Counterpoint in the city
I challenge contemporary and renowned artists to create (large-scale) site-specific art projects in public space. Art that cannot be overlooked and speaks to a universal imagination. Through the fresh outlook of the artist the city gets a new meaning. Like a dream. The result is art that emerges out of the interaction between the artist, the city, the selected locations and the perceiver. Art where the perceiver is the participant. – Jamain Brigitha
The non-profit Dream Amsterdam Foundation was founded by Jamain Brigitha and its board members in 2006. The mission is to present contemporary art outside the regular art institutions and museum walls.
The commissioned site-specific art projects function as a counterpoint in the city, making people more aware and conscious of their environment. The artworks are completed through co-creation and interaction with the audience. The art projects have a strong impact on the viewer and change locations ‘mentally’. Even when they are long gone, the artworks resonate in our minds and are stored in our collective memory.
Within the frame of the DREAM-projects, internationally acclaimed contemporary visual artists receive the opportunity to use the city as a source of inspiration, studio, material, platform and exhibition space. We have realised successful editions with Spencer Tunick (USA) in 2007, Ryoji Ikeda (JP) in 2008 and Peter Funch (DK) in 2009. In 2012, we realized a first thematic manifestation GIRL, YOU’LL BE A WOMAN SOON: an ode to the woman from A to Z presented through a multi-disciplinary art and cultural event, symposium and film program with international artists and speakers, amongst others Jesper Just (DK), Joan As Police Woman (US), Germaine Greer (AUS) and Sunny Bergman (NL).
More than 650.000 people have seen the artworks from these editions, leading to over 8 million contact moments via the international media, for instance: The New York Times, The Guardian (named as one of the most remarkable events of the year), Reuters, Associated Press, BBC and CNN. The images of DREAM AMSTERDAM travelled and were seen all over the world: Europe, USA, Latin America, Asia and Australia. For more information see the factsheets here.
Jamain Brigitha is currently working on the development of international projects as DREAM COPENHAGEN. See her portfolio for an overview of previous and upcoming DREAM-projects.
DREAM AMSTERDAM 2008 – Ryoji Ikeda
spectra :: amsterdam
Vondelpark | Music Pavilion
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Photo © Nick Cobbing