The Amsterdam Museum is calling on makers and artists to submit a proposal on the theme of War & Conflict. The selected proposals will be presented, among others, in the second edition of the exhibition Refresh Amsterdam, from May to October 2023 at the Amsterdam Museum on the Amstel.
The second edition of Refresh Amsterdam deals with the impact of war and conflict in the world on today's city, and in particular on its inhabitants and social structures. It is prompted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the public debate on related themes. Amsterdam likes to see itself as a city of freedom and refuge. How does war affect a city and our dealings with each other? Why do some war and conflict situations arouse more solidarity than others?
In Amsterdam, too, war and conflict are often close by, even if they are sometimes not visible to everyone. War and conflict help shape the city and affect the social fabric of Amsterdam; people who found a new home here, the xenophobia often associated with migration and with international conflict, who lives in which neighbourhood, or who cannot get shelter at all. How do people from refugee backgrounds view the city? Conflict caused influxes of refugees, from the fall of Antwerp in 1584 to the war in Syria that began in 2011.
Open call
The Amsterdam Museum calls on creative makers from a variety of disciplines, from theatre and performance to music, poetry, design and visual arts, to reflect on the impact of war and conflict on the city of Amsterdam. The selected proposals will be presented in exhibitions or be part of public programming at the Amsterdam Museum or at one of its partners. Following Refresh Amsterdam, some works will be acquired for the Amsterdam Museum's collection. For more information and to submit a proposal, please visit amsterdammuseum.nl/refresh.
Refresh Amsterdam
Refresh Amsterdam is a biennial initiative of the Amsterdam Museum in which contemporary makers with an artistic practice present their views on metropolitan themes in relation to Amsterdam. The second edition is organised in collaboration with art collective We Sell Reality. Other partners include: AGA LAB, de Appel, CBK Zuidoost, Framer Framed, Het HEM, De Kleine Komedie, Melkweg Expo, OSCAM, Pakhuis de Zwijger, Rijksakademie, ROZENSTRAAT - a rose is a rose is a rose, The Black Archives, Tolhuistuin and W139. Refresh Amsterdam #2 runs from May to October 2023.
First edition
The first edition of Refresh Amsterdam, from 11 December 2020 (the day before the second corona-lockdown) until 25 July 2021 at the Amsterdam Museum, featured work by twenty-five artists (collectives) from different disciplines following an open call. Each gave their own perspective on the city and current metropolitan issues. On display was work by Bas Kosters, Brian Elstak, Nicoline van Harskamp, Tirzo Martha, KIP Republic and Elisa van Joolen, among others. Following the exhibition, three works were acquired by the Amsterdam Museum: the textile work Curtain Wall (2019) by The Shadows Assembly, the series of pencil drawings Before I was born (2020) by Tja Ling Hu and a modern group portrait Untitled (2020) by Raquel van Haver. The exhibition received great publicity and was visited by over 13,681 people despite Corona.
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