Contribution from the Mondriaan Fund

For Princessehof acquisitions

The Mondriaan Fund has awarded €80,000 to the Princessehof National Museum of Ceramics for acquisitions. The Princessehof’s application for a contribution to the Collection Programme 2022-2023 was positively evaluated by the fund. The grant from the Mondriaan Fund will enable the Princessehof to make important acquisitions. The committee praised the museum’s plans to make ‘urgent and social issues more visible and tangible’. In the coming years, for example, the Princessehof will focus on sustainability in contemporary and modern ceramics. The first in a series of 12 exhibitions on this theme will open in the museum this autumn. A publication will also be produced.

In its announcement, the Mondriaan Fund stated: "The committee is positive about Princessehof’s collection policy and about the relationship between the acquisitions and the existing collection. It is curious about the choices the new curator Wendy Gers will make and the kinds of acquisitions that will result from these. Overall, the committee is convinced of the museum’s national profile and expertise."

Sustainable Ceramics
The Princessehof is extremely pleased with the contribution from the Mondriaan Fund. Among other things, it will enable Wendy Gers, curator of modern and contemporary ceramics since November 2021, to plan a series of exhibitions and acquisitions around the theme of sustainability in the years to come. From November 2022 onwards, the Princessehof will present a long-term programme of 12 exhibitions on this theme. The focus will be on ceramics with a lower environmental impact than ‘traditional’ ceramics, which have a high ecological footprint. The exhibition programme will present works by a wide range of makers who develop innovative approaches, materials and production processes to transform ceramics into a more ethically responsible, sustainable and environmentally friendly practise.

A publication on sustainable ceramics is also in the works. It will focus on the leading contemporary artists and designers in the field, and will also reflect a broader, contextual historical overview of sustainable ceramics, incorporating important historical works from the Princessehof’s permanent collection. This carefully curated programme will also result in a series of targeted acquisitions that will supplement the permanent collection.

Both the publication and the series of exhibitions aim to provide a unique artistic experience, to inspire and inform viewers about the environmental impact of ceramics, and to present a wide range of innovative and original creations that highlight best international practices.

This three-part programme (exhibitions, acquisitions and publication) will also enhance the significance of the Princessehof’s historic ceramics collection.

Mondriaan Fund
Art museums with an important collection of contemporary visual art and/or design can apply once every two years for a contribution from the Mondriaan Fund for their collection programmes. Grants are awarded for programmes that best reflect the coherence between the collection and the presentation policy, the importance for the national Dutch Collection, the museum’s relationship with its own collection, and the quality of its collection and exhibition plan.

Yoon Seok-hyeon

Until 8 May 2022

Introducing Wendy Gers

The Princessehof’s new curator of modern and contemporary ceramics