Art in public space

In the almost 30 years of its existence, art center Stroom Den Haag has contributed to the development of the city of The Hague with innovative art projects in public space. Both physically and mentally because the art projects and works often make a statement about the space and context in which they are located.

IN PREPARATION
Monument for the Commemoration of the History of Slavery in The Hague

NEW
WEBSITE OUTDOOR ART THE HAGUE
Find all information about the hundreds of statues, sculptures, plaques, and reliefs in The Hague on the new website buitenkunstdenhaag.nl. A project by the municipality of The Hague in collaboration with Stroom Den Haag.

RECENT WORKS
This princess saves herself (Lara Schnitger)
in The Sculpture Gallery
Ling Zhi Helicopters (Huang Yong Ping, 2020)

Stroom's thematic programs show a fluid line from exhibition to lecture, to activities with specific groups and to the concrete realization of a work of art in public space. For example in the form of a garden (Nils Norman's Edible Park, 2010), a temporary excavated bunker (Cyprien Gaillard's Dunepark, 2009) or a scaffold as a stage for theater and discussion (Scaffold by Sam Durant, 2014-2015). These can be experienced as autonomous works of art, but at the same time serve as meeting places where stories are told, knowledge is shared, or joint work is done on the city. Our policy in the field of art in the public domain has thus developed into an integral program policy that focuses on the city, urbanity and urban life.

Stroom's goal is to use art in the public domain, wherever possible, to make connections with social issues and urban developments. This involves high quality art that dares to speak, to challenge and to bring together. Ideally this will result in The Hague having a rich public arena in which a language of polyphony, nuances and complexities is spoken. Art can enrich, channel, defuse or soften the debate. It can give new meaning to notions such as public domain and publicness.

STROOM'S MAJOR WORKS (permanent)
Over the past years Stroom has realized a number of major, permanent works in public space. Examples include:
The Celestial Vault by James Turrell
Park in the Water by Vito Acconci
Ling Zhi Helicopters by Huang Yong Ping
More projects click here.

THE SCULPTURE GALLERY
The Sculpture Gallery (after a concept by P. Struycken in 1990) is a gallery of sculptures on pedestals, placed every 25 meters in the pedestrian area of the Grote Markstraat, Kalvermarkt and Spui. 40 Dutch sculptors have been or will be invited to produce a sculpture for this area.

FIETS&STAL
For the project Fiets&Stal 12 artists and designers have been invited to create guard houses for bicycle shelters in The Hague. In collabarion with Biesieklette.

ART FOR SCHOOL BUILDINGS
The municipality has prescribed that when a school in The Hague is newly built, 0.64% of the building costs must be spent on art. Stroom advises the various school boards on how to spend these art budgets.
Survey art at school buildings

OTHER PROJECTS
Stroom initiates major temporary projects in public space like Scaffold by Sam Durant, the Honey Bank (Honing Bank) by Oliviér Darné, Nils Norman's Edible Park, Cyprien Gaillard's Dunepark and Michael Lin's Floor of tulips and also initiates or collaborates on projects for police stations, housing associations and other corporations. Recent examples are the Thorbecke monument by Thom Puckey (2017), Folkert de Jong's De Player (2014) and Resetting by Toby Paterson (2013). Stroom also acts as a mediator for art projects in large scale urban development areas like Wateringse Veld and Ypenburg.

Survey of projects: click here.

ART PROJECTS AT VINEX LOCATIONS
Stroom mediates in large-scale urban development projects, such as in the development of Vinex locations (new city districts):
- Wateringse Veld
- Ypenburg
- Leidschenveen