“Dear, I’d like to invite your work for a project called the spread of a mo(nu)ment: would you be interested in contributing a proposal for a monument in Amsterdam?” In 2021, author and artist Simon(e) van Saarloos and TAAK invited several artists to contribute a proposal for a monument [...more]
Book launch by Simon(e) van Saarloos On Thursday May 19 Simon(e) van Saarloos will launch their book Take ‘Em Down. Scattered Monuments & Queer Forgetting (the translation of Herdenken herdacht, 2019). The launch is hosted by W139 in Amsterdam and will take place from 19:30 to 22:00hrs. Who determines what is remembered and [...more]
TAAK, Nieuw Dakota and JULIACKS invite you into the future of justice, where humanity forges new ways to deal with the consequences of crime and violence. Here, we are no longer limited by ancient methods dominated by policing and incarceration. Instead, our systems centralise healing and safety. They include the invention of platforms for [...more]
What does commoning feel like? How can we make the story of the commons a livable experience instead of a written recommendation in a policy report or blog post? These questions are at the core of Common In: an open manifestation on the crossroads of commons and art, which [...more]
Under the extraordinary circumstances of the covid-19 pandemic, artist Marinella Senatore brought The School of Narrative Dance to Amsterdam, at TAAK’s invitation. Please scroll down to check out the film. For this edition, TAAK and Senatore invited Amsterdam residents to join her in reflecting upon the ‘new normal’: what are its social consequences, [...more]
Spinach is growing from seed, peas are sprouting and random veggies are pickling even if it´s not the season. But then again: what are seasons anymore at this point? Alina Lupu, 27 March 2020 During the second half of March 2020, condemned to life indoors because of a worldwide pandemic, TAAK [...more]
Edward Clydesdale Thomson moors in Dordrecht with his project rivier, boot, stad. The rivier, boot, stad project by the Scottish-Danish artist Edward Clydesdale Thomson started in September. For six months, a fifteen-meter-long tjalk is being built in a Dordrecht shipyard. The project comes to a peak in the spring of 2021, [...more]
We>Me.Me is a collective blog where you can read a new observation of ‘we’ every day. Artists bart & klaar developed this app last year due to their curiosity about the meaning of ‘we.’ Especially in a time when the emphasis seems to be on individuality. What is our perception [...more]
For the new edition of Social Capital, TAAK joins forces with Italian artist Marinella Senatore in September 2020 to introduce The School of Narrative Dance to Amsterdam. During these past months, it has proven to be impossible to navigate the city without being reminded of the current [...more]
What is punishment? Is punishment a logical result of jurisdiction? What are its effects (on perpetrators, victims, and communities)? How might we envision a society in which justice and punishment are not directly linked? In 2020, artist Juliacks will collaborate with TAAK, curator and art historian Suzanne Sanders, and the [...more]
TAAK is inviting artists to respond to a changing society during the COVID-19 pandemic. We share their reflections on our website as part of the programme In Quarantine. In 2020, our perspectives on the public domain have suddenly shifted. A pandemic spreads widely from person to person, without [...more]
TAAK is developing a three-year art programme, commissioned by youth organization Spirit!, for the new living- and learning community De Tafelberg, which will open in 2021. Here, young adults with a history in youth care will live together with students and starters. De Tafelberg aims to support young adults on [...more]
“It appears that the challenge of this time is to make top-down governance receptive to bottom-up organization.” – Roel Griffioen The current Mayor and Executive Board of Amsterdam want to develop new policy in relation to ‘free space’. But what does ‘free’ [...more]
We are currently working on a new edition of Social Capital in Amsterdam Oud-Noord. In March 2020, we hope to start a varied programme at different locations throughout Oud-Noord, including the Sixhavenkwartier, the IJplein, and the Hyperion Lyceum. Amsterdam has great appeal. Its tolerant, open culture seems to [...more]
Being incarcerated involves isolation, confinement, and surveillance at the margins of society. Detainees live in separate societies, concealed from the horizon of the rest of the world. With programmes filled with activities, rehabilitation, and education, an attempt is made to socialize prisoners and prepare them for their return to ‘real’ [...more]
The municipality of Smallingerland commissioned TAAK to create four modern city markings for Drachten. In earlier times, city gates functioned as a demarcation of the city. Nowadays, the boundaries between the city and the countryside are less clear. With special city markings, Drachten wants to become recognizable once again and [...more]
In 2020, TAAK is developing a pilot for an Open Call, with support from the Mondriaan Fonds. In this pilot, TAAK wants to bring together artists, governments, social partners, citizens, and mediators to investigate novel ways of commissioning art projects in public space. With this Open Call, we want to [...more]
On 15 August 2020, the second audience-oriented manifestation of Public Art Amsterdam will begin. After the successful pilot Pay Attention Please! in 2018, TAAK was asked to coordinate the content and execution of the second edition: Transparency | Opacity. Public Art Amsterdam is a collaborative effort of art [...more]
TAAK ontwikkelt in opdracht van jeugdzorgorganisatie Levvel een driejarig kunstprogramma voor de nieuwe leef- en leergemeenschap De Tafelberg die in 2021 opent. Hier zullen jongeren met een achtergrond in de jeugdzorg gaan samenwonen met studenten en starters. De Tafelberg is een mogelijk antwoord op de vraag hoe jongeren ondersteund kunnen [...more]