Stichting Ammodo, For arts, architecture and science

Garden of Scars is the first solo exhibition in the Netherlands by Ghanese artist Ibrahim Mahama. For Amsterdam’s Oude Kerk, he creates an installation of around 800 memorial stones, consisting of casts of the church’s tombstones as well as pieces of floor from Fort Elmina in Ghana, a hub of trans-Atlantic slave trade.

In doing so, he connects the family histories of merchants, captains and mayors buried in the Oude Kerk to those of enslaved Africans.

oudekerk.nl

Depicted: Garden of Scars in the Oude Kerk, Mike Bink

Interdisciplinary theatre director Nicole Beutler is working on Rituals of Transformation, a trilogy about the climate crisis and a world in transition. The first part, GINKGO, premieres in 2022.

Ammodo supports the production and development of part two and three of the trilogy, ATMEN (2023) and GAIA (2025) respectively.

Together, the performances reflect on the future of humanity and our planet. In her work, Beutler combines theatre, dance and visual arts.

nicolebeutlerprojects.nl

Picture: GINKGO, Nicole Beutler, 2022

Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, led by Pierre Audi since 2019, is the largest opera festival in France. The festival presents new recitals of existing works as well as new contemporary (opera) productions.

Ammodo supports the development of two new operas per year for the 2022, 2023 and 2024 festival editions. In 2022 these are Il Viaggio Dante by Pascal Dusapin, Frederic Boyer and Claus Guth, and Woman at Point Zero by Bushra El-Turk.

festival-aix.com

Pictured: Innocence, Kaija Saariaho, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence 2021

The 59th edition of the Venice Biennale takes place in 2022. This edition’s main exhibition is titled The Milk of Dreams, curated by Cecilia Alemani, and investigates the metamorphosis of the body and how technology changes our definition of humanity.

Ammodo supports several internationally renowned artists to create new work for The Milk of Dreams. The selected artists are Dora Budor, Giulia Cenci, Gabriel Chaile, Mire Lee, Delcy Morelos, Precious Okoyomon and Alexandra Pirici.

labiennale.org

Pictured: Made of only hearts, Mire Lee, 2020

Every other year, the Concertgebouw presents SOUK, a two-day festival around Arabic music. Ammodo supports the sixth and seventh edition of the festival, in 2023 and 2025 respectively, to enhance the cross-fertilisation of Western and Arabic music and the collaboration between musicians.

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The Nexus Institute creates space for critical thinking by organising conferences, lectures and masterclasses and publishing essays. At the annual Nexus Conference, prominent contemporary thinkers discuss topics around democracy, science, art and civilisation. Important intellectuals who have joined these debates include Nobel Prize Laureates Amartya Sen, Wole Soyinka and Mario Vargas Llosa, philosophers Jürgen Habermas and Avishai Margalit, and authors Marilynne Robinson and J.M. Coetzee.

Ammodo supports the annual Nexus Conference to contribute to a high-level discourse on the big questions of life.

nexus-instituut.nl

Pictured: Nobel Prize laureate Wole Soyinka
Photo: Jan Reinier van der Vliet

Every other year, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra selects four young conductors to participate in its Conducting Masterclass. This trajectory gives them the rare opportunity to work with the renowned Concertgebouw Orchestra and learn from an acclaimed conductor. This constitutes a huge step in their artistic development.

Ammodo has supported the Conducting Masterclass since its establishment in 2015. In 2022, the four participants will rehearse with the orchestra under the supervision of conductor Fabio Luisi.

concertgebouworkest.nl

Pictured: Fabio Luisi
Photo: Monika Ritterhaus

Youth is German artist Anne Imhof’s first solo exhibition in the Netherlands. Using art, architecture, light and sound, Imhof will transform the basement gallery of the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam into an uncanny installation.

In Youth, Imhof investigates the dark side of life. She questions dynamics of power and reflects on emotions such as loneliness, greed and the fear of missing out.

stedelijk.nl

Greek-Belgian director, writer, actress and performance artist Naomi Velissariou is working on a new play called Atropa, about the lead-up and aftermath of the Trojan War.

The piece is based on a text by Tom Lanoye and focuses on the fate of the Greek and Trojan women. Velissariou explores contemporary issues such as identity politics, rape culture and oppression.

Ammodo supports the development of Atropa, which is realised in co-production with Theater Utrecht, Orkater and Toneelhuis Antwerpen.

Photo: Louise te Poele and Maison de Faux

Shooting Down Babylon is a major retrospective solo exhibition of South African artist Tracey Rose. Her work will be on display at the Zeitz MOCAA in Cape Town, the world’s largest museum for contemporary African art.

For the exhibition, Rose has produced ten new works as part of her Mandela Ball series, in which she explores the complexity and legacy of the post-Apartheid movement and other freedom movements.

zeitzmocaa.museum

Pictured: Die Wit Man, Tracey Rose, 2015

Every summer, Holland Festival presents a wide range of international music, theatre, dance and opera in Amsterdam. The festival also (co-)produces new work each year. Ammodo supports these new (co-)productions to boost the development of the performing arts.

Holland Festival had invited Angélique Kidjo and Nicolas Stemann as associate artists for its 75th edition in 2022. This anniversary edition will see sixteen co-productions and initiatives, including the world premiere of Euphoria, a new audiovisual installation by Julian Rosefeldt.

In 2023 and 2024, the festival will present around ten international co-productions each edition, as well as a number of own initiatives focusing on Dutch mid-career artists and companies.

hollandfestival.nl

Pictured: Ine Aya’, Nursalim Yadi Anugerah/Miranda Lakerveld, Holland Festival 2021

Concertgebouw Connects is a programme around non-Western music. For each season, The Concertgebouw presents a series of concerts by outstanding musicians from all corners of the world and representing all genres.

Ammodo supports this concert series to contribute to a richer and more future-proof programming at the Concertgebouw.

concertgebouw.nl

Pictured: Angélique Kidjo

Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ is a concert hall in Amsterdam specialised in contemporary music. In order to push the development of new music, Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ commissions new pieces by Dutch and international musicians and composers. Ammodo has supported these commissions since 2013.

As of 2023, Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ will initiate two to three large-scale international (co-)productions per year.

muziekgebouw.nl

Pictured: Asko|Schönberg
Photo: Ada Nieuwendijk

The Academy is the training institute of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchesta in Amsterdam. During a season-long trajectory, promising young musicians hone their skills by participating in orchestra productions, receiving individual guidance and following masterclasses, workshops and training sessions. After participating, the musicians often take on positions in the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra or other prominent orchestras in Europe.

By supporting the Academy, Ammodo aims to contribute to the growth of a new generation of musicians.

concertgebouworkest.nl

Pictured: Participants 2019/2020
Photo: Renske Vrolijk

In 2021, International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) launched a new competition setup, which includes the Envision Competition.

The Envision Competition consists of around fifteen international or world premieres and focuses on the artistic and cinematographic development of upcoming and established filmmakers. It is a platform for creators who go against the stream and whose idiosyncratic films contribute to documentary film art.

idfa.nl

Picture: still from Octopus (2021) by Karim Kassem, winner of the IDFA Award for Best Film in the Envision Competition 2021

Cappella Amsterdam is a chamber choir consisting of over 25 people. For seasons 2022/2023 and 2023/2023, the choir will develop a number of new (co-)productions, both independently and in collaboration with partner institutions such as the Dutch National Opera, the Amsterdam Andalusian Orchestra, the Residentieorkest and the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra. Ammodo supports these new productions, which range from old and classical to contemporary music.

cappellaamsterdam.nl

The fifteenth edition of documenta takes place in Kassel in 2022, and is curated by Indonesian artist collective ruangrupa. The collective seeks to investigate and reformulate the format of the exhibition and connect it to current art practices.

Ammodo supports the creation of new artworks commissioned by documenta 15 by the following international artists and collectives: Dan Perjovschi, Nest Collective, MADEYOULOOK, OFF Biennial and INLAND.

documenta-fifteen.de

Pictured: Wire Drawing, Dan Perjovschi, 2011

If I Can’t Dance, I Don’t Want To Be Part Of Your Revolution researches and produces performance work in all its shapes. Through artist commissions, If I Can’t Dance supports makers who find themselves at a defining moment their careers.

In 2022, If I Can’t Dance launches Edition IX: Bodies and Technologies, spanning two years. During this period, the organisation commissions four artists to create new work and invites three researchers to research performance art. In this edition, If I Can’t Dance explores how performance can help us better understand the relation between bodies and technologies. The artists are Black Speaks Back, Jessika Khazrik, Tchelet Weisstub and Constantina Zavitsanos and the researchers are Susanne Altmann, Samia Henni and Igiaba Scego.

ificantdance.org

Pictured: His Flowers Shed, Tchelet Weisstub, 2021

In 2021, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen opened their new Depot, an art storage facility which is open to the public and sheds new light on the museum’s collection through additional programming.

In 2022, the Depot will host the new exhibition series Le Miroir Vivant, annually inviting an international artist to make use of the Depot’s exhibition space, collection and expertise to create and present new work. The artist may choose to create something new or combine their work with objects from the collection. Le Miroir Vivant will present four exhibitions in the Depot between 2022 and 2025.

Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen

Photo: Ossip van Duivenbode

In 2021, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra appointed Pierre Audi as its first-ever Artistic Curator. This position was established with the aim of contributing to the never-ending evolution of classical music. During a three-year appointment, the Artistic Curator develops musical projects that transcend the traditional programming, in collaboration with international partners. The aim of the curatorship is to ground classical music in the present day and expand the artistic profile of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.

concertgebouworkest.nl

Pictured: Pierre Audi
Photo: Sarah Wong

Eye Film Museum presents film and video art in a state-of-the-art exhibition space, taking up a pioneering role in the international field.

In the period of 2022-2025, Ammodo supports one Eye exhibition per year featuring video art by prominent artists. 2022 will see a showcase of the last three Eye Art & Film Prize winners: Meriem Bennani (2019), Khalil Joseph (2020) and the Karrabing Film Collective (2021).

eyefilm.nl

Still: Wutharr, Salwater Dreams, Karrabing Film Collective, 2016