Michiel Peeters (TivoliVredenburg) - We want to make visual art a more prominent part of our programme

'When I moved to Utrecht 13 years ago, I could be found on the dance floor every weekend. DumDum and RAUW in Tivoli Oudegracht were 2 parties I always attended. For these parties, visuals/animation were always important. That was the first time I came into contact with it I think.'

How did Canvas come into being? Why do you choose programming specifically for animation and motion design?

'For our annual NYE (New Years Eve) Festival, I was looking for a way to unpack. The heart of our building, where on this date visitors celebrate the countdown by 1,000 simultaneously, needed a draw. In the past, we had mapping done on the surface that is now Canvas, but we wanted to take that to a new level with NYE. Once we had done that, I thought: we should have this as standard. Then I started shaping the concept in terms of content and researching what was and is needed in terms of facilities and finances. With support from our partner ABinBEV/Bud, we were able to realise Canvas.'

'Canvas is now a 150 sq m stage for animation, motion design and video art in Park 6, the heart of our building. We want to give a stage to young/talented and professional image makers here. It was born out of a drive to be a more open and atmospheric building. A place where people are more likely to go before going to a concert or club night, or just stick around after. We also want to make visual art a more prominent part of our programme.'

What plays a role in talent selection? and what about the technique of it all ? 

'Tessa, Mo and I make a selection based on a CV and cover letter. For us, a good story, or starting point, is as important as experience. The only requirement is that the works must be accessible to all ages.'

What kind of visitors does Canvas attract, is it a general audience or a so-called 'makers for makers' audience?

'Canvas mainly gets a lot of views from the visitors already in our building. That makes the audience profile very broad. Our ambition in the future, for example with our new batch of 'What Does Freedom Look Like?', is to attract a new target group that is prominent lovers of visual rather than audiovisual art. What is very nice to see are the different reactions. Sometimes that creates an atmosphere full of hilarity and comedy and other times tension or melancholy.'

Is there a connecting factor between animation and motion design? Do new collaborations arise through such a programme?

'That is my ambition, though. With our new batch, we have also added an audio component. The works are introduced and explained by the artists themselves and accompanied by music. I would like to link image makers and musical artists in the future to take the next step in that.'

Technology must be a challenge, what are the fixed and variable data at TivoliVredenburg, is 'everything' possible?

'Within TivoliVredenburg, there is a lot of expertise in audio and visual technology. With all the different types of productions that come across our floor every day, we gain a lot of knowledge that we were able to bring to the development of Canvas. One of the bigger challenges regarding Canvas was positioning the projectors to project onto as large an area as possible. The projectors have to hang out of the area of audience and therefore cannot be on the floor. At the same time, the projectors must hang still so that the mapping values remain intact. I would say, almost anything is possible.'

Besides Canvas, you programme all kinds of performances. What do you take into account when booking? Do visualisation, music video, art and the additional technical challenges play a role in this at TivoliVredenburg?

'We always programme from content. Of course there are preconditions, but with our relatively new building we can meet a lot of artists' needs. We have seen in recent years that artists are bringing bigger shows more often. In some cases, that is with visuals, often precisely in combination with their own light show. Since the period we have been dealing with Corona, we see less room for visuals,'

Will there be a new one soon call for Canvas?

'The second batch of "What Does Freedom Look Like?" was able to run for 1 month. That series turned out really crazy so we want to give it the stage for now. The aim is to present something new again at the end of this year. Although we are not yet sure what form it will take. Perhaps we will choose one instead of 15 makers, or we will develop an app that allows the public to draw..;

Links
Canvas @ Tivoli|Vredenburg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kf3zmX189QM

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This article originally appeared on platform Animation31 A survey of animation and motion design made under country number 31, Netherlands.