Alexandra Landré and Bas Mulder new directors Stroom Den Haag

26 April 2021

Stroom Den Haag, center for visual art, has chosen a new two-headed team of directors and has appointed Alexandra Landré as its new artistic director and Bas Mulder as its managing director. Starting May 1, 2021 they will use their expertise and experience to run the art center, which celebrated its 30th anniversary last year.

After an eventful year in which Stroom said goodbye to director Arno van Roosmalen, chair Sharon Gesthuizen is looking forward: "The board is excited about the new Stroom directors. Both have a wealth of experience, each in their own field. Their areas of expertise are highly supplementary and in line with the tasks Stroom is required to perform; the board is confident they will compliment each other in many ways. Alexandra Landré is the right person to formulate a comprehensive and inspiring policy for the future and Bas Mulder takes care of the business continuity. The duo will bring a considerable amount of new inspiration, which will strengthen the implementation of Stroom's mission and contribute extra value to the visual arts community."

Alexandra Landré looks forward to strengthening the relationship with the Hague community. "Over the past 30 years, Stroom has managed to establish an extraordinary position, both locally, nationally and internationally. In particular the focus on the relationship between art and society resonates with my personal professional convictions. It is precisely this perspective that calls for an institution that has the courage to take a position, that is catering to the needs of the arts and the public, and knows how to facilitate inspiring encounters for a wide range of voices."

In the significant diversity of programs and tasks offered and performed by Stroom, and its strong relationship with the local community especially, Landré sees great opportunities for contemporary art practices with a critical reflection on the world we live in today. "Finding the balance between content-based themes, ethical questions as well as focusing on the framework and the preconditions is an area of expertise Stroom already possesses. A cross-disciplinary approach, enabling polyphonic collaborations and using translocality are also central to my own vision and practice. It enables room for alliances, new partnerships, different stories and the creation of new cultural values. I am looking forward to collaborating with the team to add a new chapter to Stroom's rich history."

Bas Mulder, the new managing director, is also looking forward to their collaboration. He has been working at the art center for a long time already: "In the future I will even more explicitly focus on the financial and organizational parameters. Stroom has a multifaceted mission in the field of visual arts in The Hague. With Art in Public Space, our stimulating policy for artists in The Hague, and our program with an (inter)national reputation, we can be a major driving force, both in this city and beyond."

Alexandra Landré holds an MA in Art History from the University of Amsterdam (NL). She has been involved in a large number of national and international cultural projects, with a particular focus on innovative forms of co-creation, new commissions and audience participation. Until 2020 she was the artistic director of Kunstvereniging Diepenheim (NL) where she presented acclaimed exhibitions like Disconnection (2019/20), Between Grace and Fury with Matea Bakula (2018), and Yes & No with Lucas Lenglet (2016), programmed a living collection of land art projects with artists like a.o. herman de vries, as well as artists-in-residency-programs in collaboration with the Mondriaan Fund. In her curatorial career she has collaborated a.o. with De Appel, Amsterdam, Stedelijk Bureau Amsterdam, Synch Festival, Athens (GR), Jindrich Chalupecky Society, Prague (CZ), Kunsthalle Muenster (DE) and Kunsthalle Wien (AT). In addition, Landré is a prolific writer, mediator, and educator with a keen eye for talent development. In recent years she has been affiliated with the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam, Royal Academy of Art in The Hague (NL) (as a teacher of critical inquiry), Higher Institute for Fine Arts / HISK in Ghent (B) and The Glasgow School Art of Art (UK). Currently Landré is an advisor to several organizations, including the Cultuurraad Eindhoven, municipality Alkmaar and CBK Rotterdam.

Stroom Den Haag is responsible for supporting and stimulating art and artists from The Hague and for optimizing the visual arts climate in The Hague. In addition, the art center is in charge of the implementation of the municipal policy in the field of art in public space, and produces and presents diverse projects and exhibitions. The program is based on the conviction that art offers new insights and contributes to the public discourse on art, the city and society. In 1990 Stroom Den Haag became a private foundation and since then it has received a structural subsidy from the Municipality of The Hague as an art center.

 

Alexandra Landré and Bas Mulder
photo: Myléne Siegers, courtesy Stroom Den Haag