Art lovers will soon be able to feast their eyes on over seventy works of art along the five-kilometre ARTZUID route – and this will be the seventh time that ARTZUID has been held. Cintha van Heeswijck-Veeger remembers the first time she visited Zuidas, which was then still in its very early days. Thirty years ago, she was working as an intern at the Stibbe law firm, which had relocated from the centre of Amsterdam to the newly constructed Stibbe Tower (now 2Amsterdam). ‘There was hardly anything in Zuidas back then. The focus was entirely on offices. It’s such a different place today’, she says, looking around at the new green space of Prinses Amaliaplein.
International allure
In 2008, van Heeswijck-Veeger initiated the biennial sculpture exhibition, ARTZUID, which in those days was limited to Apollolaan and Minervalaan. However, slowly but surely the art route grew in length in the years that followed, and soon began to attract international attention. ‘Since 2011, Zuidas has been part of ARTZUID, too. More and more people have come to live in the area, so we thought it would be fun to add to the quality of the neighbourhood through art. We’ve been placing sculptures among the construction sites for years.’
‘Imagine’
This edition of ARTZUID is being curated by Ralph Keuning, director of Museum de Fundatie and Kasteel het Nijenhuis. This year’s theme is ‘Imagine’, after the song of the same name by John Lennon. Van Heeswijck-Veeger: ‘ARTZUID’s objective has always been to draw attention to ‘Plan Zuid’ by Hendrik Berlage, which was the original expansion plan for this area of Amsterdam. The architect Berlage was an idealist who embraced socialism and the same was true of Hildo Krop, the municipal sculptor whose statues adorn countless bridges and building frontages around the area. Krop wanted a better world for people, animals and nature.’
Struggle
ARTZUID aspires to emulate the social commitment of Berlage and Krop, explains van Heeswijck-Veeger. ‘The themes of Berlage and Krop are still relevant today. Just think of the climate crisis, Black Lives Matter, women’s rights.’ As she is enthusiastically explaining her thinking, she pauses in front of a sculpture made of polyester. It is actually a large human figure, with two legs and a head, made by artist Marieke Bolhuis. The shape is a reference to the pandemic, explains Van Heeswijck-Veeger. ‘It’s all about social distancing and the struggle that we’ve all been through. There are no arms, do you see that? After all, we weren’t allowed to touch each other.’
New era
Further down Apollolaan, we find another trio of figures by the same artist. Together, these figures make up a work entitled ‘Sisters’. The artist, Marieke Bolhuis, says she chose that name very deliberately. It hints at an individualism that is past its sell-by date, because we are entering a new era of the collective, more so than ever before. This is an idea that appeals to organizer Van Heeswijck-Veeger. ‘We specifically selected artists who are reflecting on today, this period, and who are also putting their own spin on the age we’re living through.’
Seventy works of art
The ‘sister’ in Prinses Amaliaplein is just one of more than seventy works of art that can be seen as part of ARTZUID starting from 1 July. Incidentally, the free walking route – which runs along Apollolaan and Minervalaan, with extensions into Zuidas, Churchillan and Stadionplein – is not limited to traditional sculpture. For example, Van Heeswijck-Veeger points to a work of art just in front of the bridge at Strawinskylaan – it’s a kind of cube with a magnified photograph on each side.
Yellow construction signs
A little further down, on Zuidplein, van Heeswijck-Veeger points upwards. They’re not immediately obvious, but then we spot them: bright yellow construction signs attached to some of the lampposts. ‘What is the shortest route to wisdom’, reads one. On another it says: ‘Scent says so much too.’ The signs are by artist Joanneke Meester, whose work ‘emphasizes the conscious and unconscious communication between people’, according to van Heeswijck-Veeger. A curious passer-by stops for a chat. She turns out to be a local resident who was involved in ARTZUID as a volunteer for many years. ‘It’s marvellous, what you’ve managed to do again this year’, she says beaming. ‘It enriches the local area, it really does.’
Information
ARTZUID 2021 will begin on 1 July and continue until 17 October. It is free for everyone. An ARTZUID app with an audio tour is available, and various guided tours are organized every weekend. The route map and catalogue are available in the ARTZUID pavilion on the corner of Apollolaan and Minervalaan. For more information, please visit www.artzuid.nl.
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