When Princess Beatrix unveils your artwork
‘A red curtain went up. Confetti shooters were popping. There was applause.’ And then came the unveiling, by none other than Princess Beatrix! Karlijn van der Weij, third-year ArtEZ student of Fine Art & Design in Education, created a true anniversary work of art that was officially unveiled at the 90th anniversary of Vrouwen van Nu (Modern-day Women). An educational experience.
Karlijn’s work of art will feature at the head office of Vrouwen van Nu, the largest women’s association in the Netherlands dedicated to empowering individual women, making use of their talents and reinforcing the female voice in society.
At the head office, the work will be finalised. That is because one of the peculiarities of this work is that members of the association can contribute. During the anniversary celebration, a start had already been made on the work of art, which has the shape of the logo of Vrouwen van Nu. Members can suspend an approximately 10-by-10 centimetre object from it that has to do with the anniversary theme.
Festive conviviality
‘The artwork has become a festive conviviality. Some of objects were quite impressive’, Karlijn says. ‘A pass-through mandala, for example, made by several women. The first one started in the middle, stopped, and the next one went on again. And what I hung in the middle of the logo is a sort of cube, with powerful quotes about women, such as Is it earning or saving?’
Princess Beatrix
‘Princess Beatrix is the patroness of the association. The anniversary party was held in a hall and one of the most exciting things was that Beatrix was sitting only two chairs away from me. Only Beatrix’s companion and the mayor separated her from me. When I was called to the stage for the unveiling after a great programme, they put a microphone into my hands. Beatrix was also on stage and asked me questions about the work.
And what was also very special: Beatrix even grabbed my hand with two hands. That meant a lot to me, because she is an art expert.
The room was full of women. That had an empowering effect and felt good. They are all very interested people who wanted to know everything about me and wanted to chat. They all wanted to participate and contribute something to the artwork. It was a lovely day. I live in Apeldoorn, so I thought it would be fun to do that in my own city.’
First major assignment
‘This was my first major assignment. Working with such an association was new to me. I attended meetings for the first time and contributed to cost estimates, which I’d never worked with before. It’s official and that’s cool. There was also a shop owner who wanted my work in miniature. That’s about to happen and my work will be in her shop!’
Through this experience, I found out that my grandmother is also a member of Vrouwen van Nu. She’s so proud.
Tip for students
‘This application came in through my course and in the end it turned out to be something so grand and cool. So my tip for students would be: take whatever is handed to you. Just respond!’
