13/05/2012 - 27/05/2012

I have made some new work for the exhibition ‘Half werk’ at WILLIE (May 13 – 27). The work I made is text-based and as the title suggests it’s all about different ways to perceive halves of something. I haven’t photographed it yet, so I will add photo’s here later.

My work for this exhibition is also inspired by WILLIE itself, the best artists collective, concert venue, art space and club/bar in Deventer. I have grown to love WILLIE over the years and I have put a considerable amount of time and effort in making WILLIE what it is today, together with the other people that make WILLIE tick. Sometimes at the cost of my other work and my income (working for WILLIE doesn’t pay the bills… at all). But it’s time well spent! It still gives me a kick to amaze our audiences with music, art and the overall good experiences we offer them. The feedback we get as organizers of all this cultural splendor is overwhelming at times. Thank you for that!

The past few years WILLIE has operated from a fixed location in Havenkwartier Deventer. Today this whole area is under development. And although the city of Deventer apparently sees the value of what WILLIE brings to the table (on a voluntary basis no less!) and although a collective like WILLIE fits like a glove in the intended cultural profile of Havenkwartier Deventer (which is actively promoted by the municipality of Deventer), we find ourselves forced out of our current location due to a sizeable increase in costs, starting July 2012 (read WILLIE’s official statement here). Clearly we have upgraded the area’s value considerably while we were here ;)

It kind of pains me to type the above, because this has proven to be the inevitable conclusion after a tiresome period of extensive planning, writing, networking, lobbying, organizing, calculating and soulsearching. Not being able to ‘save’ our current location after putting in this much time and effort, together with all the support we got from enthousiastic volunteers and practically all the other cultural organisations in Deventer… does feel like a loss, a failure even.

On the other hand, it feels good to have described WILLIE in such rich detail and to have searched and tried all available options, so we can now honestly say that there is no other choice under the given circumstances. This process has also strengthened our will to keep the concept of WILLIE alive and kicking, with or without a fixed location to work from.

But not so fast… we still have some certified quality time left in our current location and aim to make the best of it! So please enjoy our vibrant program in the months May and June to the fullest, because the future plans of WILLIE are still somewhat shady at best… And for those of you who haven’t visited WILLIE’s super hot spot in Havenkwartier Deventer yet, don’t miss out, your chance is now!

  13/05/2012 - 27/05/2012
  Zie openingstijden
  WILLIE
  gratis!