We have been travelling quite a lot recently. While Juha was talking about the future of cities in Manchester, Michiel gave failed architecture-workshops in Geneva and Belgrade, while Radna was presenting Future Vintage in Mannheim, Germany…

On 17 May Juha talked about real-time connectivity in the city at FutureEverything. This annual festival of art, music and ideas in Manchester, was held over four days at various venues across the city and included a conference at the Museum of Science and Industry.

On May 16 Michiel presented Failed Architecture to students Interior Architecture at the Haute École d’Art et de Design (HEAD) in Geneva, Switzerland, together with architect Ljubo Georgiev. They were invited by Maarten Gielen, who is a visiting professor at HEAD and is a founding member of the Belgium specialist in material flows Rotor in Brussels.

Radna was invited by Ubbo Gronewold to present Future Vintage in Mannheim, Germany, at several venues in the period of April 26 – 28. Future Vintage is a music platform and radioshow dedicated to discovering the history and future of soul, jazz, hiphop, electronic & psychedelic music. It’s presented by Radna and Reinier Klok, who joined Radna in Mannheim, and various guest DJ’s and is broadcasted every Tuesday from 8-9PM on Red Light Radio, live from Amsterdam’s red light district.

From 2 – 6 April the team of Failed Architecture, including its founder-member Michiel together with architects Maja Popovic and Ljubo Georgiev, went to Belgrade, Serbia, for a workshop focusing on the Savamala neighbourhood, in collaboration with European Center for Culture and Debate GRAD. The FA-team got a feature in Belgrade’s Novi magazin, and is returning to Belgrade in May for Mikser Beograd, the annual arts festival.



Kirsten Weijs (1987) is originally from Belgium. She would describe herself as an urbanist painter and creative entrepreneur who studied Graphical Design at Sint Lucas in Gent and Arts & Culture at University Maastricht. After her bachelor she worked as assistant curator at several art galleries in Vienna like Galerie Nächst St. Stephan Rosemarie Schwarzwälder and Elisabeth Michitsch. She also studied exhibition marketing and culture management at the University of Vienna.

From networking with gallerists to documenting the city by foot, she always strives to keep her finger on the pulse of a city´s creative beat. In 2011 she started her Master´s degree at Maastricht University in the field of Arts & Heritage, where she specialized in the area of urban development; the tension between art and architecture and cultural industries.

The coming months Kirsten will devote much of her time to the Netherlands Architecture Institute, where we are currently organizing the summer programme, and for which Kirsten moved to Rotterdam. After her first week in the city, we asked her some questions.

- How did you end up at Non-fiction?



Since my interests are so wide it was very hard for me to pin down what I really wanted to do. Nonetheless when I told my teacher from the UM that I was searching for an internship that has to do with “ urban development, architecture, design, creative industries, culture, art, where I am allowed to create something of an added value and where my voice is heard”. After this very demanding and chaotic description she immediately knew to link me to Non-Fiction. 

After I met Michiel van Iersel myself at “A perfect day- tekenshow”, I knew for that this was exactly the working area that I was looking for.

- Could you describe Non-fiction in one Tweet?



A force of nature, a colourful, fast moving and diverse undertaking that knows how to move and leaves its mark in the cultural and urban field.

- What are you expecting from your internship?



That´s an easy one. The opportunity to work and be surrounded with people who are just as passionate as I am to create, produce and search for brilliant and bulky ideas.

- Where will/would you like to focus on (projects, topics, etc.)?

I would particularly like to work in the area of urban development. Nonetheless I also have a passion for projects and topics that are slightly quirky and different. As long as it is a challenge I’ll adopt a ‘die-trying’ attitude.

- Any idea(s) how Non-fiction can be improved?



Ha! Tricky, well… I think of Non-fiction in terms of antonyms like the following; structured chaos, moderate grandness, flawed perfection, and so on. These paradoxical qualities are able to surprise, overwhelm and inspire. I personally don’t think it should be pinned down or controlled. Non-Fiction is a life on it´s own, that’s how it should be.

-

Kirsten’s own website is currently under construction, but make sure you visit it when it’s back online and in the meantime you can browse her fascinating photo collection on Pinterest.

More information below (in Dutch)

Modernistische architectuur, speculatieve wolkenkrabbers, bloemkoolwijken; de kritiek op architectuur neemt toe. Steeds meer gebouwen en gebieden worden verwaarloosd, verlaten of zelfs afgebroken. Denk aan de Bijlmer of het Wibauthuis, maar bijvoorbeeld ook aan Sovjet-architectuur in Oost-Europa en traditionele huizen in China die in rap tempo verdwijnen. Wie is hier schuld aan? De architect, de gebruiker, de media, de politiek? Michiel van Iersel vliegt over de wereld en zoomt in op recente gevallen en oorzaken van ‘mislukte’ architectuur in binnen- en buitenland.

-

Michiel van Iersel is oprichter van Non-fiction en van De Verdieping in het Trouw-gebouw van waaruit hij het internationale onderzoeksproject Failed Architecture opzette Hij is tevens lid van Stad-Forum.

De lezing wordt 26 april a.s. gegeven tussen 12.00 en 13.00 uur in de Zuiderkerk. Gratis lunch!

Aanstaande zuiderkerklezingen in 2012 (onder voorbehoud): 24 mei, 12 juli, 13 september

Bijna een jaar geleden organiseerden het Stedelijk Museum en Non-fiction de eerste editie van Hear it! – Een playlist voor het Stedelijk Museum. Deze drie-en-een-half uur durende tentoonstelling stond in het teken van het fenomeen geluid in de beeldende kunsten. Omdat het tentoonstellen van geluid zowel een ruimtelijke als een tijdelijke uitdaging is – twee geluidswerken naast elkaar in dezelfde ruimte kunnen hinderlijk zijn – besloten we indertijd geen opstelling in de ruimte te maken, maar in de tijd. Eigenlijk zoals een DJ zijn muziek volgtijdig uitzoekt, de ene plaat over laten gaand in de ander. Maar dan met een extra ruimtelijke dimensie, namelijk de tentoonstellingszalen van het Stedelijk Museum.

Zo werd de playlist als organiserend principe geboren. Een playlist voor het Stedelijk Museum.

Hear it! bleek een onverwacht succes: de avond werd druk bezocht – met meer dan 500 bezoekers waren we feitelijk uitverkocht – en de deelnemende kunstenaars waren erg blij met de pragmatische en enigszins terloopse manier van programmeren. Onder hen waren onder meer Gabriel Lester, Hans Aarsman, Carl Michael von Hausswolff, Claron McFadden en Brandon LaBelle. In de collectie vonden we bijzondere werken van Dick Raaymakers, John Cage en LaMonte Young. Een magische avond kwam in stijl ten einde met het gregoriaanse koor Schola Cantorum Amsterdam, dat kruisvaartliederen zong in de Erezaal voor de schilderijen met kruizen van Malevich.

Aanstaande donderdag 19 april organiseren we de tweede editie van Hear it! Met deze keer de ondertitel Playing the Building, vanwege de verkenning van het gebouw door een groot aantal geroemde geluidskunstenaars, musici en zelfs een voormalige architecte. Aan hen hebben we gevraagd op zoek te gaan naar de bijzondere akoestische kwaliteiten van het Trouwgebouw, een gebouw dat ooit voor machines is gebouwd – de drukpersen van PCM – en nooit (echt) voor mensen bedoeld is geweest. Zo heeft Machinefabriek een compositie gemaakt voor de machinekamer, zal Jacob Kirkegaard de grote hal in beweging brengen, en benut Carsten Nicolai het kraakheldere geluidssysteem in combinatie met de akoestische panelen van de clubzaal waarmee ooit de herrie van de drukpersen binnen werd gehouden.

In totaal zullen 18 verschillende werken, zowel nieuw gemaakte als bestaande uit de collecties van het Stedelijk Museum, De Appel en het Nederlands Instituut voor Mediakunst, in vijf uur tijd over de loop van de avond geprogrammeerd worden. En net als de vorige avond in het Stedelijk Museum is het geheel nu in Trouw ook een dynamische vermenging van verschillende werken die elkaar in de tijd en de ruimte zullen opvolgen.

Zo zal de bezoeker (vermoedelijk) oren tekort komen en (hopelijk) als vanzelf door de ruimten gaan zwerven, luisterend naar het ruimtelijk spel tussen de architectuur en de kunst.

We kijken er enorm naar uit, en hopen u allen tegen te komen.

—
Dit bericht verscheen op het blog van het Stedelijk Museum, ter aankondiging van Hear it! (part 2) – playing the building 

Failed Architecture (FA) is an independent research project and travelling forum, founded by Non-fiction, focusing on individual buildings and urban environments that are either malfunctioning, displeasing and/or have failed to stand the test of time. Based in Amsterdam, the FA-team travelled to Copenhagen, Sofia and Skopje to conduct research and host debates before coming to Belgrade for a workshop from April 2 -6 2012 at GRAD, European Center for Culture and Debate.

Together with an international team of students and young professionals from different backgrounds they mapped the ‘rise and fall’ of Savamala, a largely derelict and abandoned neighborhood that is cut-off from the nearby city centre and river Sava by a jungle of railroads and elevated highways. The FA-team will return to Belgrade in May to participate in the Mikser art festival, using the outcome of the workshop for a series of temporary interventions in Savamala.

We will keep you updated via our website and the FA-blog.

Workshop ‘Failed Architecture’ at GRAD from April 2 – 6, 2012

Presentation of timeline and public debate on April 6

In 2010 Amsterdam’s 17th-century canal ring was added to the World Heritage List by UNESCO. On April 3 the newly established Stad-Forum, an advisory body for the City of Amsterdam and mobile debate platform, will organize a public discussion focusing on the opportunities and threats that UNESCO might pose to the city.

Being a member of Stad-Forum, and having written about UNESCO on several occasions, Non-fiction’s Michiel van Iersel will be one of the speakers, together with the deputy mayor of both Brugge and Amsterdam, providing an international overview of the ways in which cities deal with UNESCO. Please find more information below (in Dutch).-

-

It’s time to say goodbye to Adela, our former superstar intern who became our CIO. She is returning to the Czech Republic to become the first female president of the country, only after establishing the Non-fiction Eastern Europe HQ in Prague.

Come and join us for a Czech-out-party with a strong line-up:

- Entertainment by Molletje and Buurman&Buurman

- Alcohol by Becherovka and Plzeňský Prazdroj

- Heroic moves by Jaromír Jágr and Martina Navratilova

- Moving music by Leoš Janáček and Antonín Dvořák

- Existential thoughts by Franz Kafka and Václav Havel

And, of course, Adela’s farewell ‘questions-about-the-Dutch-you-always-wanted-to-ask-but-never-dared’-quiz!

Czech out the Facebook-event

Location:
Non-fiction HQ
Gabriel Metsustraat 8
(southside Museumplein)
Amsterdam

Nicky Zwaan: Trying to Catch Up With My Molecules

Cityscapes is a new gallery focussing on the interfaces of art, architecture and the city. Cityscapes considers architecture as art and the city as work of art.

Cityscapes is proud to present at the first GM8 Exhibition recent installations by Nicky Zwaan in which she investigates how we perceive the world around us through the working of light.

‘An object in space is only visible when light bounces off it and enters our eyes as a light wave. The object materialises inside our brain. We think we see it in front of us, when in reality it is hiding in our head’.

For more information on the work of Nicky Zwaan, check: nickyzwaan.com

location: GM8, Gabriel Metsustraat 8, Amsterdam (same address as Non-fiction, south side of Museumplein)

dates: 23 March 2012 – 27 April 2012, visit by appointment

vernissage: friday 23 March 2012, 18.00 – 21.00

interview: friday 23 March, 18.00 – 18.30

Due to success, A Perfect Day Tekenshow has been extended and will remain open for an extra weekend. On Saturday 25 February and Sunday 26 February from 11-17 hrs there will be extra activities.

On Saturday and Sunday: drawing (free) and making buttons (€0,50) for children.

On Sunday: t-shirt workshop. For € 13,50 you get a t-shirt, can join the workshop and can see the entire exhibition. If you bring your own t-shirt you join for just € 7,50.

If you haven’t seen the exhibition yet, here is your chance to change that. Tickets are only 5 euros. The Parool called it “art without a pedestal“, and NRC gave it four stars. We look forward to seeing you at the Westergasfabriek this weekend.

As part of our ongoing collaboration with the renowned Ives Ensemble, we are co-hosting a concert and film screening at church De Duif, Prinsengracht 754 in Amsterdam, on Sunday 26 February from 4 till 6 PM. Tickets are 5 Euro at the door, which opens at 3:30 PM.

The ensemble will perform two works by John Cage: Music for five (1984) and Atlas Eclipticalis (1961/1962), which is based on an atlas of the stars published in 1958 by Czech astronomer Antonín Becvár. From the collection of the Netherlands Media Art Institute (NIMk) we are showing two works by Semiconductor, the British artist duo that consists of Ruth Jarman and Joe Gerhardt: Black Rain (2009) and Brilliant Noise (2006).

Both films use raw footage that was collected by NASA-satellites while observing the solar system. Solar wind, passing planets and comets orbiting the sun can be seen as background stars and the milky way pass by, providing the visual equivalent of Cage’s astrological sounds.

In addition to the programme their will be a short introduction, drinks and nice people. So please join us this Sunday, also to celebrate the fact that John Cage would have turned 100 in 2012. For more info (in Dutch) click here. For De Duif in Google Maps click here.

You can listen to John Cage’s Atlas Eclipticalis on Spotify by clicking here.

Brilliant Noise by Semiconductor: Ruth Jarman and Joe Gerhardt

…this version suffers a bit from the internet compression. The original version is much better.

Brilliant Noise takes us into the data vaults of solar astronomy. After sifting through hundreds of thousands of computer files, made accessible via open access archives, Semiconductor have brought together some of the sun’s finest unseen moments. These images have been kept in their most raw form, revealing the energetic particles and solar wind as a rain of white noise. This grainy black and white quality is routinely cleaned up by NASA, hiding the processes and mechanics in action behind the capturing procedure. Most of the imagery has been collected as single snapshots containing additional information, by satellites orbiting the Earth. They are then reorganised into their spectral groups to create time-lapse sequences. The soundtrack highlights the hidden forces at play upon the solar surface, by directly translating areas of intensity within the image brightness into layers of audio manipulation and radio frequencies.

Lots more info here:

http://www.semiconductorfilms.com/root/Brilliant_Noise/BNoise.htm