The Kunsthal in 2015:
From Freaky and Do It Yourself to Art is for Everyone
The programming of the year 2015 was almost completely characterised by (contemporary and experimental) art and public participation and involvement. Relatively unknown artists like Krištof Kintera and Piet Parra were given a big platform and attracted a young, predominantly new public. ‘Kunsthalcooks & cultivates festival’, ‘Tomato Factory’ and ‘do it (Kunsthal Rotterdam)’ are projects in which many of the people of Rotterdam were involved, while Keith Haring was the main attraction with visibility in the whole city (and further afield).
The highly diverse programme of exhibitions and events is described under Flexibel en Contrastrijk en Tentoonstellingen 2015. The many
collaborations with numerous parties in Rotterdam and elsewhere have led to an exciting and dynamic year, for which I would like to warmly thank all the institutions, companies, artists, creative minds and guest curators.
The small-scale organisation of the Kunsthal has seen a few changes in important posts. This has led to an increased pressure of work and extra expense to fill the gaps in time. The relatively small organisation and limited resources make the Kunsthal model vulnerable. This is a worrying aspect and will be treated as a point requiring urgent attention in the forthcoming Culture Plan. I compliment the Kunsthal team, the temps and our public officers who managed to make 2015 a successful year. You can read about their achievements in this annual report.
Partly thanks to the support of many partners, firms, funds, donors, (cultural) cooperation in the city, the local authority, the consortium and all the visitors, we can look back on a good year for the Kunsthal. ‘Mapping the Kunsthal’ illustrates the many partners with which the Kunsthal collaborated in 2015. With more than 200,000 visitors, the Kunsthal can look back on a year with many new collaborations in Rotterdam and much further afield, a greater involvement of visitors, and outreach to a younger and more international public.
Emily Ansenk, director Kunsthal Rotterdam (March 2016)
