Looking back at Dutch Design Week 2024

From 19 to 27 October 2023, we presented a new crop of emerging design talent during Dutch Design Week. For the second time, this edition of Stimuleringsfonds presents talent, organized by the Talent Development Grant, took place at the Portiersloge at Strijp-S. A further 17 projects supported by the Innovatielabs, a joint programme of the Creative Industries Fund NL, on behalf of the six national culture funds, and CLICKNL, were on show in the Klokgebouw.

stimuleringsfonds presents talent

Every year, emerging design talents active in the fields of design, architecture and digital culture are given the opportunity to develop themselves optimally in artistic and professional terms, thanks to a grant from the Creative Industries Fund NL. The grant gives them time to lay a good foundation for a distinctive and meaningful practice within the creative industries. They are given space to develop themselves as makers and to explore and deepen important themes in their work. They can also invest in lasting relationships, within their own field and the creative industry, and beyond. In the exhibition – through works, presentations, performances and panel discussions – the makers showed what this year has brought them. Visitors were introduced to a wide range of projects, from a reinterpretation of negative stereotypes about North African women through traditional henna, to research on spatial justice in the Amsterdam Red Light District, and from queer stories told through ceramic sculptures and film, to interactive art projects addressing themes of inclusion and connection.

Missed the exhibition or got extra curious about the talents? You can find interviews and video portraits on our Talent Platform.

Moderator Isabel Sheridan in conversation with executive director Syb Groeneveld during the opening of ‘Stimuleringsfonds presents talent’. Photo: Clara Gus
Opening of ‘Stimuleringsfonds presents talent’, left Portiersloge, right performance of Tessa van den Eeden. Photo: Clara Gus
Visitors in the exhibition space. Photo: Clara Gus
'Meet the maker' with Cotecreate and performance by Amos Peled. Photo: Clara Gus
Works of Zobayda, Duya Zita, Quiana Cronie, Ange Neveu. Photo: Clara Gus
Works of Ro Buur and Lukas Engelhardt. Photo: Clara Gus

innovatielabs #2

The exhibition Innovationlabs #2: the growing archive at the Klokgebouw showed the harvest of the second edition of Innovatielabs, a programme in which innovative ideas for the cultural and creative sector are researched, tested and improved. Visitors were introduced to a variety of initiatives aimed at an agile and resilient future of the sector.

Part of the exhibition was an open lab, where visitors could see demonstrations of new technologies, be sensitised or engage in conversation with creators. It was also possible to test innovations themselves, such as an advanced archiving system to digitise material collections and a demo to design avatars for musical performances or livestreams, for example.

Special attention was paid to the findings of researchers from different knowledge institutions who followed and supported the initiatives in the innovation process. Five roadmaps offered insights into this research and also served as tools for visitors to navigate through the exhibition.

Want to know more about innovation in the cultural and creative sector? Find a growing archive of applicable knowledge and insights at innovatielabs.org.
HKU researchers Lies Wijnterp (centre) and Veerle Spronck (right) during a tour of the exhibition. Photo: Clara Gus
Maas Lab (left) and presentation of the five road maps (right). Photo: Clara Gus
Center Stage Robotics. Photo: Clara Gus
Groen & inclusief voorwaarts. Photo: Clara Gus