The production house of dance Dansmakers Amsterdam will be included in the ICK Artist Space from 1 January 2021. As head of ICK Artist Space, Suzy Blok will bring together the know-how and the broad network of former dance makers with ICK's existing talent development program. With this important step the infrastructure for talent development in Amsterdam will be enlivened and enriched. The interconnection with the other pillars of ICK; the ICK Company with the junior company and the ICK Academy, will make a unique space for new artists in the coming years in which they can research, create and present and which stimulates the advancement through their careers. An ambition that will only be viable through synergy and that also gives meaning to the core values of artistic sustainability, inclusiveness and interdisciplinarity.
ICK Artist Space focuses on artists who are interested in (the) language of the body and who take their inspiration from it - in any way. Because ICK Artist Space is characterized by diversity: after all, the body has multiple (cultural) meanings. Selected artists, with whom an intensive relationship is established, are curated on the one hand and supported on the other hand in the broadest sense of the word.
Pieter C. Scholten, director of ICK: "We work with experienced artists and young talent. A curiosity for each other is a prerequisite. The wild freshness and drive of the open mind is confronting. This results in a fruitful dialogue that leads to new possibilities. That is exactly what we need now. ICK sees the crucial factor in synchronicity".
In Amsterdam-Noord the intended collaboration with Likeminds and other partners plays a role by jointly programming and using Podium Noord (formerly Dansmakers Podium) as a house for young culture, interdisciplinary work and daring crossovers. This multidisciplinary approach does not - of course - deserve an introverted stage. Together, we also seek to connect with the inhabitants of several parts of the city and radiate the whole city. As the resident company of the Meervaart, ICK also bridges North to New West. And Amsterdam will grow in the number of vibrant places that transcend artistic disciplines and cultural backgrounds.
Suzy Blok, director of Dansmakers: "The advantage of ICK Artist Space is that new artists can enter into a dialogue with ICK's entire mode. It should also be possible for a young maker who has just left school or an autodidact to enter into conclave with EG|PC or the Associated Artists or to participate in the educational and socio-artistic participation projects of the ICK Academy. I am also happy to bring them into contact with other institutions that are better suited to their artistic needs. This transition creates a greater ability to optimally facilitate and contextualize dance and creative talent".
ICK Artist Space stands for a flexible mode with various development formats such as workshops, residencies and creation projects, master classes, intensives, presentations and collaborative projects with ICK Company and ICK Academy. ICK Artist Space will thus become a unique chain institution with a new impulse for the cultural infrastructure in Amsterdam, enabling an advancement, for those who aspire to do so, to the main auditorium and an opening to an international network.
Christian Guerematchi, former ICK dancer and new creator Artist Space: "ICK Artist Space is for me a free haven where I can live out my artistic fantasies and further develop them professionally thanks to the expertise of ICK and the artistic team. In other words, from a quote, freely quoted from my latest performance NAM Non Aligned Movement: We shall continue to support each other. Because this movement we are creating together - this Movement of Space for Artists - is a movement that is inside of me, but it is also inside of you and when we move, we move together.”
Emio Greco | Pieter C. Scholten Suzy Blok
ICK Dans Amsterdam Dansmakers Amsterdam
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Photo Mohammad Alzoabi: f.l.t.r. Suzan Tunca (head ICK Academy), Emio Greco | Pieter C. Scholten (artistic directors), Suzy Blok (head ICK Artist Space)