Through the courtesy of the Netherlands Embassy in Japan and Amsterdam’s SICA (Service Centre for International Cultural Activities), I had the opportunity to spend about one week in Holland right after visiting London. SICA, an organization that — as its name suggests — supports international cultural exchange, sits in a building called Felix Meritis, located (of course on a canal) in central Amsterdam. The organization’s activities include hosting various events, producing publications, and as in my case, inviting artists, researchers, journalists. Felix Meritis is a historic building that was erected in 1787, and originally served as the stronghold of an organization promotiing culture and science. The attached concert hall, in which the likes of Brahms, Robert and Clara Schumann, and Camille Saint-Saens once performed, reportedly served Adolf Leonard van Gendt as a reference when he conceived Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, which eventually gained a reputation as one of the concert halls with the best sounds in the world. This is one of the places that vividly reflect the depth of European culture.
Other places I visited and people I met next to SICA include Fonds BKVB (foundation for visual arts, design and architecture), BaasBank & Baggerman and Holland Festival (performing arts production), Transartists (organization providing artists with information on residency programs and others), De Appel and Van Abbe Museum (contemporary art museums), Anouk van Dijk Dance Company (contemporary dance company), Dutch Jazz Connection (jazz production & promotion), Jan van Eyck Academie (research & production academy for people involved with art and design), Institute of Network Cultures (net activist Geert Lovink’s lab), Sieboldhuis (Siebold museum), V2_ (media art production & research), and the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (architect Rem Koolhaas' office). Besides these I met a number of artists, and had two opportunities to catch pianist Mukaiyama Tomoko’s performance in Amsterdam.
Holland is a country with a highly advanced system to support art and culture. That’s what I basically felt when visiting each of the above-mentioned places, but the Premsela: Dutch Design Foundation definitely left the strongest impression on me. Established with the aim to internationally promote the world-renowned Dutch design, the institution was named after interior and product designer Benno Premsela, who passed away in 1997. Along with Platform 21, the Foundation moved its bases to the Zuidas district in the South-West of Amsterdam last October, where both facilities are going to join hands in order to boost cultural promotion through exhibitions, lectures and other events. The Premsela Foundation was responsible among others for the Dutch booth at the "100% Design Tokyo" event that was held in Tokyo in late October/early November.
While it lies in the nature of the Premsela Foundation to cover a lot of ground, events like "Government Advisor for Design: Nonsense or Necessity?", a discussion session held at the International Press Centre Nieuwspoort in The Hague on November 15, left a particularly deep impression. On the Foundation’s website, the event’s outline was introduced as follows: " The Dutch government commissions large and prestigious design projects. But it is also in a position to develop a sustained vision on the contribution of design to our society. Is our government serious about its responsibility in this respect?"
Several designers, but also politicians and decision-makers, discussed the points and possibilities of appointing government advisors in charge of design. Communications Manager Paul van Yperen explained that, "Our job is not only the merchandising of design products, but it also includes thinking about designers' social responsibility. Both politicians and designers have responsibilities in terms of public design." I don't know if this meeting one week prior to the general election in Holland has raised an issue that could be of significance among eligible voters, but what’s more worth noting anyway is the fact thatthe topic is being discussed not only in a closed circle of design-related professionals, but together with government officials.
Platform 21 is currently hosting exhibitions related to fashion and design at a refurbished , round-shaped chapel, but in 2009 will relocate to a nearby building of 5,000 square meters that’s presently under construction. Along with the Premsala Foundation it will function as a centrepiece of an emerging new design area, where all kinds of design-related facilities, free universities, galleries, and others are expected to gather. Artistic Director Joanna van der Zanden is eager to establilsh a "big meeting place for designers, fashion designers, and other creative people".
As I pointed out before (in Out of Tokyo 139), regional redevelopment with design as a core subject seems to be a wordwide trend. In "Tokyo Midtown", which is presently developing on the site of the former Defense Agency in Roppongi, 21_21 Design Sight (pronounced "Twenty-one Twenty-one…", but commonly called "Two One Two One…") is scheduled to open on March 30, 2007. It’s a bombastic project with such leading Japanese designers as Miyake Issey, Sato Taku and Fukasawa Naoto functioning as directors, and Ando Tadao being responsible for the construction.
The statement, "It will be not so much a museum as a research center for design, a place for thinking about design, and a place where things are actually made." (from the official website) shows that the basic idea behind "Two One Two One" is similar to the philosophy of Platform 21, and both organizations are in fact in touch with each other. At present, prior to the official opening, preliminary events are still limited to persons and parties involved in the project, but I hope that future activities will not only be open to, but directly involve the general public. It goes without saying that design is an agent that spreads and connects to society.
Ozaki Tetsuya / Editor in chief / REALTOKYO