Me in front of my contribution to A Doodle A Day, an Arti et Amicitiae exhibition of off the cuff work made during the Covid-19 shutdown. These photos mainly focus on Mr Coot, a cantankerous creature with a strong opinion about all things art world. He is also featured in my previous blog post of 23 April 2020.
Arti et Amicitiae
Arti et Amicitiae was founded in 1839 and is the oldest artists’ association in the Netherlands. It is extremely active in terms of not only organising shows and other events but also representing its members’ interests. This is something that it has continued and emphasised since the outbreak of the Corona virus.
A Doodle A Day
When – like so many organisations – Arti et Amicitiae was forced to close because of lockdown, the Board vowed to do all it could to maintain contact with the members. This led to the A Doodle A Day project where everyone was invited to express their hopes and fears through sketches, ideas and photos (etc.) and to share them for as long as we were forced to stay at home. On a personal level, I opted to make my work upbeat and to deploy humour as a means of alleviating stress.
The many doodles made during this period are now on show in Arti et Amicitiae’s exhibition space and some of them are also included in an animation by Eva Gonggrijp.
Apart from its exhibition space, Arti also has its own café/restaurant on the ground floor, which is open to non-members until 6 pm. But whether you are a member or a non-member, it is essential to make a reservation in advance for the exhibition and/or café by phoning 020-6245134. This line is open from Monday to Friday between 1 pm and 5 pm and you should select either the ‘society’ option or ‘exhibition desk’. In Dutch, this is ‘sociëteit’ or ‘tentoonstellingsbalie’.
Dates and time: 20 June to 15 July 2020; Tuesday to Sunday from noon to 6 pm.
Location: Arti et Amicitiae, Rokin 112, 1012 LB Amsterdam
Entrance for non-members: € 3,00.
