SHIMMER
SHIMMER

Shimmer x Amarte Call out 2
Deadline: 1 June 2025, 11:59 PM. via the Amarte Portal https://www.amarte.nl/nl/x-amarte

Following our first successful collaboration, Shimmer x Amarte invites proposals for a second project for the stairwell void of the former Rotterdamse Elektrische Transport (RET) building, designed by city architect Ad van der Steur. For this exhibition, Shimmer x Amarte seeks proposals of existing work by an artist based in the Netherlands.

This open call is intended for visual artists working with installation, textile, sculpture, audio, and image. Amarte and Shimmer invite artists to propose old ideas or existing works that can be adapted for this exhibition. We see this project as an opportunity for artists to return to an idea that may feel unfinished or something that was never realised to begin with. We encourage artists of all ages to apply and revisit ideas that may have previously been set aside.

We welcome proposals that focus on how material influences artworks and exhibitions. How does the experience of an artwork change when it is not displayed in isolation on a pedestal, but situated in an open, dynamic space such as a stairwell? How does an artwork affect that space? And how does that space in turn affect the way an artwork is seen, felt, or even ignored? How can we think of the weight of a work as being distributed throughout the entirety of a building? How can material emerge or unfold from a single point in space?

We seek one proposal that meets the following criteria:

. The work can be made of any material
. It must be light enough to hang from a small ceiling hook
. The work needs to be safe
. It can move, but does not have to

About Shimmer's building

The building that houses Shimmer was designed in 1941 by architects A. van der Steur, W.A.C. Herman de Groot, and K.I. Ruige on behalf of the N.V. Handelscompagnie. Adrianus van der Steur (1893–1953) served as city architect of Rotterdam between 1931 and 1939. Among other notable projects, he designed the Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum (1928–1935), the Maastunnel Complex (1935–1940), and the Eye Hospital (1941–1949). The building was completed in 1946 and expanded on the west side in 1953. It was designed and constructed shortly after the bombing of Rotterdam.

Artist fee and production budget

. Fee for an adapted work: €5,192
. Production budget (prototype): €500
. Production budget (final work): €2,000

To apply
 You can submit your proposal through the Amarte Portal via https://www.amarte.nl/nl/x-amart until 1 June 2025, 11:59 PM.

For more information visit https://www.amarte.nl/nl/x-amarte

About Shimmer

Located in the Port of Rotterdam, noted for its beautiful sunsets, caused by industrial pollution, Shimmer is a curatorial studio set within the contradiction of oil-riggers and wind-turbine installing ships. The contradiction of a changing industrial environment informs our adaptive and transformative outlook. Our curatorial style coalesces, collaborates and redefines the methods of making, showing, and disseminating contemporary art.  

From exhibitions to events, and playlists to publications, we create an intimate space that operates with a ‘studio-like mentality’ where knowledge surfaces from participation and experimentation. We see art as inherently shared, public, and social, and so too are structures like Shimmer, allowing for research and conversations to spark the beginnings (and endings) of artworks and exhibitions. 

The studio is influenced by anthropologist and feminist theorist Deborah Bird Rose's talk 'Shimmer, when all you love is being trashed'(2014). Established in 2018, Shimmer was founded by Eloise Sweetman and Jason Hendrik Hansma.

About X Amarte

At the Amarte Fund, we like to join hands with other cultural institutions and organizations to give makers more opportunities. X Amarte is a platform dedicated to supporting cultural organizations and institutions that focus on highlighting talented creators through various projects, open calls and events. Amarte acts as a financial supporter contributing to the realization of an open call, project or event initiated and organized by an external party.

SHIMMER

Previous Shimmer x Amarte Recipient: Commuter (2024) by Katie Watchorn, two air curtains, arduino devices, (motion sensors) approximately 7 minute program, pigmented jesmonite, thermal flasks, dimensions variable. Courtesy of the artist and Shimmer. Photography by Jhoeko.

Shimmer x Amarte Call out 2
Deadline: 1 June 2025, 11:59 PM. via the Amarte Portal https://www.amarte.nl/nl/x-amarte

Following our first successful collaboration, Shimmer x Amarte invites proposals for a second project for the stairwell void of the former Rotterdamse Elektrische Transport (RET) building, designed by city architect Ad van der Steur. For this exhibition, Shimmer x Amarte seeks proposals of existing work by an artist based in the Netherlands.

This open call is intended for visual artists working with installation, textile, sculpture, audio, and image. Amarte and Shimmer invite artists to propose old ideas or existing works that can be adapted for this exhibition. We see this project as an opportunity for artists to return to an idea that may feel unfinished or something that was never realised to begin with. We encourage artists of all ages to apply and revisit ideas that may have previously been set aside.

We welcome proposals that focus on how material influences artworks and exhibitions. How does the experience of an artwork change when it is not displayed in isolation on a pedestal, but situated in an open, dynamic space such as a stairwell? How does an artwork affect that space? And how does that space in turn affect the way an artwork is seen, felt, or even ignored? How can we think of the weight of a work as being distributed throughout the entirety of a building? How can material emerge or unfold from a single point in space?

We seek one proposal that meets the following criteria:

. The work can be made of any material
. It must be light enough to hang from a small ceiling hook
. The work needs to be safe
. It can move, but does not have to

About Shimmer's building

The building that houses Shimmer was designed in 1941 by architects A. van der Steur, W.A.C. Herman de Groot, and K.I. Ruige on behalf of the N.V. Handelscompagnie. Adrianus van der Steur (1893–1953) served as city architect of Rotterdam between 1931 and 1939. Among other notable projects, he designed the Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum (1928–1935), the Maastunnel Complex (1935–1940), and the Eye Hospital (1941–1949). The building was completed in 1946 and expanded on the west side in 1953. It was designed and constructed shortly after the bombing of Rotterdam.

Artist fee and production budget

. Fee for an adapted work: €5,192
. Production budget (prototype): €500
. Production budget (final work): €2,000

To apply
 You can submit your proposal through the Amarte Portal via https://www.amarte.nl/nl/x-amart until 1 June 2025, 11:59 PM.

For more information visit https://www.amarte.nl/nl/x-amarte

About Shimmer

Located in the Port of Rotterdam, noted for its beautiful sunsets, caused by industrial pollution, Shimmer is a curatorial studio set within the contradiction of oil-riggers and wind-turbine installing ships. The contradiction of a changing industrial environment informs our adaptive and transformative outlook. Our curatorial style coalesces, collaborates and redefines the methods of making, showing, and disseminating contemporary art.  

From exhibitions to events, and playlists to publications, we create an intimate space that operates with a ‘studio-like mentality’ where knowledge surfaces from participation and experimentation. We see art as inherently shared, public, and social, and so too are structures like Shimmer, allowing for research and conversations to spark the beginnings (and endings) of artworks and exhibitions. 

The studio is influenced by anthropologist and feminist theorist Deborah Bird Rose's talk 'Shimmer, when all you love is being trashed'(2014). Established in 2018, Shimmer was founded by Eloise Sweetman and Jason Hendrik Hansma.

About X Amarte

At the Amarte Fund, we like to join hands with other cultural institutions and organizations to give makers more opportunities. X Amarte is a platform dedicated to supporting cultural organizations and institutions that focus on highlighting talented creators through various projects, open calls and events. Amarte acts as a financial supporter contributing to the realization of an open call, project or event initiated and organized by an external party.