Twenty-two thousand five hundred

From 12 May through 21 October 2007 Museum De Paviljoens presents the recent purchases for De Collectie Almere in the exhibition Twenty-two thousand five hundred; De Collectie Almere, acquisitions 2001-2007. These purchases have come about with a purchasing budget of twenty-two thousand five hundred euros per year.

The purchasing budget that the municipality of Almere makes available for the creation of the permanent collection challenges one to make careful choices. Thus, in 2004 the museum bought the artwork Table (1997) by Yael Davids and in 2005 Stadsboerderij Sugoroku (2005) by Chikako Watanabe. This made Museum De Paviljoens the first museum to acquire a performance/installation by these artists. Table (1997) can only be installed if four performers execute the work at fixed times. The play Stadsboerderij Sugoroku (2005) requires the public’s participation. Since 1994 Museum De Paviljoens has managed De Collectie Almere. The municipality of Almere has given the museum the artistic freedom to shape the collection policy for the city. Apart from the previously mentioned important works by Davids and Watanabe, during the period from 2001-2007 this has led to exceptional purchases in the oeuvre of contemporary artists such as Yael Bartana, Bik Van der Pol, Christiaan Bastiaans, Jan De Cock, Jonas Dahlberg, Job Koelewijn, Ruben le Noble, Gabriel Lester, Barbara Visser and Witho Worms. Making effective use of budgets other than the purchasing budget also made it possible to acquire a top piece such as Kompaktes Kommunehaus (2001) by Carsten Höller.

Challenge It is the challenge for Museum De Paviljoens to purchase works that reflect the interdisciplinary approach in contemporary art. The museum wants to conserve artworks such as these in particular and show them to a broad public. The museum’s purchasing policy assumes a long-term commitment to the artist. This means that during the exhibitions the artworks will be continuously placed within a new context, in relation to the current developments in contemporary visual arts. De Collectie Almere consists of an inside and outside collection of contemporary art. The inside collection is extended primarily with artworks by young artists from the museum's exhibition programme. Artworks that have been acquired for De Collectie Almere since 2001 are on view in Almere’s city hall and public areas as well.

Opening The exhibition was opened on 12 May by Mister Harry Dijksma, councillor for culture of the province Flevoland. On that occasion, the first copy of the publication De Collectie Flevoland was presented to him by Macha Roesink, director of Museum De Paviljoens.

Twenty-two thousand five hundred
De Collectie Almere, acquisitions 2001-2007

mit Yael Davids, Chikako Watanabe, Yael Bartana, Bik Van der Pol, Christiaan Bastiaans, Jan De Cock, Jonas Dahlberg, Job Koelewijn, Ruben le Noble, Gabriel Lester, Barbara Visser, Witho Worms, Carsten Höller ...