Wild Summer of Art, 2025
Founded by artist Joep van Lieshout in 2008, the Artist Driven Playground Brutus is host to massive, challenging performances, and group and solo exhibitions. With a mission to offer artists time, space and freedom to experiment at a massive scale. Next to 6000m2 of exhibition spaces and a sculpture garden, Brutus offers a residency and a grant. Brutus consists of 2 foundations: Brutus Space and Brutus Base. Brutus Base presents all projects and activities related to the work of Atelier Van Lieshout. Brutus Space does all projects and activities related to other artists.
For this third edition of Wild Summer of Art, the Brutus building itself forms the starting point of the exhibition. The traces of the past, visible in the ruins and remnants of the monumental site, tell multiple stories. They remind us of what once was, but also invite new interpretations. The ruins of Brutus symbolize what is gone, but also what could have been. They form a space where imagination is given room and where the past and future enter into conversation. The artworks reflect on what remains after an event and how we deal with the traces of turbulent times. The exhibition invites visitors to reflect on questions such as “What do we carry with us from the past?” and “What do we ourselves leave behind for the future?” As the Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish once said: “Memory is the scar of history.” It is precisely this scar that the exhibiting artists make visible. Not only as something painful, but also as a source of insight, creativity, and hope.
Curators:
Yannik Güldner (DE, 1996), based in The Hague, is a self-taught curator and programmer. His research focuses on intersections between contemporary and popular culture. Alongside his independent practice, he currently leads artistic developments at the artist collective iii (instrument inventors initiative); iii is an artist-run community platform supporting new interdisciplinary artistic practices that connect performance, technology, and the human senses.
Jeanette Bisschops, based in New York and Amsterdam, is an independent curator, researcher, and writer. She previously held curatorial roles at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam and New Museum, New York. She is currently affiliated with Performa, the biennial dedicated to presenting new live performance work by visual artists. She also runs Performance Talks, a platform focused on conversations around performance.
WSoA Artists:
Aaryan Sinha, Adrian Kiss, Alaa Abu Asad, Alexandra Phillips, Angeliki Diakrousi, Anouk Kruithof, Benjamin Francis, Cemre Kara, Cihad Caner, AYO, Danae Io, Doris Kolpa, Elio Mazur, Feline Hjermind, Florian Braakman, Ilke Gers, Ines Borovac, Inez Vierdag, Jason Hendrik Hansma, Joost Vermeer, Juliette Lizotte, Katarina Jazbec, Liza Wolters, Lotus Rooijakkers, Mathieu Wijdeven & Mateo Vega, Meghan Clarke, Mel Chan, Mylan Hoezen, Nadim Choufi, Nanno Simonis, Noor Boiten, Puck Schot, Raziel Perin, Robert Glas, Ruben Kotkamp, Ruben Mols, Scott van Kampen, Theophile Blandet, Toon Fibbe, Ulufer Çelik, Vlada Predelina, Zalán Szakács en Zoë D’hont.