Thursday saw the launch of the short festival Belgium!? in the Flemish Cultural Centre de Brakke Grond in Amsterdam with amongst other things. an exhibition by photographer Jimmy Kets. The central theme of the festival is the country Belgium with all its problems and the serious political crisis in which it's stuck. By some it is even baptized the most difficult country in the world.

De Brakke Grond
It is the first time I enter the building on the Nes. More spacious than I thought with a cafe-restaurant, various theatre halls, a studio and large exhibition spaces. The name “Brakke Grond” has its origins in the fact that the area was once swampy land with brackish groundwater, a mixture of the salt water of the IJ and sweet water from the river Amstel. For centuries monasteries dominated this area but demolition of a monastery church at the end of the 18th century gave rise to the current square which is situated in front of de Brakke Grond. It's been a monastery, an inn and for a long time an auction house. In the 1960s it was taken into use by a theatre group, in the seventies it was squatted for a while and in 1981, after a renovation based on the design by the Amsterdam architect Arthur Staal, it became a Flemish Cultural Center. De Brakke Grond wants to show what's happening in Flanders in the field of theatre, performance, dance, music, visual arts, photography, film and documentary, but also wishes to be a place of international exchange and encounters in a broader sense.

Show the rest of this entry »

Surprising architecture of yesteryear in the Amsterdam Tolstraat. Originally built as a theosophical temple in 1927, it was primarily known as the cinema Cinetol to the folks of Amsterdam. A little over 25 years ago the public library opened up a branch here. The stylish interior, reaching into the air, invites silence and a search for inspiration, fitting the current function as a book temple. But also for the non-bookworm, it could be an almost spiritual revelation to walk around with gentle pace, dreamily getting immersed in this monumental building.
See here the opening hours.

Click photo for larger images

Cemetery (cementerio) Javea, Spain. The final resting places of old and young, serene, larded with religion, sun-drenched. A great place to relax a few hours yourself, let the silence penetrate and muse about the transience of existence.

Click photo for larger images

It was another very busy Monday at the third edition of De Donkere Kamer (The Dark Room) in Pakhuis de Zwijger in Amsterdam!

Three pitches of three minutes
For a photographer and/or affiliate in the world of Dutch photography once again DDK proved worth a visit . For 5 euro entrance fee you won't have to pass up, especially because the entrance fee is divided between three photo projects of which the photographers hold a pitch talk of 3 minutes to sell it to the public. Together with your entrance ticket you will receive five coins that you can distribute between the “pitchers”. The one with the strongest story usually gets the bulk of the coins, thrown in three collection boxes afterwards.. Els Zweerink was the happy “winner” with her El Salvador project.

Varied program
On the program was also a tribute to the recently deceased Koen Wessing (1942-2011) known as one of Holland's best documentary photographers. A series of impressive photos of his hand was projected on large screens around the stage.

Pim Milo held a humorous plea against the free provision of photos for auctions, the proceeds of which go to charity. You stimulate the debasement of your work, he finds. Leave it, for example, to the collectors to offer work out of their collections at auctions. Do not do this yourself. Read the plea.

Lars Boering (director of the Fotografenfederatie) interviewed Claudia Hinterseer. She is director of NOOR, a successful photographer-collective based in Amsterdam. NORWAY focuses mainly on the big story behind important events and tries to reach a large audience, for example with strong photo essays on the impact of environmental problems on the traditional ways of living in countries around the world. With ten renowned photographers who are all co-owners, NOOR is close to the limit. A maximum of 15, according to Claudia Hinterseer, it shouldn't be more, it becomes unworkable.

Show the rest of this entry »