Who is the Rembrandt of our time? How does the great Dutch master inspire contemporary artists worldwide? To find out, Radio Netherlands Worldwide (RNW) is launching an international competition under the title Inspired by Rembrandt. Artists around the globe are invited to submit their entries via the official website rembrandt.rnw.nl. They will compete for a special workshop at the Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam, a leading Dutch art institute. The best submissions will be shown at an exhibition in the Netherlands.
The Inspired by Rembrandt competition will be officially launched tonight at a special ceremony in the Rijksmuseum by Dutch photographer and jury member Corbino (Maarten Corbijn).
Radio Netherlands Worldwide will invite artists all over the world to take part in the competition through its international transmissions and websites (in nine languages). It will also approach thousands of radio stations and art institutes around the world. Artists can enter their paintings or photographs until 30 September 2006. A jury of experts will then select 10 semi-finalists, whose entries will be posted on rembrandt.rnw.nl. A voting form on the website will allow the general public to pick the winning piece of art from 15 October to 30 November.
Interest
Radio Netherlands Worldwide has already received some entries. One is from Josep Agus Tomo who’s from Jakarta and says he has drawn inspiration from Rembrandts use of colour: He paints colour on colour. The layers are painted in such a way that theyre in harmony with each other. Which is perfect! In my work, Im also looking for the right balance between light, colour and focus.
Jury
The judging panel consists of Ad s Gravesande (Chairman of the Art and Culture Broadcasting Organisation), renowned international photographer Maarten Corbijn (Corbino), Ernst W. Veen (Managing Director of the Nieuwe Kerk and the Hermitage Museum in Amsterdam), Mavis Albertina (Editor-in-Chief/ Publisher of MAVIS magazine), Cathy Spierenburg (Channel Coordinator of Z@pp childrens TV) and Joop Daalmeijer (Editor-in-Chief, Radio Netherlands Worldwide). The public jury is headed by Ms Nolly A. van Berge, notary public in Amsterdam. More details about the competition are available at: rembrandt.rnw.nl.
Cultural ambassador
Celebrations marking the 400th anniversary of Rembrandts birth will be held in the Netherlands throughout the year. In its capacity as an ambassador of Dutch culture, Radio Netherlands provides an international multimedia platform for this Rembrandt Year through radio, television and the internet. Earlier this year Radio Netherlands Worldwide released the radio drama The Edges of the Night Watch in Dutch, English, Spanish, Indonesian, French and Italian.