Retrieved title: Casco Art Institute, 50 item(s)
This Thursday, 15 May from 18:00 to 20:00, our dear former curator Staci Bu Shea is launching their book Dying Livingly, published by Sternberg Press, at San Serriffe in Amsterdam. With us at Casco, Staci blessed us with their focus on critical poetics, access, and care. Developing their holistic deathcare research and practice in recent years through teaching, writing, and more, we are beyond happy for Staci that Dying Livingly is finally seeing daylight. It is a part-studious, part-visceral collection of short essays with a focus on the truth of impermanence and the material cultures of death and dying. The writing reaches toward a future of compassionate, community-centered deathcare, offering lessons for us to live fully, with the vulnerability necessary in the transformative process of giving and receiving care.
May Herbawe is a friend and Palestinian artist based in Brussels, who is currently raising funds to complete the post-production of her audiovisual work. The project, which began during her residency at Dar Jacir in Bethlehem, follows the story of the last Palestinian crocodile, acting as a metaphor for the people’s resistance and struggle against erasure, exploring themes of her homeland, collective memory, and the colonial violence it continues to endure. If you are able to, please consider donating to help make her project come to life!
Stichting Das Spectrum in Utrecht invites you to their Monthly Peer Support Meetings, running from May to December. These gatherings create space to reflect on the challenges of living and working in the contemporary art and cultural sectors, offering mutual support through shared experiences. The first meeting takes place on Friday, 23 May, from 10:00 to 12:30 at Basecamp (formerly BAK).
Onze Arts Collaboratory partner en vrienden van 32° East in Oeganda lanceerden de Build the Future Campaign om hun Art Centre te voltooien, een vitale plek in Kampala die lokale kunstenaars en initiatieven ondersteunt door middel van residenties, workshops, tentoonstellingen en gemeenschapsgestuurde programma’s. Wat in 2021 tijdens de pandemie begon, is nu nog dringender geworden nu de uitdagingen blijven toenemen. Het centrum bewijst wat samenwerking teweeg kan brengen en herinnert ons eraan dat we elkaar in tijden van crisis meer dan ooit nodig hebben. Bezoek de link om het initiatief te steunen.
As the Hawai‘i Triennial 2025 comes to a close next week—where former Casco director Binna Choi has played an active role as one of its three curators, alongside Wassan Al-Khudhairi and Noelle M.K.Y. Kahanu—we reflect on the contributions from Casco ecosystem artists. Among them are: Yazan Khalili’s Against Total Meaning, which transforms merchandise into acts of resistance and tangible support for Palestine; Wendelien van Oldenborgh’s Reading Group, which connects bookshops in Berlin and Honolulu as sites of transnational kinship; and Christian Nyampeta’s École du soir, reimagining cinema as a communal evening school that blends film, food, and dialogue. The Hawai‘i Triennial 2025, titled ALOHA NŌ, embraces art as a collective force for care, resistance, and transformation, focusing on solidarity and sovereignty.
Metropolis M heeft zojuist een recensie gepubliceerd over onze tentoonstelling Sensing the Ways. Geschreven door beeldend kunstenaar Savvas Gerolemides, gaat het stuk uitgebreid in op de tentoonstelling en zijn deelname aan een Study Session met Serena Lee. In het artikel neemt hij de bezoeker kamer voor kamer mee, waarbij hij de verschillende kennisgebieden die de kunstenaars naar voren brengen voelt en herinnert. Het eindigt met een nieuwe blik op de gehele tentoonstelling, waarbij de conversatie tussen de kamers wordt waargenomen – gevangen in zijn poëtische quote: “Re-minding us of how we embody nature and mind the nature bodies.”
On 10 and 11 April, the Jan van Eyck Academie organizes a symposium that brings together practices, projects, and processes that question the politics of locality and access, as well as notions of authorship, interdependence, and more. Contributors include Topote de Acahual, Robida Collective, Guy Woueté and Aude Mgba (WAKA Studio), Al-Wah’at Collective الواحات (presented by Nida Sinnokrot), Angela Serino, Khandakar Ohida and Miriam Hillawi Abraham, Bebe Books, Giulia Bellinetti, BAK BASECAMP, Fatoş Üstek, Samuel Brzeski, and Saverio Cantoni and Rouzbeh Shadpey. For more details, including livestream options, please visit their website.
Save the date for Every Act of Struggle: Intrusion and Assembly at de Appel. Opening on 24 April, it inquires into how cultural institutions confront historical violence and systemic injustice, particularly related to their colonial pasts. The exhibition draws inspiration from the cultural boycott and anti-apartheid movements of the 1960s–1980s. The day after the opening, there is a public program with Noor Abed, Simnikiwe Buhlungu, Chad Cordeiro, Iswanto Hartono, and Pieter Paul Pothoven; curated by the School of Intrusions, de Appel, and the contributing artists.
From 28 July to 23 August, the 2025 edition of Materia Abierta takes place in Mexico City, titled La digestión de la tierra: repertorios de abono y escombro. For four weeks, the participants engage with the subsoil as a metabolism that processes toxicity and regenerates life. Its encounters will be rehearsals, not only as methods of representation but as actions that produce sociopolitical articulations. The tutors of the summer program are Cristina Rivera Garza, Daniela Rea, Gran Pie Podrido, Mapa Teatro, María Galindo (with Mujeres Creando), Poposteando Ando, and The Sensing Salon (Valentina Desideri and Denise Ferreira da Silva). It has been curated by artist Naomi Rincón-Gallardo. The open call runs from 14 March to 13 April.
On 20 March, Müge Yılmaz opens her first solo exhibition, Anatolian Goddesses, from 18:00 onward at GoMulan Gallery in Amsterdam. In the presented works, Müge explores the matriarchal history of Anatolia, reimagining powerful female figures and their cultural significance through a feminist lens.
From 17 to 22 March at Plaatsmaken in Arnhem, a program by Lenn Cox with Sunflower Soup (SFS) and others takes place. Abandoning the traditional exhibition model, it invites artists, writers, and collectives to lead the way. The multi-day, varied program titled Lente Samenscholing includes a presentation by Zaban Razdar on his recent experiences in the West Bank, as well as a walk through historical sites in Arnhem North. Participants explore locations like an unofficial women’s house and editorial space, while learning about the Umoja Zwarte Vrouwenkrant, an influential Black women’s publication that played a crucial role in documenting the struggles and stories of Black women in the Netherlands, alongside other interconnected narratives.
On 15 March, damdam, a collective of collectives within the Lumbung Practice MA, organizes their first fundraiser from 18:00–22:00 at Plan B in Amsterdam. This Mexican loteria event is part of a series of fundraisers aimed at building mutual support structures within their community, covering needs like student tuition fees and contributing to a collective pot.
We Sell Reality organizes a series of Solidarity Iftars on 7, 14, 21, and 28 March at GROND in Amsterdam, offering space to share a meal and discuss ongoing struggles in Sudan, Haiti, Congo, and Syria, respectively. Doors open at 18:00 and a €15 donation supports grassroots initiatives in the countries the Iftars pay their respects to. RSVP via email: elke@bajesdorp.nl.
RAW Académie invites applications for Session 11, led by Felwine Sarr, from 2 June to 4 July, in Dakar. The program considers themes of place, displacement, belonging, and ecological justice through seminars on urban transformation, memory, and community resilience. This tuition-free program selects up to 10 fellows per session. Application deadline is 9 March.
Onassis AiR invites artists, curators, designers, writers, filmmakers, and other creative practitioners to apply for its residency program in Athens, Greece, running from September 2025 to July 2026. Offering 33 residencies and fellowships across four strands, the program offers space for expanding one’s practice–whether its artistic research or collective experimentation. Application deadline is 7 March.
On Thursday, 27 February at 19:00, Past Disquiet opens at Framer Framed. The exhibition showcases long-term research on neglected histories of politically engaged artists and initiatives, focusing on their role in anti-imperialist solidarity movements from the 1960s to the 1980s – specifically the International Art Exhibition for Palestine, the Museum of Latin American Art in Solidarity with Nicaragua, the International Museum of the Resistance Salvador Allende, and Art Contre/Against Apartheid. The research central to the show is conducted by curators Kristine Khouri and Rasha Salti.
On 21 February, at 19:00, Underdeveloped #2 opens at Garage Rotterdam, part of a three-exhibition series that challenges traditional exhibition methods and colonial notions of development. Emphasizing collaboration and community, visitors are invited to actively contribute to the living exhibition and engage with its library and programs. This second exhibition is again co-conceived by Reza Afisina and reinaart vanhoe and features around 20 (and counting) artists and collectives from their socio-artistic ecosystem. Find all contributors on the web page.
We are happy to share the newly published text by members of the Utrecht University’s Pathways towards Sustainability project Tackling the Polycrisis: Understanding Intersections of Capitalism, Patriarchy, and Colonialism as a Barrier to Sustainability and Justice, of which Casco is a contributing partner. Published in The Journal of Political Power, this piece draws on Sylvia Wynter’s ideas to challenge the concept of polycrisis, urging a shift from focusing on crises to understanding the underlying and interconnected power dynamics. We invite you to read!
On 29 January, 17:00–19:00, renowned commons scholar David Bollier and the Commons Convergence Group visit Amsterdam to hold a talk at OT301’s Ventilator Cinema. Organized by de Appel in collaboration with Schumacher Action Labs, this initiative is part of the Lumbung Practice program–the temporary Sandberg MA to which Casco contributes by providing tutoring. The event brings together collectives from the MA, de Appel Curatorial Program, and Gudskul Collective Practice to explore themes of self-organization as relating to socio-political artistic and curatorial practices.
Happening during the school holidays in February, our close collaborator, artist-educator Asia Komarova of The Outsiders, leads On a Food Adventure! – a series of workshops for children aged 8-12. Over ten creative sessions, the group engages with the fascinating world of food, from its origins to playful experimentation. They forage, cook, and make art, with each edition offering a new theme. The series concludes with an exhibition showcasing everything they have learned and created. The 1.5-hour sessions take place at Ateliers Kersenboomgaard during the period of 24–28 February. The costs are €15 per session or €100 for the full series. Register via asiakomarova@gmail.com.
The deadline to register for the School of Commons Assembly 2025 is Sunday, 12 January. The Assembly will take place on 8–9 February 2025 in Zurich at Zürich University of the Arts (ZHdK), with Casco Art Institute participating. Among other contributors, our colleagues from Kunci Study Forum & Collective join remotely to facilitate an online working group on their project School for Improper Education. The Assembly offers hybrid forms of participation, is free of charge, and is open to all.
Starting on 10 January at W139, Müge Yilmaz organizes Slow Wanderings together with Sondi. During these weekly Friday sessions throughout January (16:00–18:00), the artists explore how to collectively reclaim space to slow down and imagine new, just worlds together. Through engagement with feminist sci-fi libraries, a video game installation, and listening sessions, the artists invite the public to activate the exhibition collectively.
Please note that our office is closed from 23 December to 5 January for the holiday break. We reopen on 6 January, 2024. During this period, responses may be delayed. Thank you for your understanding, and we look forward to connecting with you in the new year.
Wishing you health, and in solidarity,
Casco Art Institute: Working for the Commons
On 15 December, De Nieuwe Meent invites you to celebrate a significant milestone: the completion of the highest point in the construction of their new building. This commons-oriented housing project is made possible through the generous support of its community and contributors. The festive gathering reflects on the progress made over the past five years while looking ahead to the future.
Platform BK is seeking a (co-)director—either an individual or a duo—to lead the substantive and daily management of the organization for a period of 2–3 years, starting February 2025 (32 hours per week or 16 hours each for a duo). Platform BK is committed to promoting solidarity within and with the arts. Working collaboratively—often with partners like us at Casco Art Institute—the organization addresses pressing issues in the arts field and brings them to the attention of art institutions, policymakers, and media.
Opening on 13 December at 17:00 at AG in Utrecht, In the Works: Manuals and Mess presents works by students of the Master of Fine Art Program at HKU University of the Arts. The exhibition offers a glimpse into their ongoing research and the connections formed throughout their two-year journey, leading up to the graduation show. It features MAFA students Fleur Carlier, Hannah Fleishman, Aisha Halima Hachem, Sohrab Kashani, Changli Luo, Mirella Moschella, Chen Ran, Zoë Sluijs, Mark Torochkin, Isabel Veganzones Belmonte, Janneke Venema, Wang Xue Sophia, and Xiang Dong Li, with guidance and coordination by Nuraini Juliastuti and Falke Pisano. To learn more about the full program that runs until 22 December, please visit the AG website.
On 28 November, FLUSH #4: La Toilette explores the theme of personal care, often featured throughout art history, featuring artist Cosima zu Knyphausen. A joint effort by Espacio Estamos Bien and W139, FLUSH takes place in the toilets of W139’s space. Their collaboration is aimed at cultivating inter-local relationships and joyful, decentralized connections that extend beyond Amsterdam’s art scene.
Opening on 6 December at de Appel: My Garden’s Boundaries Are the Horizon by the collective To See the Inability to See. This exhibition expands on their publication, which features fictional letters and stories about Persian gardens, particularly the hashti (octagonal vestibule). The show includes works by Arefeh Riahi, Martín La Roche Contreras, Maartje Fliervoet, Kader Attia, Kasra Jalilipour, and Seba Calfuqueo, alongside historical objects.
The public program features screenings by Derek Jarman, Kasra Jalilipour, Parviz Kimiavi, and Marcela Moraga, as well as readings by dash (-) collective, Constanza Mendoza, Giles Bailey, Lara Khaldi, and Francisca Khamis Giacoman, in collaboration with Filmtheater Kriterion. Visit de Appel’s website for more details.
On 28 November, the Pathways to Sustainability Conference, organized by Utrecht University, takes place under the theme HOME. Bringing together voices and stakeholders from social and environmental disciplines, the conference explores how a just and sustainable future can only be achieved through a shared sense of home for all, guided by the question, “What defines HOME?”
In het boek Nocturnalities, Bargaining Beyond Rest van Andrea Knezović en Agata Bar, dat binnenkort verschijnt via Onomatopee, is een bijdrage van Casco opgenomen die bestaat uit correspondentie met Casco-teamlid Aline Hernández en het fragment Time Diary uit onze publicatie Unlearning Exercises. Tegelijkertijd lanceren Andrea en Agata hun nieuwe online, open-source REST Archive, dat uitnodigt om na te denken over de relatie tussen tijd, arbeid en zorg binnen collectieve processen. Bekijk hun twee open calls voor het REST Archive, waarin ze op zoek zijn naar creatieve bijdragen en doorlopende inzendingen van online multimediamateriaal over slaap, rust en de politiek van het rusten.
Kate Rich is joining ACElab as a Marie Skłodowska-Curie postdoctoral fellow from 2024 to 2027. Her research focuses on the often overlooked role of administrative work as a space for critical and collective artistic practice, as highlighted during our Hidden Arts exhibition and her involvement with the lumbung kios network. During the fellowship, she will investigate the tensions between the EU’s policy ambitions for a greener, more equitable economy and the practical challenges faced by small grassroots cultural organizations striving toward these goals, particularly the regulatory barriers they encounter. The fellowship includes collaborations with Trajna, Casco Art Institute, The Institute for Technology in the Public Interest, and FoAM.
On Saturday, 5 October, 15:00–19:00, the group project Our Mountains are Our People: Instructions for Placemaking kicks off at de Appel. With the title being inspired by Amílcar Cabral’s words on popular involvement in liberation movements, this project underscores the solidarity, resilience, and active participation of people as vital to decolonization. Collectives from Palestine have provided prompts and instructions drawn from their experiences with the land, which artists in Jakarta will interpret and realize over the coming month during the Jakarta Biennial 2024. This collaborative, process-oriented project encourages engagement through various working sessions and will feature presentations, performances, and more.
On Saturday, 5 October, 13:30–17:00, the event But what about us fishers? by Balikbayan takes place at Moira, here in Utrecht. Featuring a photo exhibition by Mia Tengco, it focuses on Philippine fishers displaced by Manila Bay’s reclamation projects. The works emphasize their deep connection to the environment, highlighting the socio-economic, cultural, and environmental losses that accompany these developments. With Dutch dredging companies involved, the issue also raises questions of local responsibility. Organized by Balikbayan, the event reflects the group’s mission to critically explore Filipino history, heritage, and the interconnectedness of issues in the Philippines and the Netherlands. RSVP via the form.
We are pleased to announce the beginning of the Lumbung Practice master’s program and to welcome all the collectives participating in it. The master’s program is a collaboration between the Sandberg Instituut, De Appel (Curatorial Programme), and Gudskul (Collective Study Program). It builds on the knowledge and experimentation gained from lumbung-documenta fifteen and looks toward the future of the lumbung experiment. Most of the tutors are part of the lumbung ecosystem, including Casco Art Institute as a member of Arts Collaboratory network. For more information about the program and its contributors, please visit the Sandberg website.
On 29 September, 10:00–18:00, at Framer Framed, the finissage of Really? Art and Knowledge in Time of Crisis will take place. This full-day symposium focuses on how the arts address the erosion of trust in knowledge and the rise of disinformation through various investigative and critical practices. During the program, Shatha Safi and Hiba Omari from RIWAQ will share about their work documenting and restoring Palestinian architectural heritage and collective memory. Additionally, she will join a conversation with others participating in the exhibition.
Opening on 24 September, the Arus Balik – Shifting Currents programme, presented by Nieuwe Instituut, Museum Het Schip, and Gudskul, connects architecture and design networks across regions and their diasporas, exploring these fields as reflections of colonial histories and avenues for shared futures. Celebrating its first day in Gudskul spirit, the GUD Instituut Living Room creates a ‘ruang tamu’ to showcase stories from the Indonesian diaspora on hospitality and collective comfort with a public program and gathering space. The programme runs until 2 February 2025.
Until 29 September, our friends from The Outsiders will travel through Friesland with their project TERPost in a fire truck, researching the local landscape and agricultural practices. Building on their earlier artistic research in the province this summer as part of their collaboration with VHDG, they will engage with farmers, organize events, and give workshops.
Following the state’s budget announcement this week, we amplify the call from the Dutch art sector and all those affected by the government’s proposed VAT increase. We urge continued efforts to spread the campaign message, organize collectively, and maintain solidarity with those most heavily impacted. The tax increase from 9% to 21% will create additional barriers to accessing art, sports, and culture throughout the Netherlands.
On 7 September, during the final weekend of the solo exhibition The Place Where I was Condemned to Live at de Appel, artist Basma al-Sharif, together with Alina Lupu, Isshaq Albarbary, and Amal Alhaag, will reflect on her work in relation to issues raised in the exhibition: the destruction of material and immaterial heritage in Palestine (particularly in Gaza, as addressed in her film Ouroboros), the censorship of the Palestinian narrative, and a critical view on art in times of genocide. The evening will conclude with a screening of Ouroboros at Filmtheater Kriterion, introduced by Basma.
Opening this Friday, 6 September, at de Fabriek Eindhoven, States of Motion is a group exhibition that explores the tension between stillness and movement. The collection includes installations, textiles, sculptures, paintings, objects, and performances by Barbara Vignaux, Giulia Braglia, Anas Chao, Olga Korosteleva, Toni Wagner, Auke de Lange, Rosa Raaphorst, Jules Sgro, Maria Palomá, Ishani Chatterjee, Myrna de Bruijn, Lesley Lev Lock, and Gabriele Nasole. The exhibition runs daily until 15 September, 10:00–17:00.
On Saturday, 7 September, the 2024/25 kick-off of the cultural season in Utrecht takes place: Uitfeest. As an annual recurring tradition, Mutual Support Platform—a platform organized by students, alumni, and staff of HKU MAFA—showcases their practices during the day through a public program in our office and in the courtyard of Abraham Dolehof, this time as part of our exhibition Hidden Arts: What do we make when no one sees us.
On 24 August at 15:00, 16:30, and 18:00, Fire is Scary will perform during In the Borderlands at MaMA, an exhibition honoring queer, feminist theorist Gloria Anzaldúa. Fire is Scary features MSP community members Sol Enae Lee, Gordon H. Williams, Agustin Faundez Rojas, and Ariel Sin Yu Lee. For their works, Sol reworked an interview with Anzaldúa into a new text through layered translations between English and Korean, incorporating double meanings, machine errors, and intentional mistranslations.
Our team will be out of office from 29 July–19 August. During this period, Casco’s office gallery and exhibition space will be inhabited by MAFA HKU students and alumni, who will be conducting a self-organized artistic stay.
Our artistic director Aline Hernández will be part of the seminar Relating to the Present, happening next week from 17–20 July. She will discuss alternative economies, Casco Art Institute’s approach to commoning, and the Arts Collaboratory network. The multi-day event is organized by Aperto, a program for contemporary art professionals promoted by Fondazione Arte CRT in Turin, Italy.
Andy Fuller, an ecosystem member from Reading Sideways Press, presents a new podcast exploring the feelings, practices, and methods of running. He interviews experts and everyday runners about their experiences and is eager for feedback and suggestions for potential collaborators from all fields. Contact him at readingsidewayspress@gmail.com.
This week, 1–5 July, the Commons to Coop – Jubilee Summer School 2024 takes place at Kunsthal Gent. During a week of workshops, walks, and public conversations, local histories of cooperative organization and work with Eavatea will be studied–a new tool for artistic research and counter-mapping. Find more information on the website.
In the past days, we commemorated and celebrated Keti Koti – Dia di Abolishon – marking the abolition of slavery in Suriname and the Antilles in 1863 (though many enslaved people were forced to continue until 1873). Despite nearly 150 years passing, 1 July is still not recognized as a national day of remembrance and celebration in the Netherlands. We amplify the call from the ongoing voices of the Black communities to establish 1 July as an official labor-free day, just as Liberation Day. Moreover, we urge our networks to sign and read the Zwart Manifest (Black Manifest), which strongly advocates for reparations by the state after 300 years of Dutch colonialism and improvements in contemporary rights related to housing, documentation, police violence, and more.
This Thursday! Travelling Farm Museum of Forgotten Skills is hosting a closing event at their current depot as they prepare to move to a new location. On 27 June, 20:30, everyone is invited to gather one last time at Hof van Bern 33 and join them for a night walk through the agrarian past of Leidsche Rijn—a trusted practice by their friends at Expodium. Participants are encouraged to bring their own drinks to share, while coffee and tea will be provided! Please help spread the word and join this special evening.
From June 14–17 in Požega! This solidarity gathering is convened by ULUS, an organization that advocates for improving the status of artists in Serbian society, their working conditions, and exploring new ways of collaboration. The event will feature participation from our team members Aline Hernández and Marianna Takou, who will share an introduction and a brief history of the Arts Collaboratory network, as well as the role of art institutions in fostering radical imagination. This session will examine economic experimentation, emphasizing funding paradigm shifts and alternative economies of solidarity, supported by self-organizing and self-governance structures. These mechanisms, developed in AC over time and influenced by funding and policy trends in the Netherlands and the broader EU context, can serve as an inspiration for broader art world sustainability through collective tools, shared responsibility, and ethical accountability.
Don’t miss the HKU MAFA Graduation Show, (Dis)comfort Narratives: Moving with the Feeling, opening on 19 June! This show explores the tensions and proximities of eco-socio-cultural pressures and intimate relational dynamics from various perspectives and backgrounds. We are curious to see this culmination as we have been working with the students often in their studies. Graduation works by: Habiba Afifi, Fatemeh Asiri, Naomi de Bruijn, Savvas Gerolemidis, Wenkang “Hohn” Guan, Athina Koutsiou, Nguyễn Ngọc Tú Dung, Cornalijn Overweg – Ramaker, Öykü Özoğul, Natsumi Sakai, Parel Strik, Pan Vanitcharoenthum, and Sean Ali Wang.