NRC Handelsblad — Choose the Stedelijk Museum’s new boss yourself

Trend forecaster Lidewij Edelkoort, artist Jan Hoek, fashion philosopher Aynouk Tan and art collector Bert Kreuk are prepared to succeed Beatrix Ruf as artistic director of the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam.

The four have stood as candidates in an election for the directorship organised by Keeping It Real Art Critics, KIRAC, a video platform that criticises the art world through confrontational short films.

In a video posted to YouTube on Wednesday, KIRAC founder Stefan Ruitenbeek says it is time “for something good to happen to the Stedelijk”.

Elaborating, Ruitenbeek says he hopes the election will not be dismissed as a playful artists’ initiative. “The election is deadly serious. It is time for the Stedelijk to become a relevant contemporary museum for a larger group of people. Crucial to that is a less restrictive view of what art is.” A different kind of director, he says, could help.

Artist Jan Hoek, born in 1984, already applied for the Stedelijk directorship in November, shortly after Beatrix Ruf stepped down, in a column for Vice.

As an “out-of-the-box shadow director”, Hoek wants to shake up the museum by regularly giving artists free rein. He cites the restaurant as an example: “Stop with the expensive white wine and shrimp croquettes, and make the restaurant a surprising place where a different artist keeps getting to call the shots.”

Collector Bert Kreuk, born in 1964, is working on a manifesto to support his candidacy. “I’ve been thinking a lot about the Stedelijk lately. So why not put my money where my mouth is?” His manifesto will argue for a museum that shows more Dutch art and “is open to everyone, not just a particular elite”.

Fashion philosopher Aynouk Tan, born in 1982, hopes above all that her candidacy will contribute to a discussion. “What kind of museum should the Stedelijk be? And what requirements should its director meet? I think it would be good for the museum to become a much more democratic platform. An elected director would help.”

Lidewij Edelkoort, born in 1950, calls the election “a positive plan to bring more energy into the museum”. The trend forecaster says she longs for a Stedelijk she can once again enter with a racing heart.

The candidates will explain their plans over the coming week in videos on keepingitrealartcritics.com. Other candidates for the Stedelijk directorship can register on the KIRAC website.

The four candidates

Jan Hoek, visual artist and writer: “The museum is too often a traditional white box at present. By regularly inviting artists to select and present exhibitions, I will break that open.”

Bert Kreuk, entrepreneur and art collector: “As director, I will take the rules of good governance much more seriously than Beatrix Ruf did. I promise a transparent Stedelijk. It is insane that people are now lobbying for Ruf’s return. Is she then going to do the same thing she did before and hope for a different result?”

Aynouk Tan, fashion philosopher and living artwork: “As director, I will become a facilitator and throw the Stedelijk open. I will turn it into a kind of Sexyland — the club in Amsterdam-Noord that had a different owner every day last year, all 365 days.”

Lidewij Edelkoort, trend forecaster: “I will make the Stedelijk more open, surprising and cheerful. I will not fix the programme too rigidly and will make more room for the unforeseen. I will also place greater emphasis on design and themes concerning the future, and mix disciplines more often. I will also take inspiration from the policies of two former directors. Like Wim Beeren, I will pay more attention to art from the southern hemisphere. And like Rudi Fuchs, I will try to cast a different eye on what is already there.”