in the line area in Brabant will be surprised with a festival in their backyard. The project exists of different parts and will be executed in the upcoming months.
“ The Zuiderwaterlinie must become the billboard of Brabant during the first European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018’’
On September 16, 2017, the artwork ‘Sky Mirror’ was revealed, created by Anish Kapoor for the 25th anniversary of Museum De Pont in Tilburg. Museum De Pont is named after Jan de Pont, a lawyer and businessman from Tilburg. With his heirloom, a foundation was founded to support contemporary visual art. The museum, which was opened in 1992, has been built in a former wool factory. A special and light building where visual art is fully appreciated.
Sky Mirror has been placed in the public area in front of the museum. The beautiful object has been formally unveiled by Princess Beatrix, in the presence of Anish Kapoor and Hendrik Driessen, director of De Pont.
In cooperation with and commissioned by Brabant C and Gemeente Tilburg, Mothership has been given a significant role to put Tilburg on the map with this fascinating artwork. In the upcoming years, this will be done in cooperation with City Marketing Tilburg. Mothership , in will partner up with Coebergh Communicatie and PR, such as we did at previous successful projects.
Do you want to discover more about Sky Mirror? In an episode of Kunstuur, the artist and his work will be enlightened. Watch here. Click here to read the article of Mestmag about the accomplishment of the artwork.
Our new website has been launched! The fresh design, created by our Jasper in cooperation with Leonieke Borrie of Write Here To Stay, appeals to a new level we have reached. Mothership is servicing more national and international clients and by means of our website we could inform them even better. Let us take you into our universe!
Mothership is spreading her wings. Having strived for years to add art in public spaces as an added value, we started to work more strategic for the last two years. We fulfill the leading role for establishing communication and attract people to certain locations. More and more often we are consulted to realize touristic attractions and that really pays off. The power of art is communication!
Collaborations with policy makers, reputable architects and designers. That is what comes first at Mothership. And it works. In this newsletter there are again several projects that gained a lot of media attention.
In the next newsletter we will present several prestigious projects on which we are working at this moment.
For years The National Committee for 4 and 5 May is trying to involve youth in the commemoration for war victims and have them think about this in a different way. The traditional way of commemoration does not connect with their perception. For this reason The Luxor Theater, the Hofpleintheater and Mothership joined hands to intrigue this focus group and to create media attention in order to make it a part of the annual memorial in different parts of the Netherlands.
The first National Youth Memorial took place in the heart of Rotterdam on Thursday May 4th. The intention of this commemoration was to draw extra attention to Remembrance Day for youth. On Liberation Day (May 5th) the youth is present on the dozens of festivals throughout the Netherlands but most of them are not paying any attention to Remembrance Day.
During the Remembrance Day concert at the Laurens Church an enormous artwork was created by tens of children just outside this same church. Over 7,000 colored candles formed a symbolic image, designed by the artist Iwan Smith. While creating the artwork several passers-by, children and peers wanted to contribute in this special way of remembrance.
Other parts of this special night were the Smartphone Orchestra, in which youth could join a music composition with their smartphone, and a theater play by the Youth Theater Hofplein.
Given the positive response of the public and the National media attention on television, the radio, the internet and the newspapers we can conclude that our goal has been achieved. Because it is important to convey freedom!
This September Museum De Pont in Tilburg exists for 25 years. To celebrate this De Pont will receive an artwork of the world-famous artist Anish Kapoor in front of the museum. Museum De Pont has 16 artworks by Kapoor in their collection and organized two solo exhibitions of the artist. Mothership is going to collaborate with the Museum, Brabant-C, the municipality of Tilburg and Tilburg City Marketing to bring the artwork of Kapoor to the attention of the world press. The goal is to create a similar attraction on national and international level as created with former artworks of Anish Kapoor in Chicago (Illinois), New York City and Versailles (France).
The most famous piece of art of Anish Kapoor is beyond any doubt Cloud Gate in the City Centre of Chicago, Illinois. According to the Chicago Tribune, The Cloud Gate is the second largest touristic attraction of the city, trailing only Navy Pier. The first six months after Millennium Park opened over 2 million people visited. Cloud Gate is clearly a significant added value for the City of Chicago.
What the 19 feet tall artwork will look like is not yet announced, but referring to former works of Kapoor it probably will be something very special.
The City of Tilburg is becoming the first Dutch city with an artwork of Anish Kapoor in the public space.
On the 16th of September the sculpture will be revealed.
The City of Rotterdam partied, Mothership partied, ‘De Rotterdam’ partied.
With a victory on Heracles Almelo Feyenoord could become the Dutch champions after 18 years, on Sunday May 14th. And so it did. Dirk Kuyt personally guaranteed a huge party in Rotterdam.
Commissioned by L’Etoile Properties we provided huge projections on the most iconic building next to the Maas, De Rotterdam, straight after the last whistle. The projections can be admired every day from 9pm to 12pm, until Sunday May 21st.
The craving for the championship was huge. The release of joy even bigger. The 6,000 visitors of the Biergarten were treated on a warm celebration and a wet cooling off.
Feyenoord congratulations!
One hundred years ago the then biggest theater of the Netherlands was built at the Kruiskade in Rotterdam. So we celebrate the 100th birthday of the Luxor Theater! The Luxor asked us to come up with a concept for the celebration of this special jubilee. The result: the artist parade.
On April 19th the kickoff of this artist parade took place in the New Luxor Theater. The parade consist of live-sized cutouts of artist who have been important in the history of the Luxor Theater. Throughout the city center of Rotterdam full sized statues of national and international artist such as Wim Kan, Andre van Duijn, Waardenberg en De Jong, en Edith Piaf will appear. People will be able to take pictures with their heroes. This way one hundred years of theater history will be visible for every inhabitant and visitor of Rotterdam. Every set consists of a flagpole, a footstool and the cutout of an artist. The name of the Partners of the Luxor will be displayed on the stool.
Companies and individuals can congratulate the Luxor theater by adopting a set. During the kickoff there were several companies who were very interested in adopting a set. Spido, De Rabobank and Het Havenbedrijf Rotterdam were the first companies to adopt a set right after the kickoff.
On the route from the old Luxor Theater to the new Luxor Theater a total of one hundred icons will be displayed on the so called ‘red carpet’ route.
In between the cities Rotterdam and Dordrecht lays national park De Zaag. In 2016 De Zaag is redeveloped on behalf of Rijkswaterstaat to make the area more attractive to people and animals. One of the new elements is the realization of three watchtowers. Last month we received the final agreement for the construction of the so called Beverbrug (Beaver bridge), one of the first projects by River Art. The construction, designed by artist group Observatorium, has the quality to attract a new group of tourists. The purpose of the bridge is to generate even more attraction for visitors. The Beverbrug amplifies the identity and attractiveness of the area.
This area is an absolute hotspot for famous maritime companies. However of the 9 million people that visit the area every year there are just a few who know the story of this exceptional region. To focus on this history we have partnered up with RiverArt to place different iconic artworks at the waterside of the river Noord.
With the creation of this watchtower De Zaag will get a world class attraction.
Around the same time last year we celebrated our ten year anniversary with the book ‘Mothership and Beyond’. A visionary title because this year we have actually gone beyond…
Just over the Dutch border in Rheine Germany, Herman Klaas Projektentwicklung has developed a brand new shopping-mall, the EmsGalery. Thomas Schaper Design is responsible for the mall’s beautiful interior using natural colours and materials and invited Mothership to join the design team. Motherships’ knowledge and experience was needed to add value to the building and shopping experience and attract extra visitors. Just like the concept Mothership designed for the artwork ‘Horn of Plenty’ in the Markthal in Rotterdam, the artwork should draw extra visitors to the EmsGalery and extend their stay inside the mall leading to increasing turnovers for the shop owners.
Mothership developed a concept for the 5000 square feet ceilings of the mall and invited three artists to design an artwork. Together with the developers and designers of the EmsGalery Mothership chose the design of Dutch artist Margriet Smulders for the three ceilings of the Ems Galery.
Margriet Smulders created the tryptich ‘Ins Blaue hineintraumen’, her largest work to date. Three big panels with photographic still lifes portray the river Ems that flows next to the newly built EmsGallery. The three panels visualize the source ‘Quelle’, the river flow ‘Strömung’ and the river mouth ‘Mündung’. The artwork not only shows the beginning and ending of the river Ems but also symbolizes the human lifecycle form birth to death. Just like in earlier work of Margriet, nature (flowers, water and animals) plays an important role in this artwork. She has also incorporated textiles, referring to the rich textile history of Rheine.
TS Visuals was responsible for the high quality printing of the artwork. Just like they did with the ceiling of the Marthal in Rotterdam, they were again more than able to produce prints in rich colours with a perfect finish and a beautiful depth.
The opening of the EmsGalery received a lot of press coverage in Germany and the Netherlands and showcases the international abilities of Mothership.
Click here to read the artikel in the Münsterländische Volkszeitung.
The Casino in Enschede is situated in a very enclosed architectural building that is not exactly welcoming to visitors. The Casino also shares an underground parking garage with the Medisch Spectrum Twente hospital where they also have a hard time getting noticed by visitors. The Casino asked Mothership to help them stand out and make visitors feel more welcome to spend some quality time in their exciting casino. An artwork that is not only welcoming but also makes guests feel happy and excited.
Calvin Sprague has designed a series of beautiful graphic designs to accentuate the unique features the casino has to offer; meeting people, card games, excitement, food and drinks, live music combined with local symbolism. The 110 meter glass wall on the second floor of the underground parking garage and the entrance of the Casino will be transformed into a colourful procession of classy retro style characters and symbols.
Thanks to the efforts of Erna aan de Stegge of KunsWerkt Mothership was able to realise this project. For more information about Erna aan de Stegge and Kunstwerkt please click here.
The opening of our Bobbing Forest in March of 2016 in Rotterdam was a huge international success thanks to our public relations partner Coebergh and our partner in Rotterdam: Kim Heinen. Kim was able to mobilize journalists worldwide to report about the Bobbing Forest in the Rijnhaven of Rotterdam. 20 International journalist attended the opening and reported about the ‘Bobbing Forest’ in countries as Korea, Canada, Italy and Romania. The ‘Forest’ was everywhere; ‘Foret Flottante’, ‘Foresta Galleggiante’, ‘Padure Plutitoare’. Thanks to Kim Heinen the Bobbing Forest went viral and could be enjoyed worldwide. Mothership founder Jeroen Everaert was interviewed about the ‘Bobbing Forest’ by Chinese television, Tech Insider posted a film about the Bobbing Forest on their Facebook page that was viewed by 60.000 people. We would like to thank Kim for her enthusiasm and dedication. You can read more here about Kim’s love for Rotterdam, the Markthal, the Bobbing Forest and other highlights.
RiverArts’ main ambition is creating an artistic trail of at least 25 iconic artworks on the shores of the rivers between Rotterdam and Dordrecht. The Netherlands is known worldwide for its close relationship with water. The country is mainly situated below sea level and two thirds of the Netherlands is vulnerable to flooding. The Dutch have spent a large part of the last century developing a complicated system of drainage ditches, canals and pumping stations to keep the low-lying parts dry. The area between Dordrecht and Rotterdam is considered the birthplace of flood control and water management and from it many industries evolved like dam and dike building companies, dredgers, shipyards and even aircraft developers. RiverArt wants to draw attention to this area by using art as a way to communicate about its history. A collection of artworks by famous (inter)national artists will allow visitors to discover the Rotterdam and Dordrecht area in a whole new way. In the coming ten years at least 25 artworks will be realised on the riverbanks by local companies and will draw visitors to experience the history, beauty, nature and vulnerability of this extraordinary part of the Netherlands. The trail of artworks will not only connect Rotterdam and Dordrecht it will also invite tourists to explore the area on foot, by bike, by car or by boat boosting the local economy.
RiverArt invites artists from around the world to submit their designs for artworks that would fit within the boundaries of this strategic RiverArt concept.
The Rotterdam based artist consortium ‘Observatorium’ (Rotterdam), designed the first RiverArt artwork and Dutch artist Yasser Ballemans (Amsterdam) is currently working on the design of the second artwork. You can read more about the RiverArt project in our next newsletter.
Mothership and Dutch media artist Geert Mul have been working together on projects for the last couple of years. Because we love his work we would like to bring his exhibition, ‘Geert Mul – Matchmaker- 25 years of Media Art, in the Stedelijk Museum Schiedam to your attention.
For more information about the exhibition please click here.
Interview with Jeroen Everaert in Link magazine Berlin
Margriet Smulders Artwork in Rheine (Germany) in the media:
Hemelplafond Margriet Smulders, Architectuur.nl
De Markthal in Rheine is net zo bijzonder als die in Rotterdam, Tubantia
The Dutch Minister of Infrastructure and the Environment, Melanie Schultz van Haegen, received the first RiverArt brochure on the 10th of May in Dordrecht. The Minister visited Dordrecht together with her fellow foreign Ministers to talk about water safety and climate adaptation. A perfect moment to draw the Ministers attention towards the RiverArt-project.
Together with national and international artists, Mothership, Observatorium and RiverArt will be creating around 20 iconic artworks in the coming 10 years. The artworks will be realized on the banks of the river ‘Noord’ between Rotterdam and Dordrecht. Alongside this river the Dutch fight against water started and created a huge economic impulse for the region. The artworks will not only bind the region and make it a nicer place to live, work and recreate, it will also call attention to its rich history.
If you are interested to find out more about these special artworks, in the line of Dobberend Bos, please hold a close eye on our social media and the newsletters.
The hip Rotterdam based design hotel Stroom asked Mothership to develop a new corporate identity, from menu to entrance; everything had to change. The hotel was built inside an old electric power plant in Delfshaven, so it has some beautiful characteristic features. Still there was something missing and that’s why the owner asked Mothership for help. Jeroen Everaert, Mothership’s creative director, asked Thijs Kelder from Studio Ruwedata for the designs and this choice was definitely appreciated by Stroom. Robust designs with electricity playing a central role will transform the look and feel of this hotel over the coming months.
Our concepts are appreciated far beyond the Dutch borders. Mothership and artist Margriet Smulders have been working together to create 3 mind blowing ceilings for a new 17.000 square meters shopping mall in Germany, the Ems Galerie in Rheine. The Ems gallery is a project of Hermann Klaas Entwicklung. Mothership was invited by interior architects Thomas Schaper en Marielle Wichards to help make the gallery a show stopper.
Curious about the ceilings? We will keep you posted through social media and the newsletter.
As of today Mothership’s Jeroen Everaert en Vincent van Zon can be hired as motivational and inspirational public speakers. Topics vary from art in public spaces, the power of art in communication, entrepreneurship and the explanation of different business cases. Everaert and van Zon decided to team up with Jan Dirk Stouten following a couple of successful presentations they did together.
For more information please visit www.jandirkstouten.nl
In 2015 Jeroen Everaert, Mothership’s creative director, acted as a guest curator for the Kunsthal’s innovative ‘Do it’ Project. This exhibition, by internationally renowned curator Hans Ulrich Obrist, consists of do it instructions by world famous artists. Through public participation artworks were created by following the artists instructions.
Jeroen Everaert selected the artwork ‘So Me Thing’. An installation created by Jaron Karvinius and Daan Mens of Studio Spass (creative direction for identities, campaigns and installations). ‘So Me Thing challenged the public to influence the work by ripping and tearing of pieces of pieces if material. The ‘So Me Thing’ has won the Bronze European Designers Award 2016.
Congratulations Studio Spass!!!
Friday April 15th the first mosaic stones of the immense glass mosaic ceiling were placed in the ceiling of the artwork ‘Amsterdam Oersoep’ in the Beurspassage of Amsterdam. City Council member of Art and Culture, Kajsa Ollongren, and Chairman of the Amsterdam City Centre District, Boudewijn Oranje, stepped onto a lifting ramp. Under the watchful eye of the press, artists Hans van Bentem, Arno Coenen and Iris Roskam, property developer Bouwinvest and artproducer Mothership they had the honour of placing the first stone. Actually, the first stone consists of a mat that carries 225 little mosaic stones. The total amount of mosaic stones used in the ceiling will be one million one hundred fifty thousand in total. Ollongren raised her glass in toast of the artwork: ‘a valuable addition to the city and to the center district.’ An ambition that we’ve been working on behind the scenes for a while is finally taking shape in this passage.
More information about the Artwork ‘Amsterdam Oersoep’ can be found in the this article in the Dutch newspaper Parool with BouwInvest and Mothership.
Want to know more background information about Amsterdam Oersoep? Please follow us on Facebook or on the website beurspassageamsterdam.nl.
Mothership not only floats trees…. As of the 29th of April, 8 photographs have been launched into Rotterdam’s Westersingel. The photographs may look familiar as they have already been exhibited in different public places across Rotterdam during ‘De Kracht van Rotterdam’ project, which translates to ‘The Power of Rotterdam’.
12 Photographers were given 24 hours to showcase their city. The winning results were exposed throughout Rotterdam and showed the people of Rotterdam a new side of their city. Because Rotterdam is celebrating 75 years of reconstruction (rotterdamviertdestad.nl) the winning photographs are now floating in the Westersingel and are accompanied by two stories written by local teenagers who participated in the project ‘Verhalen bij beelden’ which tries to stimulate youth in making their own stories instead of blindly following the visual culture. The photographs and the stories can be enjoyed in the water of the Westersingel until the end of July.
This project was commissioned by De Kracht van Rotterdam and produced by Mothership. For more information please check out www.dekrachtvanrotterdam.nl.
It’s slowly getting warmer which means the festival season is slowly getting started. We’re happy to be represented on that front: Rotterdam club-owner Aziz Yagoub asked Mothership to become a partner in his Expedition Festival. This dancefestival features great artists of different genres, including Róisín Murphy as this year’s headliner. This musical hotspot will take place in the Euromastpark on July 16th. If you want to know more about the specifics of this partnership, keep a close eye on our Facebook page.
On Wednesday, March 16, ‘The Bobbing Forest’ was officially launched and we are really really proud. On National Tree’Splashing’Day twenty Dutch Elms were lowered into the water of the Rijnhaven in Rotterdam.
The sun going down and the choir of the Rotterdam highschool for Music and Dance singing made the moment an unforgettable happening and was enjoyed by the many invited guests and (inter)national press.
We can’t wait to see the elms in full leaf so everybody can enjoy this new piece of green in the harbor of Rotterdam.
If you want to learn more about the Forest, please go to www.bobbingforest.com to watch videos, look at pictures and read press coverage.
March turned out to be a very productive month because we produced another beautiful piece of art. Since March 8th visitors can enjoy a piece of art in The Fashion Gallery in Departure Hall 2 at Schiphol Airport which is made by motion designer Eline Wieland
A pillar in the middle of this multi-branded high fashion store, covered with flexible LED-screens, also covers part of the adjoining ceiling. Images of Dutch skies, blossoming cherry trees, the world’s highest towers, fluttering hummingbirds and imposing mountain ranges take visitors on a trip around the world.
Do visit this special eye-catching head-turner during your next intercontinental flight; you won’t regret it!
The interview with art director Jeroen Everaert and motion designer Eline Wieland will give you more insight into this very special project.
Click here for the interview & video.
The past few weeks have been extremely busy for the Zoetermeer based Italian family-run business Zuliani. Hundreds of thousands of mosaic stones have been hand-placed by numbers in special mats. These mats will be used to assemble the 450m2 mosaic ceiling of the work of art ‘Amsterdam Oersoep’ in the Beurspassage in Amsterdam. Jeroen Everaert of Mothership has kept a close eye on the progress of the mosaic. The first stone of the mosaic ceiling of this biggest work of Art in the Netherlands is soon to be hand-placed. Apart from the mosaic ceiling the terazzo floors of ‘Amsterdam Oersoep’ are also made by these Italian masters.
We have a new trainee!
Joni Cousins, student at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam, shall busy herself from February until June with marketing and communication.
Joni is in her last year of Art & Culture Studies and also busy writing her thesis.
Her love of films and music make her a frequent volunteer at festivals. Welcome aboard Joni!
Everybody at GKB in Barendrecht is working around the clock on the buoys so they can deliver a great job at bobbing the forest. You can admire this new piece of green in Rotterdam from March 16th in the Rijnhaven in Rotterdam.
Interesting fact: until the trees hit the water, they have already absorbed a smashing 1321 kg of CO². And it only gets better; in the first year they will compensate about 1000 km of CO² emission from car driving. That’s right, art and sustainability go hand in hand!
The Bobbing Forest does not stay unnoticed and it’s no wonder. Not only does it add more oxygen to the city, offers more housing to our birdy-friends and looks fantastic all-round, it also gives new life to some old sea buoys. We hope we can inspire people to think more consciously about their environment. This is why Leev, producer of healthy and organic food, has nominated the Bobbing Forest to win a nice amount of money. Leev distributes no less than 75.000 euros between four nominees when enough people share their good deed on their website www.goedvooreenander.nu. The four nominees are the Bobbing Forest, the Leev Farm, Timon (organization that helps troubled youth) and Mijn Kind Gezond (My Child Healthy). So thumbs up to Leev for this initiative! We will keep you informed when the voting starts.
If you think the sky is the limit, you may be surprised during you next visit to Schiphol! Images by ‘motion designer’ Eline Wieland on a big column can take you on a trip around the world. She is inspired by the most beautiful clouds, which of course are found in our own Dutch skies. We won’t spill too much though! The project is commissioned by Lagardère, a company that owns mostly high-end fashion stores at Schiphol. Stay tuned for more information on this eye catcher!
In case you haven’t heard yet, Amsterdam, next to Rotterdam is also getting a showpiece by Mothership. It will probably steal all the attention from Dam Square, Van Gogh museum and other tourist attractions but for a good reason. A beautiful mosaic of the Italian men at Zuliani will visualize the Amsterdam canals and it’s many details. From September on you will be amazed by a beautiful passageway by our team of artists: Arno Coenen, Iris Roskam and Hans van Bentem. The artwork is part of the renovation of the Beurspassage, that connects the Damrak with the Nieuwendijk.
Maybe you have already seen it on Facebook or Twitter: On March 16th the complete Bobbing Forest will be floating in the Rijnhaven, twenty trees in total! The first ever forest on water in the world is the youngest member in the family of iconic landmarks in Rotterdam.
March 16th is National Tree Day; the perfect moment to launch the forest. The launching will be done, under the watchful eye of national and international press, by our special guest….
The Floating Forest broaches current problems like climate change and quality of life in cities. But of course above all it is a very special piece or art that you can enjoy sitting on the benches on the quay, next to the 21st tree.
On the 13th of January the Bouwcampus in Delft was officially opened. This meeting ground for innovators in the field of living, housing and working invited Mothership’s Jeroen Everaert to talk about the power of art in the public domain. Minister Schultz Verhaegen of Infrastructure and Enviroment and minister Blok of Housing were among the invited.
These past few months several quotations of Erasmus, a famous Rotterdam born Humanist, emerged all over the city: at the entrance of the subway at Rotterdam Centraal, the central railway station, on the wall of Hotel Emma at the Nieuwe Binnenweg and on the airshafts of the subway on Weena.
Some of these so-called Adagia by our famous towny are over 500 years old, but surprisingly up-to-date. Marcel Potters shared this view and wrote about it in the RD/AD on the 16th of January.
The next months you will be surprised by more of his inspiring quotations in public space.
Our enthusiastic Semih finished his internship at Mothership and has left us. We will miss him and his brilliant brainstorms!
In the meantime new blood arrived: project manager Nathalie Wellstood and intern Thomas Bal.
Nathalie started her career as a reporter/director for national television but after ten years decided to change to the cultural sector. She has since worked as a producer for the International Film Festival Rotterdam and the Urban Culture Stage in Rotterdam. She also volunteers for the musicfestival Werfpop in Leiden. In her free time you can find her in a concerthall or (movie)theater. Together with the Mothership team she hopes to make the world a more beautiful place. We couldn’t agree with her more.
Thomas is in his last year of studying Small Business & Retail Management at the Higher Economic School in Rotterdam. His energy and enthusiasm wil certainly help him graduate. He allready feels really at home in the Mothership team. If he isn’t busy playing hockey or kitesurfing you will probably find him at his new girlfriend.
In 2012 Mothership was asked to produce an art piece for the Tiendplein in Rotterdam. Arno Coenen and Iris Roskam were the perfect fit for this assignment. The redevelopment of the public space at Tiendplein was completed on December 12 by turning on the light of the beautiful art piece. Three long years, from concept to realization, end with this ‘finishing touch’. On social media the art has been praised extensively.
‘010 THE WORLD IS YOURS’, sings the steal line drawing of the globe that embellishes the pinnacle of the small pavilion. And rightly so: she looks down on a new meeting place with a bright future. During the day a transparant image that symbolizes the international nature of 010; at night a festive signpost for anyone looking for a fun place at Tiendplein and Kruiskade…the world laid out for you, the stars above you….
October 27 several banners with aphorisms by our famous compatriot Erasmus were revealed at the Boompjes. This was the first step of the concept Erasmus Adagia, that will slowly take over the city.
Menawhile several sayings by the big thinker that was born in Rotterdam enrich the city. At the short side of Hotel Emma at the Nieuwe Binnenweg you can read “The whole world is my homeland”, entering the tube at Central Station you are told that “Space seperates bodies, not minds”, leaving the subway at the Wilhelminaplein you are shown “Young people are a country’s hope” and the air ducts at the Central Station read “Let everyone honor his own beliefs without insulting those of others”.
Since December 9 you find the latest on the air ducts at the Kruisplein: “The most important condition for happiness is wanting to be what you are”. A saying with eternal value… All phrases are in the handwriting of designer Tom Bontan of Bijdevleet.
Mothership trusts the residents of Rotterdam to enter 2016 with all this wisdom in their hearts.
Mothership did it again: we produced the winning pictures of De Kracht van Rotterdam (The Power of Rotterdam). TPOR is a photo exhibition and competition – an initiative of Anne Bloemendaal – that offers the city, its residents and photographers a platform that shows everyone in Rotterdam what the city looks like, what it is and what it could be. Young photographers living in Rotterdam capture the power of the city and its residents in various neighborhoods during 24 hours. The twelve winning photos are shown in public space totally different then where they were taken. The result is that residents of the city are shown to each other, and the image of the city becomes more humane.
The twelve huge photos that are to be found at eleven different locations were installed during the first week of December. On December 4 the awards ceremony took place at Motherships neighbor Annabel. The exciting winning photo by Lana Mesic was revealed at the backside of the Schieblock.
We at Mothership are looking forward to the new year! There will be time to grow, sputtering, splashing and crackling.
We wish everyone a lot of inspiration, zest for life, fun and the wisdom of our friend Erasmus…
Mothership celebrated its 10th anniversary with relations, friends and acquaintances. It was a great party!
During the first part of the evening Jan Dirk Stouten spoke with Motherships founder / artistic managing partner Jeroen Everaert and business and managing partner Vincent van Zon. They looked back on beautiful artworks and fruitful collaborations, as well as forward to new projects. Mothership is confident about the future, with renewal and innovation as drivers. And as always the starting point is of course Jeroen’s mission: bring art to the people, wherever it touches people and where it can enrich the city with positive experience.
They also presented our new book: “MOTHERSHIP AND BEYOND”. The stack of books dwindled as the evening wore on …
After the talks the dance floor started bursting at the seams. A beautiful beginning of a new era…
November 5th, the day of our 10 year anniversary, we heard that CityLab010 will support “the Bobbing Forest” that Mothership is working on. The best birthday gift ever!
Mothership grasps this opportunity to go green for the city with both hands. “The Bobbing Forest” is an innovative project by Mothership, the realisation of a concept by artist Jorge Bakker. The work is about the way urban residents deal with nature and how nature works on city dwellers.
After a long time of experimentation and testing finally in 2016 twenty elms in shackles will be lowered in the water. The Rijnhaven will never be the same …
On Tuesday, November 24th aldermen Joost Eerdmans (Rotterdam) and Josien van Cappelle (Capelle aan den IJssel) presented the beautiful work of art “Somewhere Nice” by Bruce Tsai. The underpass, for cyclists, pedestrians and the electric shuttle, that connects the Kralingse Zoom with the district Fascinatio for years was perceived as an unpleasant location. With the fresh mural and new lighting starts a new era for the tunnel and its users; from a place to avoid to a fun place to drive through.
The young artist Margriet Breevoort made the artwork “Twisted Fairy Tales” for Community center Kanaleneiland: fairy tale characters with a twist! On November 11th , the work was presented in front of of a large audience.
The artwork consists of fairy tale characters that look less lovely than you would expect. Pinocchio, Little Red Riding Hood , frog , rabbit and Nils Holgersson are cast in bronze.
“Twisted Fairy Tales” is the first work of art in the public space of Margriet Breevoort.
A lot of work has been done at Tiendplein to create a better atmosphere. The plaza has been redesigned and a bright future as a new lively meeting point with terraces will follow.
In 2012, the West-Kruiskade Alliance commissioned the team of Mothership for an artwork in the public space that would emphasize the special character of the square. In that same year on request of Mothership, Arno Coenen and Iris Roskam made the design for the artwork. Well before the two world bolls in front of the Central Station…
From mid-November the special artwork by Arno Coenen en Iris Roskam will be placed on the historical and valuable control house on the renewed Tienplein.
Above the tower a world boll made out of steel lines will float on which the text ‘010 the world is yours’ is integrated. The lines come together into a galaxy that becomes even more visible at night by the illumination of the globe. Tiendplein: sit on a terrace, the world at your feet, the stars above your head…
On October 27th, the official unveiling of a series of banners with sayings of Erasmus took place at the Flag Parade at the Boompjes in Rotterdam. On the occasion of the birthday of our famous townsman on October 28th, the municipality of Rotterdam asked Mothership to give the sayings of the great philosopher more visibility.
Since the beginning of October, several exceptional and surprisingly timeless statements can be seen at several locations. Next to the banners on the Flag Parade, the ‘Erasmus Quotes’ can be found on the side façade of Hotel Emma on the Eendrachtsplein, at the metro station Wilhelminaplein, the air shaft at Kruisplein and at the metro entrance in Central Station. All the texts are designed by Tim Bontan of the design agency Bijdevleet.
The unveiling of the banners is the first phase of this project. In April and October 2016, a number of new quotes will follow at various locations in the city.
At Kralingse Zoom, under the A16, starts an underpass which connects Rotterdam and Capelle aan den IJssel for pedestrians, cyclists and an unmanned full electric shuttle bus. The tunnel is experienced as unsafe and unpleasant.
The project is commissioned by the municipality of Rotterdam and is in collaboration with Capelle aan den IJssel. It is Mothership’s job to give the underpass a more pleasant atmosphere. Artist Bruce Tasai Meu Chong is making a mural in which he integrated at both ends of the wall typical features of the municipality of Rotterdam and Capelle aan den IJssel. In the middle of the mural you can see elements that Bruce derived from a workshop he held with school children from the district Fascinatio in Capelle.
Due to the colourful wall image and the new lighting, the tunnel becomes safer and more enjoyable. As from the end of November it is possible to view the mural in its full glory. The best way to experience the mural is from the shuttle bus, which runs between metro station Kralingse Zoom and the industrial terrain Rivium.
You probably already knew: Mothership is celebrating in 2015 its tenth anniversary. We will celebrate this by presenting a new book with all the projects we have realised in these ten years. It has become a beautiful book of which we are very proud. The book will be presented on the 5th of November in Annabel, primary to our anniversary party. If you want to join our birthday party you are welcome as from 7 PM at music venue Annabel, Schiestraat 20, Rotterdam. Our party is until 11 PM, afterwards Annabel will take it over. Please let us know by e-mail if you are coming: semih@enterthemothership.com.
Since October 1st, our team is reinforced with a fresh project manager: Catharina Kousbroek. She got off to a flying start with a number of ongoing and new projects. Catharina worked for Francis Boeske Projects in Amsterdam and has been part of the establishment of the art fair Amsterdam Drawing, where she was involved from 2012 until and including 2014. Furthermore in 2015 she worked for Amsterdam Art Fair.
The counter in Venice was showing 41 Human light circles. Along with many enthusiastic Italians these circles were made under the guidance of artist Patrick Kruithof and Jeroen Everaert. The beautiful light spectacle was picked up very well by the media. The local newspapers showed beautiful pictures of the art project.
The Human Light circles were performed during two days on the occasion of the Film Festival in Venice on the Lido di Venezia. Thanks to the Dutch Consulate in Rome, who made this possible.
Earlier the Human Light Circles were made on Terschelling and the Maasvlakte 2.
There can be parked in style! The parking Scheveningen Bad is ready. A great result that colleague Jip managed together with artists Studio Ruwedata and Ephameron.
The whole entrance of the car park is renewed. Commissioned by the City of The Hague for BKS Parking a whole new entrance is designed in which three themes are exposed: Royal city, the beach town and city of peace and justice. With stickers and murals these themes are represented. Mothership has produced and supervised the project.
We do! 21 meters wide and three meters high.
Since last week one of the buildings on the Gelderseplein in Rotterdam is stucked with a beautiful panorama of the port of Rotterdam. The picture is stucked so well, it almost looks for real.
Commissioned by the City of Rotterdam colleague Jip managed this project. Thanks to Marvin Smart and Eric Bakker Photography
Are you visiting the Markthal Rotterdam any time soon, just cross over the Blaak to admire the panorama.
Starting this month, no fewer than three new employees joined the Mothership team. May we introduce: Maartje Berendsen, Stefanie Hofmeester and Semih Yurur.
Maartje has extensive experience in the art world and the port of Rotterdam. This experience will be very useable as an advisor for various projects of Mothership. Stefanie has a corporate love for project and account management. She will be responsible for business operations and also lead several projects within Mothership. Finally, there is also male enhancement: Semih. He will start as an intern researching the most innovative tactics to connect international projects to Mothership.
Good luck you all!
We are live! In the recent months colleagues Jasper en Daniëlle worked extremely hard on a new website for Mothership. The new website is clearer and easier accessible. There is much more space for beautiful images of all artworks, as a beautiful image for an art producer is still our showpiece.
See for yourself at: www.enterthemothership.com
A special moment at ‘De Ring van Putten’ school last Tuesday: the artwork by Arno & Iris on the big wall in the main hall of the secondary school in Spijkenisse was unveiled.
It’s a design of 6 x 14 m that represents the journey that students make from first form until their graduation and beyond. The design contains different characteristic elements that are typical for a secondary school. Arno & Iris have focussed in the design on the materials and knowledge that are required to cover this path. When you take a closer look you can see compasses, test tubes, set squares and pyramids incorporated in an amazing ensemble.
Mothership acted as producer, in co-operation with Esbi.
An overwhelming artwork at school is a great way to entice the students of De Ring van Putten to visit the museum more often.
Hopefully we’ll have another summer day this autumn, because by the end of September the entrance of the parking garage Scheveningen Bad will be revamped. It’s certainly nice to take a look at Motherships’ latest project before you hit the beach.
Commissioned by the municipality of The Hague for BKS Parking, Studio Ruwedata and Ephameron designed a whole new entrance incorporating three themes: Royal city, city at the beach and city of peace and law. These themes are represented using stickers and multiple wall paintings. Mothership leads and produces the project.
This is one of the designs that will make the entrance more attractive. Pictures of the final artwork will follow!
We proudly present you the first Mothership video about our most recent project with Rijkswaterstaat and Mwah Tekstuele Verwenners. A giant art project that was broadcast in more than 190 countries.
We enjoyed making the video together with Additors and we are very happy with the result.
Keep an eye on our Vimeo channel, our Facebook page and our website for the next video in which we’ll show you the first pictures of the Beurs passage at the Damrak in Amsterdam. The next big art project after the Markthal. Starring Arno Coenen, Iris Roskam and Hans van Bentem.
Water you thinking?
To us it’s the most beautiful city dressing of Rotterdam: the flag parade for Rotterdam Unlimited. After a succesful edition in 2014, it was placed in the city centre again this year.
The flag parade is an art project by Emma van Beek in cooperation with Natasa Heydra. What stands out are the cheerful colors of the flags. When you take a closer look, you’ll notice that the flags are actually glitched pictures of Rotterdam.
It’s a pity the organisation had to cancel the saturday of Rotterdam Unlimited due to the bad weather. That must have been a difficult decision. We feel sorry for Guus, Claudia and the Ducos team.
Hopefully in 2016 it will be a very sunny weekend!
Arno & Iris hadn’t expected it to be such a succes. But many items of their ‘Oldskool Newskool’ collection for HEMA really have been sold out.
The collection was festively launched on Saturday 11 July, with an autograph session at HEMA Rotterdam Centrum. Many children came to see who this man and woman are that made the design for the Markthal.
Together with the Additors, Mothership has made a nice movie about the session, and it will be shown on social media and our website soon.
We’ll keep you updated!
What a great party it was: the opening of ‘Do it’ in the Kunsthal Rotterdam. 250 kg confetti flew through the air. And that on the hottest day of the year.
The nice thing about this exhibition , in which many artist from Rotterdam took part, is that visitors can take actively part in the exhibition. Jeroen Everaert was guest curator for this special exhibition in the Kunsthal where over 50 ‘Do it’ instructions can be ‘done’. If you haven’t visited the Kunsthal yet, you certainly should. This is possible untill 30 August 2015.
The ‘Do it’ project started out in 1993 in Paris as a conversation between curator Hans Ulrich Obrist and the artists Christian Boltanski and Bertrand Lavier. They wanted to make an exhibition that would continually generate new versions of itself in a similar fashion to the conceptual, minimalist and Fluxus practices of the 1960s and 1970s. Nowadays, ‘Do it’ has been done in many ways. And can now be done in the Kunsthal.
Radio program ‘Nooit meer slapen’ did an interview with Jeroen about ‘Do it’. Listen to this interview here!
Zeeland is turning yellow. Because in about two weeks the Tour de France will arrive there.If you have been following Mothership on Facebook, you must have seen the photo’s of the Topshuis on Neeltje Jans. Two huge banners displaying the texts created by Mwah Tekstuele Verwenners in cooperation with Mothership & Rijkswaterstaat: ‘Water you thinking’ and ‘Bring in the Dutch’.
Meanwhile the Brouwersdam has also been decorated with these texts, which show the world that we are proud of our image of good watermanagement to the world. Especially watch the cars in the picture, that shows how big these letters are. Many thanks to the men and women of Leo Mineur who used liters of yellow paint to create this beautiful result.
Bring on the Tour!
Arno & Iris are moving fast forward after the Horn of Plenty in the Markthal. On July 2nd, they even launch their own Eurotrash beer: Kaiser Küttlipp. The event will be held at Vessel 11, the red light vessel in the Wijnhaven, Rotterdam. This is also the first outlet for Kaiser Küttlipp.
The party starts at 17:30 with free Dutch meat sausages (frikandellen) from the Bar-BQ and music by DJ Frikandel and DJ Dragan.
Especially for the launch, Arno & Iris asked fashion designer Nada van Dalen to design Eurotrash tracksuits. These ‘supergeil’ suits can be ordered on July 2nd.
The photo monument has been revealed!
This took place on Sunday, June 21st, during the ‘Tour de Delta 2015’ with Leontien van Moorsel. The photo monument is a special artwork with a reference to the Tour de France. It shows that the Netherlands is a special (water) country with 13 Deltaworks and it marks the extraordinary finish of the Tour de France in the sea in Zeeland on July 5th, 2015.
Studio Ruwedata designed the photo monument. It’s made of steel and covered with an offshore coating, onto which stickers have been applied. For this artwork we worked together with Heurkens & Van Veluw, Maas Coating and Cubord.
The expectation is that during the upcoming years many cyclists and visitors of the Oosterscheldekering will have their picture taken with the Oosterscheldekering in the background. With this we can show to the world what the Netherlands is capable of: water management on a world level.
Get the picture!
We are very happy to announce that Mothership and Kunstwacht will be working together more closely.
Kunstwacht takes care of maintenance and restoration of artworks in public space. Since Mothership creates artworks in public space and believes it’s very important to maintain the quality of the artworks, this move was a natural one. In this way we can offer an even better total package to our customers and artists.
Mothership is growing. That means we want to reach new international markets. We want to map these new markets and create a profile of how to reach these new potential clients.
Do you want to help us or do you know someone who’s perfect for the job? Let us know and send an email to danielle@enterthemothership.com.
This summer on the 5th of July, the second stage in the Tour de France is cycled in the Netherlands. From Utrecht till the finish at the Oosterscheldekering in Zeeland the cyclists race a very special route. Never before cyclists raced through a deep valley like this. And never before the finish was located at sea. Along the tour the cyclists passes several Delta works.
If you concentrate on this: without our water management the Tour de France could never have taken place below sea level. A good reason for Rijkswaterstaat to get extra exposure for living with water during this major sports event.
Mothership is been asked by Rijkswaterstaat to visualize the proud at our water management. Mothership cooperates with Mwah Tekstuele Verwenners (textual pampers) in this.
There’s a lot to tell about water, cycling and winning the game. Mwah unites these themes using a couple of slogans where the humorous touch makes you smile and at the same time explains it the Dutch and their water management to the rest of the world. The art of Mwah will be showed at the Brouwersdam, the Harinvlietsluizen and the Topshuis.
We have already won the battle against water. Winning the second stage is an obvious next step!
We just stick at our water management. Because more is happening at the Deltaworks. As part of the ‘Experience-the- Delta’ route, Mothership is asked by Rijkswaterstaat to come up with an idea to get more exposure for the Delatworks during the year.
The result is an idea to place a photo monument next to all the Deltaworks. Visitors are able to picture themselves with the monument and the Deltaworks in the background.
The first photo monument, designed by Studio Ruwedata, will be placed at the Topshuis in Zeeland and is the first monument in a serie of photo monuments. Exciting fact is that the monument can be implemented during the finish of the Tour de France on the 5th of July.
The official opening is on 21 June, smile!
We can proudly announce that Jeroen Everaert was asked to be guest curator for the new exhibition ‘Do it’ in the Kunsthal Rotterdam.
This summer you can visit the Kunsthal for the project ‘Do it’ by internationally renowned curator Hans Ulrich Obrist. It’s an innovative exhibition concept that consists instructions by world famous artists, such as Carsten Höller, Yoko Ono, Gilbert & George, Maurizio Cattelan, Ilya Kabakov and Erwin Wurm.
In collaboration with Jeroen, the Kunsthal selected over fifty ‘Do it’ instructions to realize at the Kunsthal. Well-known Rotterdam-based artists also cooperating with Mothership, including Arno Coenen & Iris Roskam in cooperation with Abner Preis have been invited to follow instructions. In case of Arno & Iris and Abner Preis it’s the instruction by Jay Chung.
The exhibition is shown from 4 July till 6 September 2015 at the Kunsthal Rotterdam.
A bright spot above the crossroads at the Agniesestraat-Heemsteestraat in Rotterdam! A notable and spine-shaped piece of art hangs there for a while now, called the ‘HEALING KRISTAL’ designed by artist Hans van Bentem. The object binds the neighborhood by creating a bridge between different eras, atmospheres and cultures.
Till lately you could only see the artwork in daylight. However now also in the dead of night, since May 2015 the artwork is hooked up to electricity and shines like never before!
Don’t forget to look up passing the crossroad by night!
Mothership acted as a producer.
Did you see it? The mega beaver that joined the Grande Parade in Dordrecht for King Willem Alexander.
For National Park The Biesbosch we gave advice for building this realistic looking beaver. Well, except he is a little bit bigger than you would expect.
By copying the icon of the Biesbosch, National Park The Biesbosch wants to create exposure for their special park, one of the few freshwater tidal wetlands of Europe.
A team of 10 people built this beaver in one week. The beaver is inflatable so it can be used again. Maybe you will see it somewhere else in the near future.
Mothership acted as a producer. Thanks to Staatsbosbeheer and Dordt Werkt.
Meanwhile in the Czech Republic, they are working hard to complete the JEWEL Chandelier designed by Hans van Bentem for our private Russian client. Right now the glass is being blown to add the unique details to this chandelier. Making a chandelier takes three to four months on average. This depends on the size, the lightning used, the details and the techniques used.
We asked Hans how many of these beautiful chandeliers he has designed so far. No less than 50 pieces he told us.
This year it’s 20 years ago Hans designed his first chandelier. In these 20 years he designed chandeliers for Madonna and the Escher Museum in The Hague.
The GUN for Nicola Erni Collection and LION for the Ministry of Defence were very special because of their technical perfection and size. And of course Hans is very proud that his chandeliers will be part of ‘Amsterdam Oersoep’, and will be hung in the new Damrak passage way in his hometown Amsterdam.
We expect to show you the completed JEWEL Chandelier by the end of June!
Monday 20 April, Jeroen was invited to join the Laureaten dinner. During this dinner all Laureaten came together. All of them are passionate people who put effort into the cultural and social life in Rotterdam.
In 1959 Princess Beatrix received the first Laurenspenning. Jeroen wasn’t even born then. Amazing that 55 years later, on 28 October 2014, he received the Laurenspenning himself. A great honour considering the fact that your name is mentioned in the same list as Beatrix.
Unfortunately Bea didn’t join the dinner, but it was awesome to meet all the other Laureaten.
17 April we kicked off our 10th anniversary with a cosy artists drink. For the occasion we turned our office into a bar with mainly many full fridges.
Well, the fridges are a lot less filled now.
Party successful. Check our Facebook page for the pictures!
Yaayyyy Amsterdam Oersoep is definitive! Tuesday March 17th all contracts were signed and at the same time we had a toast of course.
Meanwhile things are moving fast. The terrazzo floor for the mock-up is almost ready. A mock-up shows a life size part of the passage way. Exciting indeed! In the end the floor will be filled with no less than 270 m2 terrazzo.
Commissioned by Bouwinvest, ‘Amsterdam Oersoep’ is designed by Arno Coenen, Iris Roskam and Hans van Bentum in collaboration with FiMek and Top Vastgoed. Thanks to DLVS Mothership acts as an advisor and producer. The completion of ‘Amsterdam Oersoep’ is expected for the end of 2015.
Kingsday is gonna be big this year in Dordrecht. And Mothership will be there! That the Kingsday festivities are this big has everything to do with the Royal visit of King Willem Alexander and his family.
Mothership was asked by National Park De Biesbosch to create something for the Grande Parade, in which more than 50 vessels from past and present pass through the DrieRivierenpunt. Unfortunately we can’t let you in on what’s going to happen, but you certainly have to come on April 27.
Who’s the Biesboss?
After seeing the ‘Horn of Plenty’ by Arno Coenen & Iris Roskam in the Markthal, the school De Ring van Putten from Spijkenisse was sold. The management had been looking for a nice art work for the wall in the entrance hall and were now sure that it should be a design by Arno & Iris.
Meanwhile Arno & Iris have made their final draft and are almost ready for the realization. The designs are inspired by the road you travel from first form until graduating. In addition to that, Arno & Iris were influenced by the German artist Caspar David Friedrich.
As part of the commemoration of the 40th anniversary of De Ring van Putten, the artwork will be completed in August this year.
The Dutch Embassy in Rome wants to create something special during the Preview days before the Venice Biennale takes place. We can proudly tell you that Mothership has been asked to make a proposal for this Preview. It’s still top secret, so unfortunately we can’t tell you more about it.
The Venice Biennale is a major contemporary international art exhibition since 1895, that takes place in Venice once every two years during the summertime from June till November.
We’ll keep you posted!
Finally we can shout it from the rooftops: we are very proud that we can contribute to the ‘Rode Loper’ project on the Damrak in Amsterdam!
The Damrak needs to be embellished. That’s why the whole property near the former C&A passageway has to be restructured. And because Amsterdam wants this to be a big tourist attraction, Mothership was asked by Bouwinvest to write a pitch. The success story of the Markthal has proven that art can create a substantial addition to the PR of a building. This is exactly what they also want for the Damrak passageway. Therefore the whole passageway is meant to be filled with art. The artists who won the pitch and who will embellish this passageway, are Arno Coenen, Iris Roskam and Hans van Bentem with the work of art called ‘Amsterdam Oersoep’.
At first sight, ‘Amsterdam Oersoep’ references to the Amsterdam canals. But it has a deeper meaning that refer to the magic powers of water and the coming into being of the universe.
Quality materials in combination with old craftsmanship are used for the realization of ‘Amsterdam Oersoep’. The ceiling will be made with more than 450 m2 glass mosaic. The floor will be covered with terrazzo by an old Italian family company and the walls will be covered with hand made tiles and leaded glass objects.
Besides that, the passageway will be embellished with fantastic chandeliers of bike parts and enormous mirrors decorated with gold leaf.
Commissioned by Bouwinvest ‘Amsterdam Oersoep’ is designed by Arno Coenen, Iris Roskam and Hans van Bentem in collaboration with FiMek and Top Vastgoed. Mothership acts as an advisor and producer. The expected completion of ‘Amsterdam Oersoep’ is end 2015.
We have a new logo. At least for this year. If you’re 10 years old, you should celebrate. So a good reason to update our logo in a festive way. The rest of the year we are accompanied by this catchy Roman 10.
Ad multos annos!
We have a baby! On January 30th, a second prototype tree-buoy was launched in the Aqua Dock at the RDM Campus. An important moment because from this tree-buoy we will learn how to realize the Bobbing Forest in the most effective way. The destination of the Bobbing forest is the Rijnhaven in Rotterdam.
As opposed to the first tree-buoy, the second tree-buoy has no extra buoyancy. Also, another ‘Dutch’ elm has been planted which is more spherical (type: Ulmus Clusius). And in addition, the tree of the second prototype will be getting fresh water instead of salt water.
The expected completion of the Bobbing Forest will be autumn 2015.
We are very pleased with the helping hands from GKB groep, Gemeente Rotterdam, Havenbedrijf Rotterdam and W. Smit Duik- en Bergingsbedrijf. Without them we weren’t able to make this experimental phase happen.
Thanks guys!
A milestone! This year we’re celebrating our anniversary. On January 5th we popped the cork to initiate our anniversary year. Later this year we’ll definitely celebrate this with you.
In 2005 we proudly moved into our first office in the old IMAX theatre. We had no clue of the weather outside because of the window films.
Fortunately, nowadays we know when to put our sunglasses on, just by looking outside of our bright headquarters at the Delftsestraat.
We are proud to be part of all the beautiful art that has been made during the past 10 years. With the highlight being ‘Horn of Plenty’ by Arno Coenen and Iris Roskam in the Markthal. These projects have given us a taste for more.
New York, London, Hong Kong and Paris, look around you, because Mothership is coming to town.
HEMA asked Arno Coenen and Iris Roskam to design a new school collection. Under the name ‘OLDskoolNEWskool’ high school pupils are asked to upload the most inspirational photos and videos on Facebook. The final design will be based on these entries.
It’s a logical choice for HEMA to collaborate with Arno and Iris on this design contest. Because young people know best what will work for them, HEMA set up this cooperation between Arno and Iris. NEWskool kids with OLDskool Aro Coenen and Iris Roskam.
The material can be uploaded until the end of January. On Pinterest you will find the final mood board. The OLDskoolNEWskool collection will be in the shops from the beginning of July.
We know where to buy our new school agenda!
Finally we have a new woman on our team! Since January 5th, Daniëlle is our PR & communications lady. That means all press affairs, social media and other communication activities for Mothership will be taken care by her.
Besides running her own company DAG communications, Danielle has a background in fashion and the port of Rotterdam. And now a new challenge in art.
Because she loves making coffee we give her a big like!
The neon letters ‘Heelal’ (universe) had disappeared without a trace, but they resurfaced at NeonTime!
For years nobody had a clue where the letters were. Until recently, when we placed the 20 meters big display with the line of the poetry along the A13 motorway.
Somebody else lost something?
Besides being managing director at Mothership, Vincent is also chairman of Excelsior4all. And in that position he won the ‘Meer dan Voetbal Award’ (More than Football Award) as best professional club.
Excelsior4all wants to contribute in developing sport, social and economic activities for the local community. A great inspiration for Mothership.
Congrats Vincent!
An important and very nice development at Mothership. After 10 years it’s time for a new phase. Vincent van Zon (1963) will take business leadership on the first of January. Together with Jeroen Everaert (1965), national and international projects in public space will be advised on and realized. Bundling their expertise in advice, consultancy, production and sales within the art scene, creates a unique combination in the Dutch world of art consultancy and architecture.
Vincent van Zon has been an independent entrepreneur in marketing, design, art and culture for almost thirty years. As an advisor, he worked for reputable concerns, such as Apple Computer, Microsoft and Marlies Dekkers
Jules Deelder doesn’t need an introduction, but alright: the legendary writer, poet, text virtuoso, funny guy, and performer celebrated his seventieth birthday this November. Rotterdam spotlighted him (with his sunglasses) on many occasions.
Friends of Jules Deelder (Hans Kleinjan, Jack Kerklaan and Krijn van Laar) initiated one of these occasions. On November 26, a life-size statue of Deelder was revealed next to Café Ari in Rotterdam. Placing the statue was a guerrilla action, nobody but the creators knew of this project.
Photographer and art director Lenny Oosterwijk is responsible for the design of the statue. One of his Deelder photos was used to create the silhouette. The design cut out of 4 cm thick steel is lifelike and very detailed. Mothership conceived the concept and took care of the production. Big thanks to Barzilay Rotterdam B.V. And Rotterdam Steel Works.
Another Jules Deelder initiative. Because of him it’s fun to get stuck in a traffic jam on the A13 highway. Now on display, along the highway and opposite the Rotterdam The Hague Airport, is his line of poetry ‘Het Heelal” (the universe).
This is also an initiative of Deelder’s friends (Hans Kleinjan, Jack Kerklaan and Krijn van Laar), and a present for their good friend.
Xtra Materieel offered their 20 meters wide frame to hold the text. Tekstuele verwenners Mwah designed the canvas and used their typical style for designing the text. Mothership acted as a producer in cooperation with Esbi.
That’s right, Mothership goes international! For a private Russian client, artist Hans van Bentem designed a crystal chandelier.
The design is based on a family jewel and this heirloom is cherished by the family. This piece of art is appropriately called Jewel Chandelier.
The crystal chandelier is hand and custom made with genuine crystal by our trusted Czech supplier.
The result will be revealed soon!
Under the 1,5% scheme, young artist Margriet van Breevoort was asked to design an artwork for the district service center in Kanaleneiland. Every district in Utrecht has its own district office or district service center. Local residents can visit these places for various products and services from the municipality.
Van Breevoort designs sculptures of fairy tale figures, which seem less sweet than expected. Twisted fairy tales! This way she deepens our experience of fairy tales and fantasy.
This permanent work will be completed around September 2015.
2014 was a very good year for Mothership, one of the highlights being the much discussed artwork ´Horn of Plenty´ in the Markthal.
Mothership will end the year festively and takes a holiday from December 22th till January 5th. You can can still reach us via e-mail during this period, which will be read regularly: info@enterthemothership.com.
On behalf of the whole Mothership team: happy holidays and we’ll see you in 2015!
We can’t wait!
We are very proud of our Jeroen! On the 28th of October, he received the Laurenspenning (a prestigious award in the field of culture and society in Rotterdam) for the enthusiasm, the business acumen and creativity with which he creates relationships between artists and clients.
During his speech he invited his Mothership colleagues, artists and clients to come on stage. “From the bottom of my heart and with full assent of the team, thank you for granting me the Laurenspenning”, says Jeroen Evereart.
If you were in the center of Rotterdam last month, you must have noticed: some animals have escaped from the Markthal!
The small animals can be found on the most diverse buildings in the city: Nationale Nederlanden, Unilever, Hotel Emma, Rotterdam Theater, Wold Trade Centre, Bram Ladage and HEMA (both in the Hoogstraat).
Commissioned by Bureau Binnenstad, Arno Coenen designed the escaped small animals for this city dressing project, called The Great Escape. They are inspired by animals from ‘Horn of Plenty’ and can be seen till about January 2015. Mothership acted as a producer.
The first of October was a memorable day: finally the Markthal opened it’s doors. Now everybody can visit and see the ‘Horn of Plenty’ by Team Arno Coenen. A moment that we have been working towards to for a long time. None other than Dutch Queen Maxima opened the indoor market place. Meanwhile, the Markthal has already welcomed more than a million visitors.
Still didn´t visit the Markthal? Check out the opening hours at www.markthal.nl and be surprised by the versatile supply and beautiful environment.
As often be the case with art in public space, maintenance is needed to maintain the beauty of the piece of art. Such was also the case in Almere for the monument commemorating René Kempenaar.
For years, René Kempenaar, who suddenly died on April 16th in 2007, fully dedicated himself to the young people of Almere. He wanted to create a cool hang-out for them, where they could gather.
During the first weeks of October, new mats of tiles were made at Mothership and soon after they were glued in place. Now, the artwork designed by Arno Coenen, looks like new again!
Thanks to the City of Almere, De Kunstwacht and all the helping hands.
The metro station of Rotterdam Central Station has never looked so artistic. Commissioned by museum Boijmans van Beuningen and RET, the hall of the metro station is decorated with several expressions of the museum.
Pillars are provided with colorful canvasses, a wall is covered with a full colour sticker and a floor sticker is placed near the stairs from the station. The expressions contain the well known Tower of Babel and the announcement of a new exhibition called The Future Of Fashion Is Now, which can be seen till January 18th, 2015.
For this project, Mothership acted as a producer. Communication and design agency Thonik is responsible for the design.
We’re sure that you are aware: on the first of October, Queen Maxima opens the Rotterdam Markthal. This makes every citizen in Rotterdam very proud. The opening ceremony (for invited guests only) starts at 3:35 pm. From 4:30 pm the Markthal is open for everybody.
In the evening at around 8 o’clock, the beautiful piece of art “Horn Of Plenty” from Team Arno Coenen comes alive with an impressive animation and bloodcurdling music! Check it out, check it out!
So there’s that Markthal. Very nice, but it brings small animals that do things in their own opinionated way. Now there are a couple of them that drew their own plan and suddenly appear (in a huge size) on prominent buildings in the city. You’ll find them on the way from Rotterdam Central Station to the Markthal. Don’t be afraid, they don’t bite!
Commissioned by Bureau Binnenstad, Arno Coenen designed the escaped small animals for the project. They are inspired by animals from ‘Horn of Plenty’. Mothership acted as a producer.
Explore Rotterdam with the best route app there is: Rotterdam Routes. Pull out your groovy shoes from the closet and discover the diversity of Rotterdam.
You can choose from the moste diverse routes, such as: Rotterdam Naturaly, Rotterdam Icons, Real Rotterdam, Rotterdam Port City and Old & New Rotterdam. Each route contains audio navigation and brings you to, nice, funny and impressive highlights in the city. At each highlight you hear a particular story, told by purebred Rotterdammer(t)s.
The Rotterdam Routes app was commissioned by the City of Rotterdam (Bureau Binnenstad). It was built in co-operation with Zicht online, YipYip, VideoWerkt and Brand. Led by Natasa Heydra, our Threesome students Emma van Beek, Stephanie Bos en Lotje Chabot invented and worked out the concept. Mothership acted as project manager.
Get the app for free in the stores, visit: www.rotterdam.nl/rotterdamroutes
On September 12, mayor of Rotterdam Ahmed Aboutaleb, opened the third edition of “De Kracht van Rotterdam” (the power of Rotterdam) at the Rotterdam Theater.
12 photographers shows the city on their own quirky and unique way. You can find the photos on buildings, squares, trams and crossovers.
On the initiative of Anne Bloemendaal the photo project “The Power of Rotterdam” could be realized. Mothership conducts as an art producer.
Visit for more information www.dekrachtvanrotterdam.nl
A travelling story machine and webplatform which uncover the hidden stories of (former) drug addicts and the homeless of Rotterdam to the city. That´s “You win some, you lose some”!
The storytelling machine is a specially designed slot machine that seduces the audience to pull the handle of the machine – the machine flashes, rings and the reels start spinning – a short audio story starts. The storytelling machine travels from September 2014 through various Rotterdam institutions and public venues for one year.
A project of Foundation Shoot-n-Share (Lieke van Pruijssen en Bieke Versloot). In collaboration with Pauluskerk Rotterdam, Nico Adriaans Foundation, ViaKunst, Bier & Brood en Schrikdraad Electronical Design. Commissioned by Stichting Shoot-n-Share and led by Veldwerk. Mothership acted as technical producer.
Visit for stories and more www.rotterdamsgeluk.nl
Finally, on Wednesday the 1st of October the Rotterdam Markthal opens its doors! The festive opening starts in the afternoon for invited guests, later on, everybody is welcome!
This indoor and very colorful market is the first of its kind in The Netherlands. The first thing you notice is the gigantic piece of art which is placed on the inside of the Markthal. National and international press have also noted this work of art.
At this moment, preparatory work is now being brought to completion for the piece of art. At the centre of the image, near the sunlight, a beamer will be installed to show an animation. Want to know what the animation implies? Check it out on the 1st of October, we asure you that it ‘ll be impressive!
Commissioned by Provast, Mothership produced in cooperation with Team Arno Coenen a “tasty” 3D piece of art, named “Horn of Plenty”, It shows nature in all her aspects with sunlight as the source of all these beautiful things.
Are you hungry yet? Please visit from the 1st of October! The Markthal opens daily from 9 AM till 8 PM, surrounding catering even longer.
Country atmospheres in Rotterdam! This month a new work of art completed at the Watergeusplein, named Copy Garden Tropical. On the side of an appartment complex we have placed an image of a butterfly garden. Mothership took care of the production, commissioned by Lotti Hesper projectontwikkeling.
This piece is designed by artists Monique Benthin and Rick Messemaker. They both worked with imagery of the Amazonica butterfly garden from Diergaarde Blijdorp. The image makes you want to walk into the garden, known as the Trompe-l’oeil effect.
Mothership is looking for fresh blood! PR/communication blood to be specific!
It is no longer possible to respond to this vacancy.
The House Of ABABA closes its doors. After a year of having functioned as treasure trove, it was decided not to continue the gallery. Mothership will continue to produce great works of art in the public space and continue its mission to bring art closer to the people. Sophie will concentrate her focus on new activities in the future. We wish Sophie a lot of success and are confident that she will get a beautiful place in the art world!
Rotterdam Unlimited was extra special this year! Not only due to the tropical temperatures, but also thanks to the festive flags that graced the city.
Through a technique called ‘glitch’ images of icons of the city of Rotterdam and previous editions of RU are distorted, which causes for a colorful effect. This is exactly the effect that Rotterdam Unlimited has on the city: it temporarily ‘takes over’ the city and transforms it with a colorful brushstroke. The city is still recognizable (like the images of the icons), but has been temporarily taken over with color and warmth.
Did you miss out on the flags? Do not worry, because next year they will shine again during the next edition of RU!
The colorful gems are designed by Emma van Beek and Natasa Heydra. In collaboration with Rotterdam Festivals and Rotterdam Unlimited, Threesome developed the city dressing for Robin Rotterdam Unlimited 2014. Threesome is an internship project by Mothership in cooperation with Rotterdam University.
Do you ever stand still in the middle of the crosswalk? Of course not! The movement from A to B, which is suggested by a crosswalk, was also the starting point of the concept of the Superzebra by Emma van Beek. This meters long pedestrian crossing is connecting different parts of the Hoogstraat, which is interrupted by the market square of the Binnenrotte and Marieniersweg. The zebra crossing, functioning as a red carpet, is focussing attention on the shops and restaurants on the ‘other side’ of the Hoogstraat.
Next to the crossing with the Mariniersweg the Superzebra meets anothers artwork: an exciting array of lines called ‘Game of Lines’, designed by Nicole Martens in collaboration with Mark Stout.
Commissioned by Bureau Binnenstad Mothership acted as concept developer for the Superzebra and as a producer. Superzebra is part of Threesome, an internship project of Mothership in cooperation with Rotterdam University.
Ever since Siobhan set foot in our office two years ago, she has talked about nothing else: her dream of following a masters degree in Museum Studies at New York University. After some organizational struggle she is accepted at NYU and is leaving our team. Although we don’t like to miss Siobhan as part of the team, we wish her all the best in the Big Apple!
Starting from the end of July we have a giant of a man joining our team. We proudly present: Jip Vollema.
As junior project manager, Jip will complement the current team and meanwhile learn the tricks of our trade. With a background in marketing, communications and media, he graduated in 2012 on a project for the band Sven Hammond Soul. Our (art) world is a brand new challenge for him!
In his spare time he is a keen Feyenoord supporter and he appears regularly as a guitarist in gigs.
Summer is a good reason for another colorful exhibition in The House of ABABA! During the exhibition ABABA FULL HOUSE we have outdone ourselves!
Guest artists LouLou & Tummie have left their mark on the windowdisplay and part of the gallery. Their playful imagery, colorful graphics and characters are eye catching! Until August 31, you can drop by at ABABA to see their handmade wooden art toys, plush figures and colorful screenprints.
The Horn of Plenty by artist Arno Coenen made our Facebook page flood these last few weeks! The huge artwork on the inner facade of the Market Hall was the center of national and international media attention!
The first phase of the work is in fact almost finished, so the impact of the work is already visible. However, our project manager Faye Ellen is still workin hard behind the scenes! The completed artwork will be presented during the opening of the building in October 2014, including the projection into the “vortex” of the Horn of Plenty.
Are you already curious about how it looks now? Arno Coenen was with Iris Roskam on June 6, 2014 interviewed by the Dutch newschannel NOS. Watch the interview HERE.
http://nos.nl/video/657521-makers-zelf-versteld-van-plafond-markthal.html
Commissioned by Provast mothership acts as consultant and producer.
During the ‘Ondernemersontbijt’ (networking breakfast for entrepeneurs) on June 18, 2014 the Ketelbinkie Price 2013 was awarded from the hands of Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb. The House of ABABA was nominated for this award, together with GROOS and Granny’s Finest. We are proud to be nominated with such inspiring companies. Congratulations GROOS with the victory!
The Ketelbinkie Prize is awarded each year to a leading young company in Rotterdam each year. Mothership was an award recipient of the Ketelbinkie Price in 2008.
Our Natasa has left the mothership. For six years she has been working as part of the Mothership team. As a creative mind she has led projects in amongst others Rotterdam and Nieuwegein, she guided the students of Threesome Project and she designed the famous books of Mothership. And last but not least: she always took good care of the grooves on the Mothership New Year drinks.
In addition to her work at Mothership Natasa has always been a busy bee. She is reducing her tasks at Mothership in order to work on her own portfolio. But once a part of the team, always part of the team! We will miss you at the office, but see you soon 😀
With an eye on the Architecture Biennale 2014 we thought it was time to put several of our art projects in Rotterdam literally on the map. With a true Mothership Art Route you can now be guided along 17 (semi)permanent projects in and around downtown Rotterdam. The route is available amongst others at ArchiGuides, King Kong Hostel, the House of ABABA, Boijmans and the Kunsthal for free. Go visit them all!
Boomerang Cards is a notion in the Netherlands. In collaboration with the Boomerang team ABABA dived into the archives to collect the most legendary designs from the Boomerang history.
Besides the presentation of these designs ABABA also shows the social media designs of Boomerang Create: the crowdsourcing platform by Boomerang. Especially for this occasion artist Iwan Smit designed the decor of the exhibition.
The exhibition ‘The Social Salon’ can be seen in the House of ABABA until July 16th at Witte de 7a, Rotterdam
In 2013 Mothership started an exciting work placement project called THREESOME, in cooperation with the Rotterdam University. Now, one year later, two successful editions have been completed, during which our trainees realized amazing assignments in project teams.
Starting from September 2014 already a third season is awaiting! For this next season we are looking for enthusiastic managers, designers and communication tigers who want to learn the tricks of the trade from us.
During this internship you realize art projects in public space in a team, from scratch to completion. So, are you expected to do an internship in the period September 2014 – January 2015, would you like to be creative and to work independently, and you’re just as passionate about art as we are? Then sign up now!
Check out the vacancies HERE
Projects from previous THREESOME seasons can be found HERE, which will give you an idea of our THREESOME projects.
The team THREESOMES02 was commissioned by Bureau Binnenstad (City of Rotterdam) to study how pedestrian crossings (VOP’s) can be used in a special way to connect various parts of the city to each other. By highlighting these crossings, areas can be positively emphasized. In this way an attractive path is created for pedestrians, tempting them to get of the beaten track.
The ladies of THREESOME looked for all kinds of existing initiatives and did a number of proposals to Bureau Binnenstad. This project is still in full progress, so to be continued ….
Commissioned by Bureau Binnenstad Rotterdam THREESOME conducted a research and developed a number of proposals.
The N34 art route in Drenthe has another attraction! Commissioned by the province of Drenthe, Maze de Boer created an unique work of art inspired by the combination of travel and entertainment. And what is a better icon of travel and entertainment than a fun fair?
For his work ‘Situated’, Maze therefore made his permanent version of a fun fair. Not from light modules, but rather of abstract concrete elements. He incorporated the bumper cars, the amusement park, carousel, a punching bag and the iconic toy crane machines in his work. Find the differences!
Commissioned by Maze de Boer, Mothership acted as producer. Thanks to SKOR.
Schouwburgplein breathes culture. From now on, not only above ground, but also underground! Commissioned by the City of Rotterdam Thijs Kelder (Studio Ruwedata) and Eva Cardon (Ephameron) were challenged to visualy capture the cultural vividness of the square and the town inside the garage.
The painting in the garage therefore contains graphic references to dance, music, shopping, culture, film and theater. All things that you now can immediatly experience both at the exit and at the entrance to the garage!
The work is almost finished, so check it out quickly!
Commissioned by Burea Binnenstad (City of Rotterdam) Mothership act as a consultant and producer.
On May 24, the ABABA crew shines on the Kunstenaarsbal 2014! Dark Collective, organizer of the Kunstenaarsbal, wants to shrink the boundary between art and audience, just like Mothership and ABABA. They do this by combining different art disciplines into a real ball.
Hence a good reason to get your best gown out of the closet! During the Kunstenaarsbal ABABA shows a selection of the art works created by ATTAK, Early Mast, Studio Ruwedata, ROYALSTEEZ and Pet van de Luijtgaarden. These works are also for sale in the gallery and the ABABA webshop!
Shall we dance?
Location : Royal Tropical Institute
Mauritskade 63
1092 AD Amsterdam
May 24, 2014
Daily program 12.00h – 19.30h
Evening program 22:00 till late!
During the day the admission is free . Tickets for the party in the evening are available here.
During the ‘Nationale Boomfeestdag 2014’, a nationwide celebration day for trees, FINALLY the prototype of the Bobbing Forest was launched. It was a bit tense for our René, because of the extremely tight schedule. Fortunately the tree was ready on time for the festivities.
The great attendance during the joint opening of the Bobbing Forest and the Aqua Dock caused a great atmosphere. As icing on the cake the prototype was ‘baptized’ by alderman Alexandra van Huffelen, artist Jorge Bakker and Willem Griffioen of Mercon. All three were given a small bottle of champagne to traditionally break it against the buoy ( In this case to throw…). Since the buoy was bobbing in the water, this was not an easy task, challenging their sense of direction.
During the testing phase the prototype is on view in the Aqua Dock of the RDM Campus. We will post news about developments on the website: www.bobbingforest.com
The Bobbing Forest is initiated and produced by Mothership.
The mirroring ball was not the only way in which Mothership contributed to the opening of Rotterdam Central Station. We were also present during the official opening by the King! In collaboration with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Conny Janssen Danst, Codarts and Riverpark Films we produced a film by Alex Verhaest and Eline Wieland. This triptych with live music and dance was a visual spectacle.
In a contemporary way the King then performed the opening act. On the touch screen, which heralded the official opening moment, a short film played for the King. It showed three dancers, out of which a lady reached for the hand of the King. He made contact with her by placing his hand on the touch screen, after which the train station was officially opened.
Commissioned by the City of Rotterdam, N-Sign, ProRail and NS, Mothership acted as concept developer and producer.
Rotterdam Central Station has been opened! This huge event could not have been missed, and Mothership is very proud to have made a contribution: a BIG one! A huge mirroring ball graced the central hall of the station as part of the #selfie campaign. Together with Shivers, Mothership created the concept and invited MWAH Tekstuele Verwenners to create a couple of texts suitable for the occasion.
Commissioned by Shivers, Mothership acted as concept developer and producer.
Thank you City of Rotterdam, ProRail and NS for this special opportunity!
Also gnomes sometimes need new shoes, so did the infamous Santa Claus of the Binnenweg. The entrepreneurs association of the Nieuwe Binnenweg saw the exhibition S.H.O.E.S. in the Kunsthal as a good opportunity to put Santa in the spotlights. They invented a route which the gnome follows from his spot to the Kunsthal along the shops of the Binnenweg. The large foot steps are designed by Emma van Beek.
It is not the first and last time the gnome makes a trip. If you want to be kept up to date about his trips, you can follow him on his own Facebook page ‘Kabouter van de Binnenweg’. Especially for children there is a contest in which you can win delicious cakes at Koekela. They can count the footsteps of Santa Claus and share them on the Facebook page. Who is going to win the pie?
Also in Charlois there was a party during Boomfeestdag. There, the 275th tree along the Havenspoorpad was planted. All 275 trees are now adopted and the development of a – vandal proof – solution for the names and texts of for the adopted trees is in full progress. Mothership placed large boulders along the path, which will soon show the texts of the ‘adoptive parents’. In conjunction with the names along the path, the willows will finally receive the attention they deserve.
The first boulder was unveiled in a festive manner during a gathering of many local residents who have adopted a tree.
Commissioned by the District of Charlois.
During the Museum Night 2014 the Witte de Withstraat shook his joints! ABABA derailed and gave away artworks by Studio Ruwe Data and Bier en Brood during the Wheel of Fortune. The shots sold like hot cakes and many visitors went home with an artwork underneath their arms. The party continued until late.
By now it’s time for a new exhibition. In Hard Candy ABABA presents three international and three national artists who all have a challenging perspective on contemporary image symbolism.
Date: Saturday April 12
Start: 16.00
End: 19:00
Artists: Ian Kirkpatrick (ENG), Early Mast (FR), El Cumbone (FR), JAWGEM (NL), The Pet Luijtgaarden (NL) and Brent (NL)
The new exhibition Hard Candy is already on it’s way, but do not worry! The works of Studio Raw Data and Iwan Smit also be admired in the huge ABABA shopping window in the Bijenkorf Rotterdam!
Wednesday 12th of March 2014 will be the day. That day, the first Dutch Elm in a buoy will be launched. This prototype of the Bobbing Forest by Jorge Bakker will be bobbing in the Aqua Dock at RDM Campus in Rotterdam, during a six months trial period. After a period of bobbing on its own, the Dutch Elm will be joined by 19 other Dutch Elms to then take root in the Rijnhaven in Rotterdam.
If you would like to attend the launch, then register via info@dobberendbos.nl, mentioning ‘launch’ in the subject field.
Wednesday 12th of March, 2014, from 14.00-15.30 (entry form 13.30) at the Aqua Dock at RDM Campus, Dokhaven (RDM-kade), Rotterdam.
We are still looking for interested parties to get the remaining 19 Dutch Elms afloat. For more info, see dobberendbos.nl.
Jorge Bakker’s website: onderwerper.nl
Click here for our invitation
The Markthal in Rotterdam commissioned Arno Coenen and his team for a another artwork. In the sky of the ‘Horn of Plenty’, an animation will be added with moving images of products that will be for sale in the Markthal. Already scoring big time with ‘Horn of Plenty’, Team Arno Coenen will create an unforgettable experience with a torrent of images.
Arno Coenen and his team were commissioned by Provast for a another artwork, for which Mothership acts an advisor and producer.
On Thursday 13th of March, the new Rotterdam Centraal train station will be officially opened. From sunrise to sunset, Rotterdam Centraal will be the centre of festivities. The City of Rotterdam invited 4 organisations from Rotterdam to develop a concept for this special day. In cooperation with Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Conny Janssen Danst and Codarts Rotterdam, Mothership presents the artists Eline Wieland and Alex Verhaest who will take care of some special content for the big panorama screen inside the station.
During the international art fair Art Rotterdam, Mothership presented the world premier of Silent City by Rob Sweere on the grounds of the Van Nellefabriek. Silent City is a growing art project, a soft white island of silence and peacefulness in the busy metropolis.
By commission of Art Rotterdam., Mothership presented artist Rob Sweere with Silent City.
Mothership also acted as producer.
As part of the program ‘Gastvrije Stad’ (Hospitabe City), the inner city of Rotterdam wants her parking garages to leave behind an unforgettable impression. The Schouwburgplein parking garage will receive a colourful painting by temporary duo Ruwedata (Thijs Kelder, NL) and Ephameron (Eva Cardon, BE). The Museumpark parking garage will transformed by Jan van der Ploeg.
By commission of Bureau Binnenstad (City of Rotterdam), Mothership acts as advisor and producer.
Also Maze de Boer was commissioned by Art Rotterdam to realise a site-specific project. His modern version of a tobacconist’s, selling look-a-like packets of Van Nelle cigarette tobacco, went of like a bomb. For the same price as a packet of cigarette tobacco, you could acquire the small artwork and the whole edition of a 1000 pieces was already sold out after 2 days.
Mothership acted as co-producer.
4 students from the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam took part in a art banner design contest for Art Rotterdam Week. These banners marked the routing to the various events during Art Rotterdam Week.
With thanks to students Marjon van de Velden, Emma van Beek, Bobby Ali and Joep Brouwer.
By commission of Rotterdam Festivals, Mothership acted as producer.
After a successful internship of six months, Stefanie, Lotje and Emma have done their jobs. We are proud of these three excellent students who managed to drag in and realize a few projects. A couple of other ones are still in the closet, but can be followed on thethreesomeproject.nl
For tunnel at the Koninginneweg in IJsselmonde (NL), 3 students of the Willem de Kooning Academy have designed a light sculpture. With their design Hyperspeed, Georgie Louise Harris, Emma Grout and Nicole Sciarone hope that pedestrians will now feel more safe in the tunnel and that traffic will lower their speed. The armatures have been placed closer to each other towards the ends of tunnel. This way, it seems that your speed increases when you reach the end of the tunnel. And because of that, drivers will step of the accelerator.
Commissioned by the district of IJsselmonde, Mothership acted as curator and producer.
From 5 through 9 February the Art Rotterdam art fair is taking place in the Van Nelle Factory, in Rotterdam. Mothership is presenting two artists on the grounds of the factory: Rob Sweere, with the world primiere of his SILENT CITY PROJECT, and Maze de Boer, with a surprising project based on the history of the Van Nelle Factory itself.
Mothership acted as producer for both artists.
From februari 5 till februari 9 The House of ABABA is exhibiting at OBJECT Rotterdam, the fair for contemporary design. This year the fair takes place in the recently opened building De Rotterdam. In the apartments of 44/floors at the 30th floor is a spectacular selection works exhibited by artists such as Yasser Ballemans, Hans van Bentem, Frank Bruggeman and Onno Poiesz. Drop by at our stand high up in the sky and experience art in a unique way!
More info at www.ababa.nl.
Four students at the Willem de Kooning Academy, Rotterdam, participated in the “art banners” design contest for Art Rotterdam Week. These banners marked the route to the various events surrounding Art Rotterdam Week, with all its art fairs, pop-up shows, open ateliers and exhibitions.
With thanks to the students: Marjon van de Velden, Emma van Beek, Bobby Ali and Joep Brouwer.
Commissioned by Rotterdam Festivals, Mothership functioned as producer.
The Dutch Government Buildings Agency commissioned Claire Harvey to make an artwork for the new headquarters of the Revenue Service (Inland Revenue and Customs) at Schiphol Airport. Playing with the human scale and its surroundings, she painted over 100 small figures, 5 to 10 centimetres tall, on the windows of the building.
At the request of Claire Harvey, Mothership acted as producer.
Through Sunday, 9 February, Sculpture International Rotterdam (SIR) is presenting an open air exhibition on the Coolsingel, with short art films by renowned Dutch and international artists. Together they make up an ode to the most far-famed street in Rotterdam.
Commissioned by SIR, Mothership acted as co-producer for this project.
www.eerbetoonaaneenavenue.nl
www.sculptureinternationalrotterdam.nl
Two door handles by Chris Evans were recently placed on the entrance doors of the Rabobank on the Blaak in Rotterdam. ‘Portrait of a Recipient as a Door Handle, After A Drawing Produced by an Anonymous Philanthropist’, is a part of a series of works by Chris Evans which arose out of conversations with people from diverse levels of the society.
Commissioned by SIR, Mothership acted as producer.
Mothership is pleased to report that the very first prototype for the Buoy-Trees for Jorge Bakker’s Floating Forest is in production, and will be launched early in 2014 in the Rijnhaven Urban Harbour on the Kop van Zuid. To date many have worked committedly toward realizing the Floating Forest; in that sense this project is a fine example of Crowd Sourcing from businesses, educational institutions and the government. Among them are Van Hall Larenstein, the TU Delft, Hogeschool Rotterdam, Ingenieursbureau Rotterdam, Rotterdam Department of Public Works, and others.
The prototype will be produced in the new Aqua Dock at the Rotterdam Dry Dock Co. facilities by the renowned steel construction firm Mercon, from Gorinchem, with the aid of a number of third parties.
Keep dates open during February/March, 2014, because that is when the launch of the prototype is expected!
Interested in learning more about who has contributed to the realization of this project to date, what still has to be done before February/March, and what comes after that? Contact us, because we are eager to tell you about it!
The prototype for the Floating Forest project by Jorge Bakker has been realized as a commission from the City of Rotterdam. For information about who has contributed to making the Folating Forest a reality to date, the process until the February/March 2014 launch, and plans beyond that date, contact René Kroonenberg via rene@enterthemothership.com
Arno Coenen’s new artwork on the De Beerendonck roundabout in Venlo was unveiled during festivities on 13 December, 2013. The quality supermarket ‘Die 2 Brüder von Venlo’ had the work created to celebrate their 50th anniversary, and proudly presented it to their beloved city.
The text of the Light Poem ‘light and dark’ by Ester Naomi Perquin has been installed around one of the columns in front of North Station in Rotterdam. The design for this poem by Rotterdam’s former Poet Laureate was provided by the artist Geert Mul. Words and sentences from the poem seem to disappear and reappear under the lighting, which constantly changes in colour.
Commissioned by Mothership, acting on behalf of the Rotterdam Library, Geert Mul furnished the design for the Light Poem. Mothership acted as advisor and producer for the project.
DRTV invites artists, illustrators, writers, journalists, Rotterdammers on general and visitors to the city to join in submitting images or texts on the theme ‘HIGH’ through the website drtv.nu. After dusk every day until the end of February, 2014, inspiring texts and images will be projected in large format on ‘De Rotterdam’, presently under construction. On the façade of ‘De Rotterdam’ facing the Maas DRTV will be projecting black and white images and texts that surprise you, catch you off your guard or cause you to stop and think.
DRTV is an initiative of De Rotterdam – MAB Development and OVG Project Developers, in cooperation with Mothership and ‘t idee Agency.
The organizers of World Aids Day Rotterdam called on Threesome to find a creative concept for getting Rotterdammers to pause and become more aware of AIDS. They went to work with the theme “We Care”, wanting to draw strength from the stories that people dare to tell, using the phrase “I’ll outlive all of you”. During the events and activities around World Aids Day on 1 December limited edition t-shirts were available with standard images and the text “I have AIDS and I’ll outlive all of you”.
Then scoot right down to The House of ABABA so you can celebrate the final holidays of 2013 in style. In our treasure house you can also find the 2014 Big Rotterdam Art Calender for €34,95, limited edition serigraphs from € 50,=, and one-of-a kind prints from € 250,=.
Sophie Bargmann | Galerista
+31 (0) 6 46314987
Reserve Friday evening, 17 January, 2014, for a real Rotterdam evening out!
We are closed from 23 december until 5 january 2014
The text of the Light Poem by Ester Naomi Perquin has been installed around one of the columns in front of North Station in Rotterdam. The design for this poem by Rotterdam’s former Poet Laureate was provided by the artist Geert Mul.
Words and sentences from the poem seem to disappear and reappear under the lighting, which constantly changes in colour. In this way the design fits in perfectly with the poem’s theme: light and dark. It also challenges passers-by to constantly rediscover the meaning of the poem for themselves.
Commissioned by Mothership, acting on behalf of the Rotterdam Library, Geert Mul furnished the design for the Light Poem. Mothership acted as advisor and producer for the project.
There was much to be said about the artwork of Arno Coenen that will be placed on the De Beerendonck roundabout.
The German orientated supermarket Die 2 Brüder von Venlo donated the steel artwork to their city, because of their 50th anniversary.
Residents had to get used to the artwork at first, because they said it had too much advertising and German elements. Of course, the artist took this to heart and changed the artwork here and there. The artwork will be revealed on the 13th of December 2013.
As the new Markthal in Rotterdam is taking shape, the time for finishing touches is getting ever closer. Presently fitters are at work assembling a ‘jigsaw puzzle’ of almost 4500 panels that together will form the 11,000 m2 artwork ‘Horn of Plenty’. The images appear to be photographed, but are actually constructed by Arno Coenen and his team with computers.
Commissioned by Provast, Arno Coenen and his team designed ‘Horn of Plenty’, in cooperation with MVRDV and Corio. Mothership acted as advisor and producer for the work.
In the competition organized by the district councils of Rotterdam North and Hillegersberg-Schiebroek, Threesome produced the winning project plan for beautifying the ‘Mouse Hole” underpass connecting the two districts. Marjon van der Velden, Gino Catshoek and
Kim Visser made a proposal to honour footballer Coen Moulijn, from North, and St. Hillegonda, the patron of Hillegersberg-Schiebroek. Poetically, and with fitting colours, travellers can now experience the rich feeling of local history in this gateway between the two neighbourhoods.
Commissioned by the district councils of Rotterdam North and Hillegersberg-Schiebroek, our Threesome team ‘Supurb’ provided the concept for improving the underpass. Mothership also acted as producer.
The House of ABABA collected new impressive works of art. Geert Mul, Freerk Wieringa, Iwan Smit, Danielle Frenken and Daniel Berio richly complement the treasuries. In the gallery on Witte de Withstraat 7 in Rotterdam the art collection changes monthly, so walk inn regularly to not miss a thing!
Threesome I wrote the winning project plan for beautifying the ‘Muizengaatje’ (mouse hole) underpass, connecting the Noord and Hillegersberg-Schiebroek Districts in Rotterdam. Kim Visser, Gino Catshoek and Marjon van der Velden presented the proposal honouring the legendary footballer Coen Moelijn, from the Noord, and Hillegonda, the legendary patron saint of Hillegersberg. Poetically and with fitting colours, you can now experience that rich feeling that comes with entering the two communities.
Commissioned by the District Councils of Noord and Hillegersberg-Schiebroek, the Threesome I team earned the commendation ‘Supurb’ for their concept for improving the underpass. Mothership acted as producer.
The concept for the Copy Garden arose with Mothership in response to the current trend for more green space in cities. After the first Copy Garden on the corner of Gaffelstraat-St. Mariastraat in Rotterdam, now there is a brand-new Japanese version to be admired. The ‘Copy Garden of Growth ‘ on the playground of the public primary school Babylon in the Van Speykstraat. The idea is that here you can experience a feeling of balance and harmony, and can develop a better sense of intuition. The pavement – including the street light – was adapted for a Japanese atmosphere.
The Copy Garden of Growth is being realized as a commissioned from the city of Rotterdam. Rick Messemaker and Monique Benthin conceived the idea for the façade photo and proposed advanced ideas for the trompe l’oeil effect. Mothership also acted as the producer here. With thanks to Clingendael Park.
In the Rotterdam neighbourhood Charlois, the Havenspoorpad was once an old railway spur which was used during the construction of the nearby port facilities. The District Council of Charlois wanted much more green space in its area, and drew up a joint plan with residents to plant trees which would be ‘adopted’ by residents along the Havenspoorpad. As many as 275 names of dear departed relatives were painted on the asphalt, and near the eight trees there will be a large boulder with their names on a metal plaque. A wonderful way of keeping their memory fresh and green, no?
The District of Charlois asked Mothership for a suitable plan. The advertising studio of Leo Mineur painted the 275 names on the asphalt.
Our treasury of art, at Witte de Withstraat 7 A in Rotterdam, is attracting lots of visitors, young and old, and of all ages in between. The aim of ABABA to bring art closer to people is being achieved successfully; people feel really welcome in the shop, and the gallery director Sophie Bargmann and Mothership are pleased. There is still lots of work to do, but an online shop for The House of ABABA is presently under development.
Hours:
Wednesday through Sunday 12 – 6 p.m.
Witte de Withstraat 7A Rotterdam
www.ababa.nl
facebook.com/AbabaRotterdam
twitter.com/houseofababa
The circle-shaped sculpture Transition 2012 by Gabriel Lester, which was previously to be seen at dOCUMENTA (13) in Kassel, has found a permanent home along the N34 in Drenthe. If you pause at the Koebroeken rest stop, you can wander through the artwork, and experience its transition from light to dark.
As part of its ‘art along de N34’ project, the Province of Drenthe acquired the artwork Transition 2012 by Gabriel Lester. Commissioned by the artist, Mothership acted as producer. With thanks to TAAK.
ROTTE-DAM, the winning project in the Wijnhaventunnel, by the former students Robbert de Groot and Cees Boot, has a good chance at winning the 2013 Rotterdam Architecture Prize. Constructed at a historic spot close to where the medieval dam was built across the Rotte and the city had its origins, ROTTE-DAM is rising rapidly on the ladder in this competition, which has ‘Transformation’ as its theme.
This project was the outcome of a commission from the city of Rotterdam, in cooperation with students at the Willem de Kooning Academy. The Rotterdam Architecture Prize 2013 is an initiative of the City of Rotterdam and is organized by AIR.
After its first successful edition, the student firm Threesome, sponsored by the Hogeschool Rotterdam and Mothership, has started with its second flight of pupils. During their six month internship three teams of three students each learn the ropes of being an art producer.
Until the end of 2013, the prospective date for the delivery of the ‘De Rotterdam’ building on the Wilhelminapier, every day after sunset inspiring texts and pictures will be projected in commanding size on the sides of the rising building. DRTV will be projecting black and white images and texts as a changing series of slides on the façade of ‘De Rotterdam’ facing the Maas, to surprise and startle passers-by – or even stop them in their tracks. DRTV therefore invites artists, illustrators, writers, journalists, Rotterdammers in general and visitors to the city to help out by sending in a picture or text via their website, drtv.nu.
DRTV is an initiative of the developers of De Rotterdam – MAB Development and OVG Project Development – in cooperation with Mothership.
The artwork “ROTTE-DAM” is based on the city’s “roots”. It was conceived in 2010 by two (now former) students at the Willem de Kooning Academy, Hogeschool Rotterdam. At that time graphic designers Robbert de Groot and Cees Boot won a prize with their proposal for the project at the Wijnhaven Tunnel in Rotterdam. The word ROTTE-DAM is cut out in root-shaped letters from a Corten steel wall which is illuminated at night by LED lighting. The dam on the Rotte was built and Rotterdam first arose at this magical place where the Wijnhaven Tunnel lies today.
Commissioned by the District Council of Central Rotterdam, graphic designers Robbert de Groot and Cees Boot designed the artwork “ROTTE-DAM”. Mothership acted as the producer.
Mothership’s new art treasury, ‘The House of ABABA’, is the logical follow-up on Mothership’s mission of bringing art to the people. The House of ABABA is a cultural treasure trove where high-quality art is sold in an unusual way. ABABA therefore stands for extravagance, diversity, and making art accessible to a wide audience. Through the web shop, in the treasury (both in and outside its normal business hours), and at other sites special events are being organized, about which we will be happy to keep you informed.
The House of ABABA, under the inspiring guidance of the gallerista Sophie Bargmann, will be showing its first treasures to the general public on Wednesday, 11 September, beginning at 6:00 p.m. in the broad display window of Witte de Withstraat 7 A in Rotterdam.
Sophie Bargmann | Galerista +31 (0) 6 46314987
facebook.com/AbabaRotterdam
The House of ABABA is open every week from Wednesday through Sunday, from 1:00 to 6:00 p.m.
The skateable artwork Twist & Shout by Martand Khosla, from New Delhi, was recently opened with a skatextravaganza. In 2010 Showroom MAMA organized ‘Reclaiming the Street’, an international contest for ideas in which participants were asked to design an art object that was also skateable. Twist & Shout exceeded everybody’s expectations, because it was so darned simple, so darned effective, and in all its simplicity of form possessed such a wonderfully powerful sculptural beauty. The ramp was designed so as to afford the skateboarder the greatest possible challenge in conquering it – and that has now proven to be just the case!
The realization of Twist & Shout was made possible in part by the City of Rotterdam, th Centre for Visual Art and the DOEN foundation. Commissioned by Showroom MAMA, Mothership acted as the producer.
Together with residents of Amsterdam South-East, Arno Coenen designed the mosaic artwork
Hub Holendrecht, which has popularly become known as the Arms of Holendrecht. With thousands of tesserae in sixteen colours and his own powerful and colourful visual language Coenen has literally put Holendrechtplein on the map again. Coenen worked the geographic coordinates of the square into the artwork, so that the mosaic will soon be findable by computer through Google Earth too.
Arno Coenen designed the artwork Hub Holendrecht as a commission from the Centre for the Visual Arts South-East. Thanks go out to the initiators, the Work Group Art in Public Space (WKOR) of the Amsterdam South-East District Council, and the residents.
De Rotterdam by Koolhaas, the biggest building in Europe currently under construction, is nearing its completion after four years of intensive building. Before all the offices, apartments, restaurants, the hotel and other services will be put into use, the developers of De Rotterdam together with Mothership will launch the project “DRTV”. From the end of July onwards, DRTV will be projecting mega large images during the evening hours on the facade of the then still under construction De Rotterdam. Black and white images and texts in changing series of slides that will surprise, amaze or even stop passers-by… The first series of images is from photographer Ruud Sies, who has been following the builders and the building of the De Rotterdam form the very beginning.
In our next newsletter we will give more information and have a request for content for DRTV to be delivered via the DRTV website. The website will be online at the end of July.
So, artists, illustrators, writers, journalists, citizens of Rotterdam, visitors…. maybe soon your entry will be displayed mega large on De Rotterdam.
Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen recently opened its new exhibition on contemporary art, XXXL Painting, in Rotterdam’s harbour. For the show the submarine construction shed in the former dry docks of the RDM Campus was transformed into a gigantic art studio. To visit the show you have to use the ‘Aqualiner’ to reach the shed. The sign-posting on the route from the museum to the ferry had to be real attention-grabbers, so the museum floated a contest for ideas. Mothership’s Threesome internship programme and the Hogeschool Rotterdam drew up a plan and won. Threesome marked the route with coloured ribbons with quotes from the painters in the show, Klaas Kloosterboer, Chris Martin and Jim Shaw.
Commissioned by the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, the students in Threesome designed the ribbon plan and affixed them along the route leading to the Aqualiner.
On Friday, 12 July, at 4:00 p.m., the skateable artwork Twist & Shout by the New Delhi native Martand Khosla will be opened with a skatebration. In 2010 Showroom MAMA organized ‘Reclaiming the Street’, an international contest for which competitors had to come up with ideas for an art object which was also skateable. Twist & Shout surpassed everyone’s expectations because it was so darned straightforward, so darned effective, and in all its simplicity possessed a powerful sculptural beauty. The ramp is designed to offer the skateboarder as much of a challenge as possible, that has got to be conquered, at any cost.
The realization of Twist & Shout was made possible in part by the City of Rotterdam, the Centre for Visual Art and Stichting DOEN. Commissioned by Showroom MAMA, Mothership acted as the producer.
With a full 100% of extraterrestrial force stowed aboard, Mothership presents its new-fledged website. Always proud of our successes, just as we did for our recent book we entrusted showcasing them to the ever-competent hands of Nataša Heydra, who provided the design. Jasper took all the technical aspects on his broad shoulders; Siobhan Burger contributed her energetic mental support by meanwhile giving advice to everyone, and Monique Benthin filled the Mothership website to the brim with texts and pictures.
At Witte de Withstraat 7A talented students from three different departments at the Hogeschool Rotterdam learn what it is like to work on real art commissions. In five months’ time Mothership’s first edition of Threesome has put together and carried out a serious number of art commissions, including the ribbons for XXXL Painting, for the Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum, the centenary of Erasmus University, the coronation of the new Dutch king, art-while-you-wait at the Prins Alexander train station, the Muizengaatje station in Schiebroek-Hillegersberg, and the sesquicentennial of the Sophia Erasmus Medical Centre.
Every year about 20 highly talented students at the Hogeschool Rotterdam have art commissions which they themselves define and realize under the professional guidance of Mothership. The programme enables young talent to come into direct contact with diverse clients and professionals.
At home or travelling to exotic places, with or without the kids, with or without a couple of extra kilos – but above all else, a restful time, with lots and lots of sunshine.
We look forward to seeing you again with the start of a new and bustling cultural season.
