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Press release: TENT Rotterdam is moving forward
The TENT team is excited to share the news. In 2024 we will start a new chapter and relocate to the Rotterdam neighbourhood of Coolhaven Island. From this new base we will develop a new programme. Exhibitions and activities in our own new space will be a significant part of this, as will coproductions with artists, collaborators and fellow citizens from the neighbourhood and across the city. We will seek out where artistic practices can be meaningful in multiple ways.
Artistic leader Anke Bangma: “TENT has always aimed to keep changing in response to the evolving culture in the city. Moving to a new location allows us to refocus our commitment. We are excited to join a neighbourhood where a network of cultural and social organisations already connects diverse artists, audiences and residents in inspiring ways. In this environment, we have found a beautiful place on the street, next to the water, inviting for presentations, gatherings and exchange. At the same time, we have consciously opted for fewer square meters of interior space than our current exhibition venue. In this way, we can create scope for a broader approach, with a more important role for collaboration, reciprocity and co-creation.”
Over the years, TENT has regularly engaged with artists and other collaboration partners in projects that tapped into the broader social and cultural fabric of the city. It is this way of working that we want to commit to more firmly and develop further. In this ongoing endeavour, TENT can tie in with the bonds our fellow programmes at CBK Rotterdam (Art Office, BKOR/SIR) have forged across the city.
In a time when many art institutions are struggling with the imbalance between rising housing costs, commitment to fair and sustainable practices, and their core programme tasks, we happily embrace this opportunity to proactively chart a new course.
Farewell and continuation
With these new steps, we say goodbye to the Witte de With district where, as the presentation platform of CBK Rotterdam, we have enjoyed thirty years of artistic production and inspiring collaboration: 25 years as neighbours of Kunstinstituut Melly, and the preceding 5 years in Villa Alckmaer on the Westersingel. Here, we joined forces with our local partners to put contemporary art on the map, first through a joint street festival and since through Kunstblock and the weekly free Kunstavond. Over the years, we have seen the area change and transform into the cultural and commercial hotspot it is today.
Our close collaboration with Kunstinstituut Melly and MaMA will continue: our joint education programme, 100% Hedendaags, has grown into a famed and popular offering for secondary and vocational students (VO and mbo). In the coming years we will continue to welcome students and contribute to a learning community for and with young people.
To be seen in our current venue through April 21, 2024
Visitors can still find us at the Witte de Withstraat 50 through April 2024. Our current exhibition is the jubilee edition of Rotterdam’s Dolf Henkes Award, with Bik Van der Pol, Bert Frings, Yoeri Guépin, Maike Hemmers, Babette Kleijn, Dirk van Lieshout, Ada Patterson and Samboleap Tol. Together with Kunstinstituut Melly we will also present the 25th and final edition of our joint series Rotterdam Cultural Histories, which will revolve around Tubelight, the free art magazine that was initiated in the Witte Withstraat 25 years ago. For our final projects on this location, we are collaborating with Robert Glas and Pris Roos.
Artwork: K9K