Surprising art in Amare
Did you know that Amare also contains several remarkable works of art? These works often resulted from special workshops, performances or collaborations with city partners. We’ll point out a few of them and tell you their story.
The Amare Fountain
You’ve probably noticed it before: the large green-yellow fountain in Amare’s entrance hall. The fountain was a gift presented to Amare by the Moroccan community, on behalf of all citizens of The Hague. The fountain offers everyone clean drinking water, courtesy of Dunea water company. The fountain was the initiative of Mohammed Benabbou and Marko Fehres, and it was hand-crafted in Morocco according to a design by Aziz Bekkaoui. The fountain’s mosaic tiles were produced using an age-old method. The yellow and green colours not only refer to The Hague’s flag, but also occur in the designs by architect Berlage and in Moroccan architecture. The fountain thus forms a wonderful bridge between Amare and the different histories and cultures that make up The Hague.
Het Puttertje
Julien de Casabianca
2022
Look closely next to the ticket office on Amare’s ground floor, and you’ll spot a striking art work: Het Puttertje, known in English as The Goldfinch. The work was mounted here by Julien de Casabianca, who is famous for his street art based on classic art. All across the world, he selects art works from local museums and makes them accessible to the general public by inserting them in public space. It is an attitude that appeals to us, since Amare also aims to break down the walls between the city and performing stage.
The work that De Casabianca chose for Amare is Het Puttertje (The Goldfinch) by Carel Fabritius, kept in the Mauritshuis museum. De Casabianca placed this work when giving a workshop in Amare in 2022. As part of its 200th anniversary celebration, the Mauritshuis worked with The Hague Street Art to create four large murals in The Hague, featuring artists including Fabritius.
There’s an elephant in the room
Summary IPCC - The lack of sense of necessity
Johannes-Harm Hovinga
2022
When you first see this art work on Amare’s first floor, it might strike you as abstract. But it in fact testifies to a remarkable story, as it is the result of an interactive performance.
During the annual UN Climate Change Conference held in Egypt in 2022, the artist Johannes-Harm Hovinga was Amare’s guest. For eleven days in a row he publicly shredded the 3608 pages making up the IPCC’s climate report. This was his way of focusing attention on the speed with which such a report simply is forgotten.
Hovinga invited members of the public to help out with the shredding while discussing the climate issue at the same time. “It was interesting to see which people joined in. Everyone has their own story to tell.” Hovinga subsequently used the result of the performance to create a work of art, incorporating all the pieces of confetti by hand.
Form
Bier en Brood
2023
Go to Amare Studio to see a rather special mural. As you move from one side to the other, you seem to get sucked into the image. Inspired by Amare’s architecture, the work is titled ‘Form’ and was created by the artist duo Bier en Brood. Artist Koen Harmsma describes the work as “an exploration of the essence of Amare - the interplay between sound, movement and visuals which house within the walls of the building.”
The side wall of the former Lucent Danstheater used to be decorated with an iconic black-and-white mural by the same artist duo. When the theatre was demolished to make way for Amare, the mural disappeared as well. Quite fittingly, then, that Amare is now home to another mural by Bier en Brood, also executed in black and white.
Expositions in Amare
