Meet the Masters: Iris Kensmil
New ways to discover makers
Events — 11 Feb 2023
Each month, the Meet the Masters program introduces you to the work of one central influential artist. In this edition, we’re exploring the work of Iris Kensmil. During this Saturday talk she talks – alongside other speakers and performers – about what is happening in her work In My Father’s House, which is currently on display in the exhibition When Things Are Beings. In this installation, visitors experience what brings people with a background similar to Kensmil’s together: for some, the installation offers a deepening recognition, for others a sense of a new connection. Various speakers, such as Orlando Ceder, artistic director of Black Harmony, and philosohpher Grâce Ndjako share with us what the impact of the work was on them. And, there will be a performance by Black Harmony. The program is curated and moderated by Mirthe Frese.
Enjoy a Blikopener Speed Tour, a Gallery Talk with one of the artists in When Things Are Beings, a film screening, or workshop, and relax with a drink in the Zadelhoff Café.
- Price
- Standard: € 9,95 (incl. admission to the museum) – Reduced rate: € 3 (students, CJP, Vrienden, Museumkaart, Stadspas, ICOM or other valid entrance ticket) – Children (18 and under): Free
- Location
- Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam
- Time
- 11 Feb, 2.30 pm until 5.30 pm
- Main language
- Dutch en English
- Admission
- Tickets
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
Do artworks have a soul? The exhibition When Things Are Beings is about forms of spirituality that can be hidden in objects and sculptures. After all, design and art can enchant or fascinate you in a way that is not always easy to explain or define. Saturday 11 February is all about this exhibition and you can hear more about how the works connect the material and immaterial world by joining a Blikopener Speed Tour or Gallery Talk or joining the workshop. The When Things Are Beings exhibition is part of the Municipal Art Acquisitions project series, which is organized every two years with financial support from the Municipality of Amsterdam. Makers living and working in the Netherlands are invited to respond to an open call, followed by a jury selection and a group exhibition. Part of the work shown is purchased for the museum collection.
PROGRAM
- 2.30 p.m. – 3.20 pm
- Meet the Masters: Iris Kensmil (NL)
With: Iris Kensmil, Grâce Ndjako, Orlando Ceder and Black Harmony
By: Mirthe Frese - 2.30 – 5 p.m.
- Workshop 'Make your own Talisman' with Shani Leseman
- Every hour
- Blikopeners Speed Tours of 'When Things Are Beings' (NL/EN)
- Ongoing
- Film screening: Aram Lee, 'The Dutch Wife Part Two'
- 3 p.m. – 5 p.m.
- Zadelhoff Café open for drinks
- 3.45 p.m. – 4.15 p.m.
- Gallery Talk: Aram Lee (EN)
- 4.30 p.m. – 5 p.m.
- Gallery Talk: by Artists (NL/EN)
- 6 p.m.
- Museum closes
Program in detail
WORKSHOP:
2.30 p.m. – 5 p.m., Schiphol Entrance, registration not required
Shani Leseman made a series of one hundred ceramic objects for the exhibition: Talismagic. Leseman's talismans are sculptural, ceramic versions of their metal predecessors (milagros), made to express gratitude or the desire to be protected.
Join this walk-in workshop and make your own talisman.
BLIKOPENER SPEED TOURS (NL/EN)
On the hour, Sign up and start at the Information Desk in the Entrance Hall. Please note: capacity is limited.
Join a speed tour of the exhibition given by the Blikopeners, young Amsterdam residents passionate about art and culture. Discover the highlights in 20 minutes.
FILM SCREENING: ARAM LEE, THE DUTCH WIFE PART TWO (EN)
Ongoing, Studio A
In the exhibition When Things Are Beings, the work The Dutch Wife Part Two can be seen. A sculptural installation in which Aram Lee explores the multi-layered stories and histories surrounding the guling, a long, tube-shaped human-sized cushion. In bed, people wrap their arms and legs around the cushion to stay in a relaxed sleeping position. Originally made from rattan or braided bamboo, their open structure also allows for ventilation in warm and humid climates. During the Dutch colonial occupation of Indonesia, British traders used the mocking term “Dutch Wife” for the guling—raising the problematic subject of colonists seeking female companionship. Aram Lee made a film with the same title, in which this research becomes visible. The film can be seen continuously throughout the day in Studio A.
GALLERY TALKS: BY ARTISTS (NL/EN)
3.45 - 4.15 & 4.30 -5.00 pm, sign up and start at the Info Desk in the Entrance Hall. Please note: capacity is limited
Join one of our Gallery Talks and, in a small group setting, dive deeper into the work of When Things Are Beings. Led by Hatutamelen or Aram Lee.
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Suo Wu, Amy & Elaine W. Ho, radio SLUMBER, 2022, Installation view 'When Things Are Beings' Photo GJ van Rooij. -
Meet the Masters: Yto Barrada, Workshop Dye it Yourself . Photo: Maarten Nauw -
Shani Leseman, Talismagic, 2022. Installation view 'When Things Are Beings' Photo GJ van Rooij. -
Meet the Masters. Photo: Maarten Nauw -
Meet the Masters. Photo: Maarten Nauw
With thanks to Mastercard, Zadelhoff Cultuurfonds en Stichting Zabawas.
