We do it ourselves Dutch Photographers on The New York Photo Festival 2010 Photography

DutchDoc!Space

Curated by Marga Rotteveel
Kunsthalle Galapagos


“We do it ourselves,” is a statement often used by young Dutch photographers. “We do it ourselves,” in how we organize our exhibitions, searching for different ways to fundraising and different ways to publish our books. It, along with a solid documentary tradition, is one of the characteristics that make Dutch photography nationally and internationally famous. The photo book also has a long tradition, and its popularity is rising among both young and more established photographers. For young photographers, it is often the best way to tell their stories. Within that photo book, you increasingly see the attempt to cross boundaries and find new ways of storytelling.

In their search for these new avenues, they sometimes use materials from others. The four young photographers—Petra Stavast,Daan Paans, Wytske van Keulen, and Willem Popelier—were selected for DutchDoc!Space because they all employed found or appropriated elements in an interesting way.

DutchDoc!Space at NYPH’10 is an exhibition area where four photo books are presented in an exciting form. The emphasis in this pavilion is on the Dutch photo book and Dutch documentary photography. Several activities within the same discipline will also take place here. The entire project was developed in cooperation with Annelies Kuiper, promoter of documentary photography from the Netherlands Foundation for Visual Arts, Design and Architecture. The design of the exhibition is hands of Michl Sommer and Victor Leurs of Featuring Amsterdam. Participating artists: Boudewijn Bollmann, Teun van der Heijden, Rob Hornstra, Wil van Iersel, Sjoerd Knibbeler, Hugo Schuitemaker, Rob Wetzer.

Interview Petra Stavast 2010 from dutchdoc on Vimeo.
Interview documentary photographer Petra Stavast by Mirelle Thijsen and Eefje Blankevoort/Pospektor

Erik Kessels is a photography curator, writer, and picture anthropologist, and a founding partner and creative director of KesselsKramer, an independent, international communications agency located in Amsterdam. He has curated exhibitions such as “Loving Your Pictures” at the Centraal Museum Utrecht, The Netherlands and at Les Rencontres d’Arles Photographie, France, and has published several books of his images—including the In Almost Every Picture series. Since 2000, he has been one of the editors of the alternative photography magazine Useful Photography.

Kessels is an editorial contributor for both BON International and Identity Matters, and he has lectured at the D&AD President’s Lecture and at several international design conferences in Singapore, Goa, Toronto, and Bangkok. He has taught communication at Hallo© in Amsterdam and photography at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie, also in Amsterdam. In 2008 he was an artist in residence for the Amsterdam Academy of Architecture, where he curated a celebration of amateurism. For the opening of the world’s first graphic design museum, in Breda, Erik organized an exhibition entitled “The European Championship of Graphic Design.” For the DVD art project Loud & Clear he worked with artists such as Marlene Dumas and Candice Breitz. Kessels has made commercial work for national and international clients such as Nike, Diesel, J&B Whisky, Oxfam International, Ben Mobile, and the Hans Brinker Budget Hotel, and has won an Effie, and the Cannes Press Lion (silver) for Ad Agency of the Year and Ad Director of the Year.

Erik Kessels at DutchDoc!Space from DUTCHDOC!SPACE on Vimeo.