De Nijverheid receives Harm Lambers Building Block for Special Art in Utrecht 2024

Utrecht – Last Saturday, March 30, cultural free port De Nijverheid received the Harm Lambers Building Block for Special Art in Utrecht. This honorable challenge trophy was awarded by the Utrecht Dance Company De Dansers, which received this biennial prize for the first time in 2022.

Praising words from the jury

Josephine van Rheenen of De Dansers was full of praise in the jury report about De Nijverheid: “This is where art grows. The Industry makes raw beauty bloom and live on one of the last, rare fringes of our city. You immediately feel at home and inspired to be your most creative self, whether you have a studio, come to perform, visit an exhibition or just come for a beer. A maker city like Utrecht cannot do without places like De Nijverheid.”

Industry is honored

Jonathan Straatman and Daan Bramer, initiators of De Nijverheid, received the heavy Bouwsteen: “We are extremely honored to receive the Bouwsteen – as a raw maker space for emerging artists in the visual and performing arts. Especially because it is a prize that welcomes connection and innovation in the maker field. We are proud to receive this prize from such an enthusiastic and cross-disciplinary company as De Dansers and will do our best to do justice to the prize, following in their footsteps.”

A prize for the connection between art and city

At De Bouwsteen, as a symbol for building the connection between art and the city, De Nijverheid receives an evening that it programs at its own discretion to further inspire Utrecht residents and fellow artists. The municipality of Utrecht is contributing financially to the realization of the special program that De Nijverheid will present in the spring of 2025. The prize is named after former director of Theater Kikker, Harm Lambers, who passed away at the end of November 2021. It is an initiative of theater makers Paul Feld and Erik Snel in collaboration with Theater Kikker and specially intended for Utrecht artists and collectives who are looking for a connection between art and the city.