From January 16th, Holly Hendry's Slackwater will be on display at the Y-berth of NDSM. This impressive artwork explores the relationship between water, time, and heritage, creating a site-specific dialogue with its surroundings. Slackwater will be on view until March 31st.

(Un)monumenting
The work is part of the Un)monumenting program, where artists question the monumental nature of NDSM as a location. At NDSM, monumental heritage, creativity, events, and makers come together. In response to this, artists continue to explore what the unique character of the site means and how it can remain significant for the future of the city and its inhabitants.

Slackwater x Holly Hendry
For the adaptation of Slackwater at NDSM, Holly Hendry has "woven" a pipeline system (which is found all over NDSM) into the site and its history. Hendry uses steel pipes as the internal organs of a space, offering a way to look at larger systems and the social fabric of a place or city. With Slackwater, Hendry connects these industrial materials of steel pipes and cable reels with NDSM's maritime history. Placed on one of the ship slips, the artist aims to create a physical translation of the 'entanglement' of bodies (which are mostly made of water), the water (the IJ River), the city of Amsterdam, and the urban landscape, both conceptually and visually.

Slackwater is presented in an adapted form by Stichting NDSM-werf, 2024. It was originally commissioned by TheColab, The Artist's Garden, London, 2023.

About Holly Hendry
The work of British artist Holly Hendry is sculptural, monumental, and playful, exploring what lies beneath the surface, from hidden underground spaces to the inner workings of the body. Want to know more about her work and inspiration? Listen to the NDSMX podcast with Holly Hendry, where we dive deeper into her creative process and the making of Slackwater.

Practical Information
Slackwater by Holly Hendry is located at the Y-berth of NDSM between the Pllek restaurant and the Faralda crane, and will be on display from January 16th to March 31st, 2025.

From September 20, an artwork by the Boris Tellegen on view at NDSM. Tellegen's work, known in the graffiti world as DELTA, consists of three large letter blocks. The artwork can be seen as a crossover between architecture and street art where typography and fonts are played in a spatial way. The work has the enigmatic title: Mlem-Uhha.

Through his studies in industrial design, Tellegen was previously inspired to turn his graffiti work into sculptures in three dimensions. With Mlem-Uhha, he goes one step further and turns the sculptures into an immense spatial installation. By stacking and cutting smartly and tightly, he transforms three oblong blocks into cartoonish cries. The words or cries come from a sample library of so-called onomatopoeia: words that phonetically mimic the sound they describe.

The use of public space

With its art programming, the NDSM-werf Foundation focuses on the use of public space. In more and more places, there are great similarities in how the public space is arranged, which is why they are becoming more similar and losing their individuality, but especially their connections with the visitors and users of that space. At NDSM, we show that things can also be done differently. In fact, this work by Tellegen contributes to a playful public space where different voices can be featured. Like all of Tellegen's works, it relates to themes such as urbanization, ownership and public space. Boris Tellegen's work Mlem-Uhha was commissioned by Lowlands and in collaboration with Roskilde.

About Boris Tellegen aka DELTA

Internationally recognized graffiti artist Boris Tellegen is based in Amsterdam and works around the world. For more than forty years, he has been conquering streets, trains and galleries with his works that blend geometric precision and street art into a unique urban aesthetic.

Made possible by:

From April, with the support of the Municipality of Amsterdam, two new street basketball courts will shine at NDSM, depicting a colorful graphic design by the artist Poly Lester. With the fields, Stichting NDSM-werf wants to stimulate sports in the public space for everyone in an accessible way. The project was created in close cooperation with 3X3 Units, a foundation that uses 3x3 street basketball for empowerment among young people.

Over the past two years, there has been plenty of basketball at NDSM, by young and old, pro and amateur. The temporary 3X3 Unites field that was there, activated for and by young people from Amsterdam-North, deserved an upgrade. With the ambition to give 3x3 basketball and other urban sports a more permanent place on the shipyard, Stichting NDSM-werf, together with 3X3 Unites, is realizing two new 3x3 Legacy Courts with a graphic pattern by the Amsterdam artist PolyLester. The 3x3 courts have a pattern of orange and blue lanes that act as rays, inspired by the shadow lines of surrounding buildings and objects. The contrast between the complementary colors blue and orange ensures that the courts are clearly visible. In addition to the realization of the courts, PolyLester is working on a subsequent monumental art installation about basketball culture.

In the coming period, the field will be continuously activated by 3X3 Unites trained role models, 3x3 Leaders and the community from North. After training from 3X3 Unites, they organize activities and events on the field, enthuse the local community to participate, share lessons learned life skills and they monitor the quality of 'their' playing field.

About Stichting NDSM-werf

Stichting NDSM-werf programs and manages NDSM's monumental outdoor space as a cultural shipyard that focuses on the public character, creative experiment and polyphony. The foundation develops and presents location-specific installations and artworks by and with artists, designers and architects.‍

About 3X3 Unites

Since its inception in 2016, 3X3 Unites has inspired and supported young people who want to pursue their dreams. In order to have a positive impact on their lives and thus the world around them. By using 3x3 basketball as a tool to provide young people with tools and life skills giving, they encourage them to take ownership of their own success. Together with partners, they also develop employability for and by young people.

About PolyLester

PolyLester - founded by visual artist Gabriel Lester in 2013 - is a multidisciplinary studio that focuses on art, public sculptures, architectural interventions, landscape, interior design and stage design.

The NDSM-werf Foundation, in collaboration with DGTL, has an artist SEEYOUSIOE enabled to create a stunning piece of art on the iconic container arch for the annual DGTL festival at NDSM. Sioe Jeng Tsao, also known as SEEYOUSIOE, is a multi-faceted queer artist of Chinese descent. Born in Amsterdam and based in Rotterdam, this artist is known for vibrant paintings and digital illustrations filled with joy and energy.

Their artworks explore various social themes, including LGBTQIA+ rights, mental health, feminism, sustainability, racial justice and gender equality. On the container arch, Sioe Jeng Tsao created the work: EMPOWER. This artwork calls for reflection, encouragement, and celebration of love, and reminds us that we are stronger when we work together. The arch serves as a symbolic gateway to a space of strength, acceptance, and solidarity within the LGBTQIA+ community, where individuals from diverse backgrounds support and uplift each other. The artwork promotes unity and collaboration as essential tools for advancing our shared journey to social change and inclusion.

A new, colorful artwork by the British artist was released in the summer of 2024 Morag Myerscough at NDSM, near the waterfront at the shipyard. You may know Morag Myerscough from her installation at Coachella in 2024.

What makes you feel at home somewhere? That question is at the heart of the work (Leave) Space for Space - a temporary meeting place at NDSM, enriched with colorful text boards inspired by and by Amsterdam-Noord. The work is a symbol of exchange and connection, amidst the dynamic developments in both the rapidly changing Amsterdam-Noord and the growing NDSM area. The result was a playful and striking construction with seats, swing benches and mobile phones that dance with the wind. A meeting place for everyone, young, old, local, and international.

Inspiration from Amsterdam-Noord

Myerscough is known for her location-specific approach, using typical phrases, words, and visual poems to create a sense of local community, shared identity, and ownership over public space. During workshops, local residents shared their views on Amsterdam-Noord with her. Myerscough translated this input into words and patterns that occupy a prominent place in the installation.

For even more local embedding, the artist is collaborated with spoken-word artist and performer Mahat Arab for “(Leave) Space for Space”. Based on the stories that participants shared during the workshops, he wrote a poem about “belonging”. Read the poem here, or listen to it in a spoken-word lecture by Mahat Arab below.‍


About the artist

Morag Myerscough's mantra is “Make happy those who are near and those who are far away will come”. Born and raised in Holloway, London, Morag has always lived in the city and is fascinated by how color, pattern, and words can change urban environments and change the perception of spaces into places. From schools and hospitals to cultural centers and city centers, Morag is transforming public spaces by creating engaging experiences for everyone. Her strong visual approach is instantly recognizable and elevates any context in which it is placed. Her work is rooted in creating a sense of joy and belonging for all who encounter it. She often works with community groups to develop ideas that reflect users' identities, drawing on a shared cultural history and heritage of the local area.

(Leave) Space for Space was visible at NDSM until september 2024.

This artwork is made possible with the contributions by Amsterdams Fonds voor de Kunsten (AFK), BPD Cultuurfonds, Vriendenloterij Fonds (Stichting Doen), Stadsdeel Noord, and sponsoring by Plug Verfgroothandel.

The forecast is that the sea level will rise sharply in the coming centuries. With the title Pavlopetri, the creators refer to the Greek underwater city of the same name, which rests on the seabed at a depth of four meters. Sahabi and Zuydervelt explore what it feels like when Amsterdam — which is an average of two meters below sea level — becomes the new Pavlopetri in the long run.  

This takes shape in an installation that reflects different visual and acoustic properties of water. Sahabi's spatial design is inspired by typical monumental columns in Greek architecture and refers to this history. The golden, mirrored exterior and open shape of the installation ensure that the pavilion can enter into a dialogue with the NDSM environment, where water also plays a major role. Inside the pavilion, Zuydervelt's soundscape suggests an underwater world that interacts with the natural sounds of the shipyard. Sahabi's light animation, shown on the ceiling, plays with the typical “dancing light lines” created by the reflections of wavy water surfaces.  

With the work, the creators hope to make the (future) consequences of the climate crisis tangible to the public. Specifically at a location whose (ship) history is characterized by the presence of water and where elements such as wind and water are always explicitly present.

Opening

The installation will be festively opened at 3 pm on NDSM on Sunday, May 26, in the presence of the artists.

About Stichting NDSM-werf

Stichting NDSM-werf programs and manages NDSM's monumental outdoor space as a cultural shipyard that focuses on the public character, creative experiment and polyphony. The foundation develops and presents location-specific installations and artworks by and with artists, designers and architects. More information about the foundation and all art projects, visit ndsm.nl.

About Siba Sahabi and Rutger Zudervelt

Siba Sahabi is a German-Iranian interdisciplinary artist. In addition to objects and sculptures, she creates theater sets and installations for buildings and public spaces.
Rutger Zyudervelt is a musician, composer and performer. Under the name Machinefabriek, he composes music that combines elements of ambient, noise, minimalism, field recordings and electroacoustic experiments.

This artwork was made possible in part by Het Cultuurfonds and Het Stimuleringsfonds.

Coloured for the fifth time Tropicali in 2024, the NDSM shipyard. This LGBTIQ+ friendly festival is about being able to express yourself, be it in a beautiful festival outfit, in great dance moves, or in any other way! In their own words, Tropikali is: “A place where LGTBQIA+ people - and those who don't know where they stand - can express themselves freely and without judgment.” On the Tropikali dance floor, you'll find tropical vibes and the best Balkan Beats, for the first time as a weekender in 2024! For this special edition, they designed two icons: Tropi for Saturday and Kali for Sunday.

The sun was shining during the event and the very best outfits were shining on the various dance floors: Rosario, Latinichta, and Kalinichta stage. The names of the stages refer back to the parties that gave birth to the festival.

Eva Vilachá from Tropikali festival joined our podcast NDSM X and told us all about how Tropikali is committed to “safer spaces” at festivals and events. Listen to the entire episode in the NDSM online magazine. Also check out the video for an impression of the atmosphere.

About this artwork

It looks like this car landed with a big crash. The installation Landed Rock (landed rock) by designer and visual artist Clinton Kabena is about migration. In 2022, more than 100 million people worldwide were fleeing war and violence. They usually settle in an environment far away from home that is unknown and new to them. Kabena is fascinated by this crash in a different culture. In addition to the crashed car, the three NDSM Billboards feature visuals that respond to the topic of “borders”.

About his work, Clinton says that with these artworks, he challenges the viewer to think about the fantastic nature of borders, constructed as they are from the collective imagination of societies. The confrontation of the grandeur of these monumental structures with the fragile threads of unity that they try to maintain invites introspection. These works transcend the political and dive into the psychological realm where nations are woven from dreams and aspirations.

About the artist

In his work, Clinton Kabena uses vehicles as a central theme, as literal and figurative vehicles that transport these stories. They are the link between driver, passenger and route, and show how mobility and the human desire for change are always linked.

My work focuses on the transformative nature of travel, in particular African migration, and the resilience of the individuals who undertake them. Through my art, I look at the social networks created by these trips and the profound impact they have on individuals, families, and communities. In my work, I use vehicles as a central theme because they are the literal and figurative vehicles that transport these stories. They are the link between the driver, the passenger and the route and symbolize the connections between mobility and the human desire for change.

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The installation is part of Refresh Amsterdam #2: War & Conflict. The second part of this installation (another car) is on display at the Amsterdam Museum. This work is also the first part of the exhibition (Un) monumenting, which will be shown at the NDSM shipyard and in the NDSM Loods from December 17, 2023 to February 18, 2024.

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Not-in-my-backyard of Rob Voerman is an installation that combines various functions and references: those of a shelter, nightclub, church and bar. The work is a response to the (over) regulation of public space in the Netherlands. According to Rob, every square meter has been designed, and functions in public spaces are carefully chosen. There is almost no place where functions are mixed in a more loose way.

Originally created for the Biennial Open Source in the Bijlmer in 2009, Not-in-My-Backyard moved to the AMC (Amsterdam Medical Center). Now, Not-in-my-backyard finds a home in a different context for 9 months: that of the NDSM: a cultural site where there is room for experimentation, for questioning public values and focusing on a non-exclusive, polyphonic, public space where a lot is possible. Art, festivals, events, art and craft production space and industrial heritage come together here.

Where Sexyland used to sit and only raised grass over the past two years, there is now a sculpture that you can also sit next to or in (during the day). The NDSM-werf Foundation presents site-sensitive art in response to the context of NDSM. This changing context is determined by the space that currently exists for art, creativity and experimentation, a cultural site, and around which a lot of new buildings have been built.

The architectural constructions, sculptures, drawings and staged photos by Rob Voerman (1966) are disturbing and seductive at the same time. They sketch a perfectly constructed, utopian world with apocalyptic features, a world that is constantly growing but also protected, a world that is broken but also rising from its ashes.

DGTL festival was born in 2013 at the NDSM shipyard. After a first amazing edition, the festival continued and expanded to include editions around the world. This festival is committed to discovery, inspiration, and innovation, especially but not exclusively in the field of sustainability.

With impressive stages and in collaboration with the best DJs (both up-and-coming and established), DGTL provides an unforgettable Easter festival experience at the NDSM wharf every year. In addition to celebrating electronic music and art, DGTL is a space for experimentation and exploration of revolutionary sustainability projects, a well-known example of which is the use of hydrogen aggregates. Highly aware of its environmental impact, DGTL strives to be the most sustainable festival on Earth and invests heavily in reducing its environmental footprint. The festival is not only known for its plant-based food court and for avoiding single-use plastic; DGTL became fully sustainable and circular in 2022.

With her neon installation The Future Should Always Be Better explores Sharon Lockhart the idea of our future and its ability to hold and reshape hope. By executing a statement in neon, Lockhart recalls past utopian visions of a future full of technological, social and structural progress.

Amid the increasing impact of a struggling environment or a global pandemic, the installation's statement is an invitation to consider the future of humanity — not only with melancholy, but also with hope. The work was installed on the Y-ramp, where ships built on NDSM were launched. It's a place where memories, reality, and dreams come together. Lockhart's statement is gaining strength because of the different interpretations that the text evokes. What does “should” mean here? How are our conditions “getting better” and how can that term be defined? The presentation of the neon-lit sentence at NDSM refers to NDSM itself and its circumstances. In addition, the message also extends further into Amsterdam, by touching on the stories of the city's residents and collective social and political stories.

From December 17, 2023 to February 18, 2024, twelve makers showed their work in the first major exhibition, both inside the shipbuilding shed and outside the NDSM shipyard. (Un) monumenting was a group exhibition with new and existing monumental works by twelve (inter) national artists. In various media, the creators claim space for alternative “monuments” or address the question of what a monument can be and for whom or what a monument is being erected.

In (Un) monument Stichting NDSM-werf and Stichting Kinetisch Noord wanted to question the idea of 'a monument' and a monumental place like NDSM. What can a monumental place like this mean for the future? (Un) monumenting comes from a programme line by the NDSM-werf Foundation about the contemporary position of monuments and specifically what this means in a place like NDSM; a location where monumental heritage, creativity, events and creators come together.

For NDSM, the discussion about the role and significance of contemporary memorials is important. Many neighbors see NDSM as holy ground: a place that has defined their history and will continue to do so because of the history of shipbuilding that took place here. It is mainly the former shipyard itself that is considered a monument. It is now a cultural site, a place where art, heritage and events come together. More information about the specific works in this exhibition can be found on the location page from (Un) monumenting.

Participating artists: Maarten Baas, Elsemarijn Bruys, Koos Busters, Selby Gildemacher, Clinton Kabena, Krijn de Koning, Bas Kosters, Sharon Lockhart, Hira Nabi, Oscar Peters, Selma Selman and Bart Eysink Smeets.

(Un) monumenting was a free exhibition with a pay-as-you-can policy. Indeed, it is thanks to the support of funds, partners, and visitors that we can culturally program the NDSM wharf on a non-profit basis. Do you want and can you contribute to art and culture in this special place? Then donate via this link, thanks!

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