The curators

'Gerrit turns 50, Willem only 28' is curated by alumnus and curator Moritz Küng in collaboration with 12 guest curators. We asked them to tell us a little something about their experiences during the selection process for the exhibition.

Jeroen Vermandere, alumnus, AV equipment assistent at the Rietveld Academie and co-curator.

Which capsule did you curate?

Music.

What was your task?

I was asked to research music that is made within the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in the past 50 years. The idea is that every part of the exhibition is curated in so called ‘time capsules’. 

How did you make the selection?

I started by creating 10 folders each representing 5 years of Rietveld music. I knew about or heard about some musicians through teachers, alumni and by searching for Rietveld events. This way I could get an idea of what music sounds like that is made within the Gerrit Rietveld Academie based on a timeframe rather than length, genre, style and so on. From these folders I made a selection of music that I think represents the Gerrit Rietveld Academie.

What did you notice during the process?

During the process I heard how the music, that I archived, connects music by means of concept rather than genres, release dates and the use of instruments. While working on this project I found out that for me music from the art academy is able to use sound as material, to use a genre in an ironic way and to use elements of pop culture without the purpose to entertain or reach a big audience.