Text: Piet Augustijn, Image Magazine
The policy memorandum Art in Public Space 2021-2030 states: ‘Art in public space and in public buildings contributes to a high-quality and special living environment for all residents and visitors of the city. Special works of art can be found in all neighborhoods of Utrecht, each with its own story. The municipality of Utrecht considers quality, innovation, experiment and courage to be important. The city has an active art commission policy in the field of art in public spaces, with the focus on art for everyone outside on the street and in public buildings such as schools, swimming pools and community centers.
The collection is a good reflection of post-war visual art, responds to current developments and stimulates debate about the functioning of public space and the public that moves in this public space. Rinske Hordijk: “The ambitions are high, support is always sought for assignments and stakeholders, residents or users are involved. The municipality is advised on content by the external Advisory Committee for Visual Arts and Design.”
Collection
The collection has been built up by the municipality’s progressive policy in the field of art in public spaces. As a result, Utrecht has presented many high-profile works of art and projects that have attracted attention locally, nationally and internationally. This tradition dates back to 1948 when mayor Coen de Ranitz (1905-1983) founded the Urban Beautification Fund. Many of the hundreds of works of art that have been installed since 1948 (purchased or created as an art commission) were created by mainly nationally and sometimes internationally renowned artists.
For years, the municipality has purchased many works of art that were current at that time, so that the collection provides a representative overview of the development of post-war sculpture in the Netherlands. Utrecht is also one of the few municipalities that has consistently implemented the Percentage Scheme since 1954. This means that art is used in the new or renovation of municipal buildings. The aim of this is to contribute to the quality of the built environment through art and to bring users of the buildings into contact with contemporary art.
Finally, the municipality has a long tradition of linking large-scale urban expansions and (re)construction projects to a long-term art program, such as Beyond (2001-2009) in Leidsche Rijn and Art in the Station Area (2012-present) with the Call of the Mall events. (2013) and Public Works (2016). Multi-year programs in which the identity and experience of transition areas are researched and shaped with artists and partners. In the coming years, the emphasis will be on major urban renewal on the west side of the city with Lombokplein, the Beurskwartier and the Merwedekanaal zone with the Gemene Grond art program.
2021-2030
The implementation memorandum Art in Public Space 2021-2030 linked to the Culture Memorandum Art Colors the City provides a clear description of the steps that must be followed for art assignments. The starting point is a good distribution of works of art across the city, in consultation with residents and accessible to everyone. In this way, the municipality wants to offer opportunities to (young) visual artists to create work of a high artistic level. Important principles are a broad and diverse range, distribution throughout the city, participation of residents and social-cultural organizations, good information provision with and about the works of art and supporting young makers.
“The municipality has not purchased individual images for twenty years,” says Hordijk. “We don’t just want to place a work of art somewhere, but tailor an art application to the location, the situation, current events. That is why we pay a lot of attention to commissioning based on participation: together with initiators or stakeholders, drawing up the principles for a new work of art based on the content or location. Communication and consultation are crucial. We want everyone to be able to enjoy appealing art in their immediate environment. In order to maintain interest in a work of art even after completion and in the long term, we will pay more attention to programming around existing works of art.”
Image routes
In addition to sculptures and other artistic expressions by famous names such as Barry Flanagan, Lilly van der Stokker, Korrie Besems, Fernando Sanchez Castillo, David van de Kop, Saskia Noor van Imhoff, Pieter d’Hont, Fritz Wotruba, Hans Bayens, Arthur Spronken, Herman Makkink , Ilya Kabakov, Marc Ruygrok, Nicholas Pope and many others, there are many little-known images to discover in Utrecht. Many statues and reliefs were made for public buildings in the context of the Percentage Scheme. The approach is that statues or reliefs that are released during the demolition of a building or that have to make way for another destination are given a new place as quickly as possible.
“That is often difficult, especially when it concerns major works,” says Hordijk. “There are now some wall reliefs in storage that are difficult to place. A gem is the tile tableau from 1961 by Dick Elffers of the former Gerrit Rietveld College. A work from the reconstruction period, but thirty meters long. That doesn’t find a good place very quickly. We try to keep storage in the depot as small as possible. Heritage associations such as Bond Heemschut also often help with the repurposing of works of art.”
New in Utrecht are two small, until now relatively unknown, but special sculpture routes with ‘orphaned’ statues. The Croeselaan was renovated in 2018-19. Sustainability and circular construction were the starting point for the redesign. The sculpture park is also circular: it consists of works that come from the collection of the municipality of Utrecht and from the Rabo Art Collection that were in the depots. They have been restored and show a cross-section from different style periods.
The second route has been created since 2003 through private initiative. There are now six statues on the Willem Arntszkade, from the former storage in Fort de Bilt. Another image will be added later this year.
‘Art can encourage reflection and contemplation, but can also be beneficial, offer comfort or recognition and provide space for new rituals’, the implementation note formulates somewhat pompously. Beautiful words that do not seem like hot air in Utrecht. The policy regarding art in public spaces shows that art and artists are treated seriously and with interest.
Images in the city of Utrecht
The publication Images in the city of Utrecht (2014) offers a complete overview of all works of art in the public space of the municipality of Utrecht. The most current overview of the collection can be found at www.kunstinopenbareruimte-utrecht.nl
Image magazine
This article previously appeared in Beelden Magazine, a magazine that has focused exclusively on all aspects of spatial art for 25 years, expanded to include contemporary engagement, inclusivity, diversity and current information about national and international sculpture. Beeldenmagazine provides the new Art in Public Space section for Straatbeeld.
To find out more about Beeldenmagazine, go to them website.
