De Internationale Keuze - I AM HERE, THE TIME IS NOW

The Kleine Zaal of the Rotterdamse Schouwburg was redesigned as a true space for exchange: open, friendly, seating in a U-form, technically equipped for the presentations, inviting people to speak. This description is not redundant, because the motto of the lab was I am Here/The Time is Now: artists and other guests were being addressed as individuals, rather than being representative of a socio-cultural group or movement. “The understanding of the rich diversity in Europe today is not just from cultural difference but perhaps more deeply, it is from personal difference,” says Keng Sen. To speak freely about highly personal choices and contexts asks for a safe and inviting environment. With Keng Sen as an ever engaging and attentive moderator in the ambiance of our Kleine Zaal, the conditions for true exchange were attaining perfection.

I was mostly impressed by the two elder artists in the lab, who were also the keynote artists on the opening night September 11th: the Vietnamese war painter Quach Phong spoke in a soft voice about his work as a painter during the Vietnam war. Turkish artist Gülsün Karamustafa was denied a passport for 16 years because of her disagreements with the Turkish regime in the seventies. Two people with an uncommon history, strong artists, who functioned as an example for the younger artists in the room. Especially Gülsün Karamustafa stole my heart, because of the strength of her work ánd of her personality. She never tired to listen to others and to engage in discussions with the young people.

As I have the wish and the ambition to develop the Internationale Keuze into a meeting place for artists, from different places in the world, in different stages of their careers, the I am Here/The Time is Now-laboratory was a great experience. During the opening weekend we had more than 50 artists in the house (including the Alvis Hermanis team, Wunderbaum, the students). Due the busy festival schedule, I couldn’t see as much of the programme on Saturday and Sunday as I wished for. But in general it was a great honour to have this project as part of our festival.