In Context

Matthijs de Bruijne

Matthijs de Bruijne is an artist and his practice is closely associated with labor organizations such as the Dutch Union of Cleaners FNV. Earlier this year, following the appointment of PVV politician Martin Bosma as Speaker of the House of Representatives, he decided to decline a commission from the Chief Government Architect to create a work of art at the House of Representatives. De Bruijne lives and works in Amsterdam and Kassel.  

Naaz

Naaz is a singer, producer, director and songwriter from Amsterdam. Growig up in a refugee family, Naaz faced overwhelming odds in the world of art. But her unique Kurdish roots couldn't hold her back. With tracks like Azadî and her Kurdish translation of Stromae's L'enfer, she has emerged as one of the most authentic and pure artists of the moment. With her songwriting hailed by music icons like Elton John, she is an inspiration to many. 

Naomi de Bruijn

Naomi de Bruijn is an artist and teacher. Her practice is driven by a fascination for language in all its ambiguity and limitations. How should we act, she asks, when injustice is so loud and so conspicuously present? The street is her research domain. Which sounds and movements can be found there? 

Tina Farifteh

Tina Farifteh is a visual artist whose work is poised at the intersection of art, politics, and philosophy. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague and a Master’s from the Erasmus University Rotterdam.  

Her interest in particular, lies in what makes us human and how human life can become a plaything for politics. Farifteh reflects on the impact of power structures on the lives of ordinary people. She wants to tempt us into looking at topics that we rather avoid because they are complicated or uncomfortable.  

In her audiovisual installation The Flood (2021-ongoing) she dissects right-wing, populist rhetoric and how refugees are dehumanised and framed as a ‘natural disaster’. In her short documentary Kitten or Refugee? (Prospektor / VPRO 2023), she investigates our human capacity for empathy, and its limits. In tandem with these projects, she is developing Tina in Sexbierum, a transmedia project on displacement, detachment, assimilation, loss and longing for a home. The Flood won several prizes, among others The Royal Academy Bachelor Award and Meestervertellers 2023. Kitten or Refugee? was selected for the Debut Competition of the Dutch Film Festival, and won the 1st prize for Storytelling at De Zilveren Camera. 

Jörgen Tjon A Fong

Jörgen Tjon A Fong is the director of the Kleine Komedie. After studying at the theater school in Amsterdam, he completed a master's degree at the University of London, after which he started his career in the theater world. With his company Urban Myth he produced performances that made a powerful connection between shared history and current social themes. Tjon A Fong has collaborated with various companies, including International Theater Amsterdam. In 2019, in collaboration with the Amsterdam Museum, he initiated the much-discussed exhibition Dutch Masters Re-Seeing in the Hermitage. This exhibition led to a national debate about the use of the term 'The Golden Age'. He was subsequently involved in various exhibitions in, among others, the Rijksmuseum, Kunsthal and The Rembrandt House. Tjon A Fong aims to give a variety of voices and stories a platform.