FAIR P(L)AY Cycle – Fair practices in the cultural sector

Date: 25 October 2023
Time: 10:00 - 12:30 
Location: Foundation We Are, Torenallee 22-04, 5617BD, Eindhoven
Format: Panel talk followed by a networking event 
Language: English

How do you establish yourself as a designer? What makes a professional designer? How do you know how much your work is worth? And how does that affect your own creative practice? Join us for a conversation on rewarding and sustainable design practices! 

As part of the Dutch Design Week 2023 in Eindhoven, EUNIC Netherlands is happy to present the third event of its Fair P(l)ay cycles. Fair P(l)ay is a series of events discussing sustainable remuneration practices in arts and culture with perspectives from international actors. 

We will host a discussion on propelling your career into the design world, with shared experiences from artists, practitioners, and cultural organisations. We invite you, on the verge of your design career, to listen, learn, and discuss your possibilities, needs, and ambitions.

The event will be followed by networking opportunities in a relaxed setting, where you can meet the speakers and invited professionals, and the event organisers who all represent a different national institute for culture such as Czech Centre Rotterdam, DutchCulture, the Embassy of Austria in the Netherlands, the Finnish Cultural Institute for the Benelux, Goethe-Institut Netherlands, Institut français NL, and Vlaams Cultuurhuis de Brakke Grond. 

List of speakers

MART VELDHUIS  

Illustrator and freelancer Mart Veldhuis (31) has experienced the burdens of the Dutch student loan system up close while studying at the HKU in Utrecht. As his student debt accumulated like an angry cloud over his younger years – he wondered how to make a career with of his work. Mart got rid of his problems in one go as he succeeded to sell his wall tapestry “Eigen Schuld” for €45,879, the exact amount of his student debt. “With this amount I link the financial reality to the physical reality of the tapestry as a statement to increase awareness about student debts and the consequences of the social student finance system in the Netherlands.”  The work will now be exhibited in several museums. Mart’s work appears in Dutch media Trouw and de Correspondent among other places, and he has won a Bronze place at the European Design Awards in 2022 and was the winner of the HKU entrepreneurship awards in 2021.

WENDY OWUSU

Wendy Owusu was born in 1994 and lives and works between Paris and The Hague. Her multidisciplinary practice includes video, textiles, publishing and installation. Her favourite subjects are sociology, heritage and Afro-descendant cultures. She is very interested in the idea of rites and community, and the way in which we construct an idea of group based on invented codes that are then passed on. The subject and the research process determine the medium chosen for each project. Having a mixed practice allows the artist to interact with the audience in different ways.   Photo: Sarah Coppet

HANNA-KAARINA HEIKKILÄ

Hanna-Kaarina Heikkilä is a Finnish multi-disciplinary designer who has skills, knowledge, and experience from architectural projects to smallest details in product design. In her work strategic thinking is combined with practical knowledge and experience. Hanna-Kaarina has a master’s degree in design from Aalto University. She has also studied architecture in Tampere University. Currently Heikkilä is acting as a creative director at Studio Finna and lecturer in Aalto University. Hanna-Kaarina has been working as an in-house designer at Ikea of Sweden and has been consulting various Scandinavian furniture companies. She has also worked in architecture offices and cultural institution in Japan. Heikkilä lives between Helsinki and Brussels.
Photo: Sara Urbanski

BRANKO POPOVIC 

Branko Popovic is a multidisciplinary artistic director, curator and developer of projects within the field of (fashion) design and performing arts. As co-founder and artistic director of FASHIONCLASH foundation, an interdisciplinary showcase and development platform for fashion and fashion culture, he has developed more than 250 projects and events from various countries in Europe to China and South Africa. One of the most-known projects is the annual FASHIONCLASH Festival that will hold its 15th edition in November 2023. Branko is a co-initiator of Taskforce Fashion coalition and Culture Fashion network. In addition, he is a member of the advisory committee at Creative Industries Fund NL, member of the jury panel of the Dutch Design Awards and member BAC, the advisory committee for the Council for Culture for the Dutch Ministry of Culture, Education and Science. Photo: Laura Knipsael 

LISA BERGMANN

Lisa Bergmann is an artist and curator and teaches photography at a designing school. In the Bündnis für gerechte Kunst- und Kulturarbeit BW (Alliance for Fair Art and Cultural Work), she has been campaigning for fair payment and equitable structures in the for years. In 2021, she compiled a guideline on exhibition remuneration as a reference for artist fees, which opened a wide public discussion. As art agent for the platform ato.vision, she represents artists* applying a transparent pricing system, and in the podcast “My Art Don’t Cost a Thing” she exchanges ideas with artists of all disciplines about their own experiences on appreciation and payment for their work. Her guests present strategies, empower others and aim to achieve better working conditions for all. Her own works were displayed at ZKM Center for Arts and Media Karlsruhe, Unseen Amsterdam, dok.fest Munich, Fotomuseum Winterthur, Biennale für aktuelle Fotografie. Photo: Tanja Meissner 

MAAIKE MUIS (MODERATOR) 

Maaike Muis (she/her, the Netherlands) is a versatile freelance moderator, host and podcast producer boasting a wealth of knowledge and experience within the cultural and creative sector. As her most recent podcasts series, she has launched “Circus Whispers” in collaboration with TENT house for contemporary circus and “Around Fresh” for Circostrada, the esteemed European Network for Circus and Outdoor Arts. With a career spanning over two decades in the performing arts, Maaike made her mark as founder and artistic director of Circusstad Festival, Rotterdam, and has worked as a programmer for many other (inter)national festivals. She’s a passionate advocate for the arts and creative sector and international collaboration. 

NETWORKING SESSION 

BEN HAGENAARS 

Ben Hagenaars (PhD) works as a designer, researcher and educator.  He is the coordinator at the Product Design department of Luca School of Arts, located at campus C-mine, Genk (BE). As a strong advocate of sustainability, his post-doctoral research is dedicated to driving the transition towards a circular economy. He developed a circular design methodology called Circle Sector. As a member of the research group Interactions, he is the initiator of several Living Lab research projects such as Custom Territory and TransFormMaker where he collaborates with partners within the furniture and fashion industry. 

ANNE SULMAN

Stichting Cultuur Eindhoven was founded in June 2015 and is responsible for implementing the cultural policy of the Municipality of Eindhoven. Cultuur Eindhoven functions as a fund, expert, and facilitator in building a robust cultural ecosystem with a rich and diverse offering for all residents of Eindhoven. As Cultuur Eindhoven we have five funding schemes to help build and maintain Eindhoven’s cultural ecosystem. These schemes are aimed at, for example, our local music venue (Basis); two funds aimed at long- term programmes (Programma and Professionele Kunsten in samenwerking met BrabantStad); one fund for single projects (Projecten) and one fund specifically for creatives themselves, quickfund or Snelgeld. In our role as an expert, we organize workshops, knowledge sessions, and provide advice to cultural organizations, artists, as well as policymakers in the field of cultural policy. Finally, within our role as a facilitator, we work on establishing logical connections for collaborations. We also organize events such as the Eindhoven Culture Award each year, shining a spotlight on the arts and culture sector of Eindhoven.

SIMON DE LEEUW

Working as a programme maker at DutchCulture since 2018, Simon is reflecting on themes that are of long-term significance to his field of work, from future of European democracy to the needs of emerging artists in the Netherlands. In addition, working in this area where the cultural and diplomatic fields overlap, offers many opportunities. It inspires and challenges him to create meaningful connections between cultural practicioners and amplify their voices to the policy level. Through his work, Simon wants to support global collaborations rooted in equal exchange and planetary awareness.

EUNIC Netherlands and Foundation We Are promote a friendly and relaxed atmosphere at the FAIR P(L)AY: KNOW YOUR WORTH event. We wish to ensure that all of our participants and visitors are treated fairly and with respect in our creative space, and will adhere to Safer Spaces principles throughout the event.

Read more about our launch and why this topic matters to us on the website of EUNIC Global.

Organized by EUNIC Netherlands, in cooperation with the Dutch Design Foundation, and the European Commission. It is supported by the EUNIC Global Cluster Fund.