SONSBEEK is back! The eleventh edition of the contemporary art exhibition is curated by the Indonesian collective ruangrupa and takes place from 4 June to 18 September 2016 in Park Sonsbeek, the city of Arnhem and Museum Arnhem in the Netherlands. An exhibition route connects the heritage of the last ten editions with new works: the city, the park and venues such as Museum Arnhem and Kröller-Müller Museum contain many memorable art works from SONSBEEK’s rich history. SONSBEEK ’16: transACTION launches the new quadrennial cycle: SONSBEEK will appear every four years.

SONSBEEK ’16 is compiled by curatorial collective ruangrupa (Jakarta, Indonesia), whose approach to art and social themes stems from a social and personal perspective. The selection of artists is characterised by an emphasis on the interaction between artists, residents and audiences. These interactions create a new perspective on social issues concerning us all.

https://youtu.be/KmJ55TvUA7M

Park

The first installations will be set up in Park Sonsbeek in May, hosting a range of activities throughout the exhibition to stimulate and engage visitors. These installations are new meeting venues for people meet and linger in the park and available for everyone to use. Park Sonsbeek features site-specific work by Richard Bell (Brisbane, Australia), Maze de Boer (Amsterdam, Netherlands), Rossella Biscotti (Molfetta, Italy), Kevin van Braak (Arnhem, Netherlands), Louie Cordero (Manila, Philippines), Cinema Caravan (Nagoya, Japan), Shilpa Gupta (Mumbai, India), Folkert de Jong (Amsterdam, Netherlands), KUNSTrePUBLIK (Berlin, Germany), Eko Prawoto (Yogyakarta, Indonesia), Slavs & Tatars (Berlin, Germany) and Rob Voerman (Arnhem, Netherlands).

Museum

SONSBEEK ’16 includes an exhibition at Museum Arnhem: transHISTORY. Ruangrupa is interested in personal histories, especially stories relating to Dutch colonial history. Art works in the museum show that history is not static, it continually develops and forms part of everyday life and reality. For transHISTORY, Eva Kotatkova (Prague, Czech Republic) and Agung Kurniawan (Jakarta, Indonesia) create site-specific work. The presentation includes work by Tiffany Chung (Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam), Zbigniew Libera (Warsaw, Poland), Charles Lim (Singapore), Tayeba Lipi (Dhaka, Bangladesh), Otobong Nkanga (Kano, Nigeria), Jean-Gabriel Périot (Les Lilas, France), Marco Paulo Rolla (São Paulo, Brazil) and Roy Villevoye (Amsterdam, Netherlands).

City

Arnhem’s city centre is also a main venue for SONSBEEK ’16: transACTION. Collaborations with local cultural partners is key to ruangrupa’s strategy. Next to Museum Arnhem, ArtEZ Univeristy of the Arts is a leading partner.

transACTION

Ruangrupa’s theme transACTION places the emphasis on exchange. Not in an economic sense, but between people and between people and their surroundings. SONSBEEK ’16:transACTION is about the dynamics of the city. Ruangrupa started their Arnhem-based research in July 2015, establishing ruru huis in the city centre to connect with citizens. Close collaborations have enabled alternative stories to emerge, and different ways of interacting in an urban environment. Ruangrupa has invited artist Jan Rothuizen (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) to collaborate with Thonik on the visual identity of SONSBEEK ‘16: transACTION.

About ruangrupa

Ruangrupa is an art initiative founded in 2000 by a group of Indonesian artists Jakarta. Ruangrupa are fascinated by and actively involved in issues relating to common rights to the city. They are known for their extensive research projects on (large) urban developments, connecting public spaces, residents, public and artistic concepts. From this they have developed specific methods for observing and approaching which ruangrupa have employed in cities such as Jakarta, Istanbul, Sydney and São Paulo. SONSBEEK ’16: transACTION is collated by seven core members of ruangrupa: Ade Darmawan, Ajeng Nurul Aini, Farid Rakun, Hafiz, Indra Ameng, Mirwan Andan and Reza Afisina.