Stimuleringsfonds

In the second Design round of 2022, 27 proposals have been selected. The available budget was not sufficient to award a grant to all positively assessed applications. Annique Deneer, Design Grant Scheme coordinator, reflects on the round.

general impression

Because the Design Grant Scheme covers a wide range of sub-disciplines, the diversity of the proposals is usually high. In this round, for instance, the submissions included proposals for exhibitions, online platforms, material research and books (including books for children) in the subdisciplines of social design, graphic design, scenography, animation, bio design and textile design. A number of recurring topics were the countryside and the relationship to the natural environment, access to archive material and collaboration with parties from the healthcare sector.

selection

The available budget of € 402,486 was not sufficient to award a grant to all 40 positively assessed applications. As a result, the advisory committee had to prioritize. The procedure used is described in the Design Grant Scheme. After prioritization, 13 projects were eliminated from the selection. Of the 27 projects that were selected, 9 are receiving a starting grant, a form of subsidy intended for the phase prior to the implementation of a large-scale (research) project. A few notable projects from this round’s selection are:

Turning towards Fluidity – A Tournament of the Unknown – W139
With the project Turning towards Fluidity, social designer Gabriel Fontana is going to redesign the concept of a sports tournament, in collaboration with production and presentation space for contemporary art W139. Fontana was commissioned to develop a month-long queer sports tournament with the aim of overcoming binary thinking and responding to contemporary issues related to themes of solidarity, alliance, deep listening and empathy. Set in a unique scenography and spatial architecture, the tournament will bring together groups from across the social spectrum to play Fontana’s specially designed and developed games. The project includes a public programme and an exhibition of sound, installation and photographic works that cross and expand the theme of Fontana’s work. Turning towards Fluidity will take place from 18 November to 18 December 2022 at W139 in Amsterdam and will run parallel to the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

Brave New Lit – Atelier Sherida Kuffour
Brave New Lit is a digital platform dedicated to science-fiction literature where essays, interviews and stories are published. The aim of the platform is to encourage discussion of sci-fi literature and make it more widely accessible in the Netherlands. Founder Sherida Kuffour intends to let the platform grow into a travelling library and to develop a reading and writing toolkit for museums, schools, libraries and bookshops. The aim is also to publish the second edition of Brave New Lit with new interviews, essays and research. In this phase of the project, the platform is working specifically to increase BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Colour) participation within the science-fiction genre through commissioned assignments and collaboration, and Kuffour is involving various experts from the fields of literature, design and digital development.

De Appel correspondentie publicatie: This should be a book – de Appel
With the publication This should be a book, art centre de Appel is giving a voice to previously unseen correspondence material from its own archives. The material consists of postcards, letters, e-mails, faxes and notes between artists and de Appel from 1975 until now. In order to situate the historical correspondence in the present, guest editors are asked for a written contribution on the subject of correspondence. The design is being provided by Bardhi Haliti. Haliti is looking at the correspondence archive as a whole, for inspiration on form and composition. Research and selection of materials are carried out by artist Martha Jager and editor Hannah Cheney in collaboration with archivist Nell Donkers. The overview publication will make the iconic history and practices of both de Appel itself and the artists involved transparent and accessible.

Unlearning Motherhood – Juliana Erazo Illustration & Animation
Unlearning Motherhood is a transdisciplinary animation documentary in which illustrator Juliana Erazo explores unconventional experiences of motherhood. The project consists of a short animated documentary that follows the motherhood experiences of six cisgender and transgender women. By discussing topics such as adoption, abortion, transgender motherhood, being childless and motherhood regrets, Unlearning Motherhood addresses how diverse motherhood is. With the project, Erazo wants to explore the genre and form of the animated documentary and create social impact by encouraging the audience to see the concept of motherhood as something that can have a fluid and open meaning. The documentary will be presented through screenings, Q&As and an AR installation that invites the audience to interact with the research. Within the project, Erazo works together with various partners, including We Are Playgrounds, BROET Film Platform, Kaboom Animation Festival and TAC Eindhoven.

Click here for all the projects selected in Design in 2022.

numbers
Of the 79 subsidy applications taken into consideration, 27 are receiving grants. This brings the percentage of applications receiving grants to 34%. The closing date for the next Design round is 16 August 2022, and the subsequent and final round of the year closes on 11 October 2022.