Why did you say ‘yes’ to the Yearmastership?
When Klaartje asked me, the first thing that came to mind was ‘this is going to be very busy’. But then I realised that the yearmastership would enable me to do more with the interaction between looking at art, reflecting on the work of others and then put it into practice. Besides I was already familliar with Kunstpodium T: the moment I got asked I was Master myself and had seen quite a few Apprentice/Master exhibitions of my colleagues, which allowed me to visualise how I wanted to shape my role as Yearmaster.
Last season you were a Master yourself. How did you like the collaboration process with the Apprentices for expo #12?
At first I got to know the work of the Apprentices digitally. After looking at the the work more closely, I saw that some of the work had potential and would be interesting to work with. Via e-mails I asked the Apprentices questions about their work to get a complete overview. Some of the Apprentices lived far away and meeting up wasn’t that easy, so we did a lot of the meetings via Skype. I liked the diverse answers I got from the Apprentices. They all had a personal vision and drive to go into a certain direction. In the end we made decisions together about the name of the exhibition, the promotionol text and digital poster. We exhibited at Expoplu in Nijmegen where we did the build up in a week. I never forced anyone to be present, I didn’t think that that was on me. As a result some people were more present than others, but we managed to find a cohesion and we had a good opening.
What characterises you as an artist and what unique traits can you transmit to the Apprentices?
I’m a hard worker, very consistent and very focused. For me, that’s the only way to keep myself together in the art world. I do lots of different things, I love life and have an immoderate curiosity in me. In my work I try not to focus solely on creating content, but also try to shine a light on the technical aspects that my work imply. For me, learning never stops. What I want to convey to the Apprentices is that we are equals and that we can all learn from each other by listening and looking carefully.
What are you looking forward to next year?
The beautiful exhibitions that are coming up and the new conversations and insights that evolve from them.
Do you have any tips for future Apprentices, or beginning artists?
Work hard and work all the time, even when you are sitting on a bench in the park. Always follow ‘the line’ that works for you. Find the line by being continuously alert and by absorbing everything you see and hear. But always listen to yourself first. Try not to look like something that you think is expected of you, like for instance by the art world. Being vulnerable makes you stronger than you might think. Be who you are and try to translate this within your work, that’s my advice.
Take a look at Danielle’s website here.