Nina Folkersma is an independent curator, living in Amsterdam. She holds an MA Art History (cum laude) from the University of Amsterdam and was one of the first participants of the Curatorial Programme of De Appel in 1995-1996.
As an independent curator, she has organised a great number of exhibitions, large-scale projects and symposia. Her wide-ranging curatorial experience reflects her global outlook and multidisciplinary modus operandi. She has a particular interest in feminist aesthetics and Surrealist legacies in contemporary practices. Distinctive features of her practice are her interests in performance, film, dance and theatre and her expertise in commissioning site-specific projects.
- Photo: Martine Stig
Biography
In the late nineties, Folkersma assisted at the 2nd Johannesburg Biennale under the artistic direction of Okwui Enwezor. Two years later, she curated a 3-day seminar at the National Museum of Ethnology in Leiden with Okwui Enwezor and Sarat Maharaj, Hou Hanru, Chris Dercon, Ken Lum, Chen Zhen, Meshac Gaba, Jens Haaning and Cildo Meireles.
In 2003, Folkersma founded Quarantine Series, a project space for contemporary art in Amsterdam, where she developed a dynamic programme of exhibitions, film screenings, debates, sound works, internet-art and performances. As curator at the S.M.A.K., Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst in Ghent, Belgium from 2006-2009, Folkersma curated a.o. a series of three film exhibitions with Victor Alimpiev and commissioned new films by Daria Martin and Jesper Just. In 2017, she curated Jesper Just’s large-scale solo exhibition and architectural installation in public space Continuous Monuments at WEST in The Hague.
As chair of ArtTable Netherlands, from 2012-2017, Folkersma initiated and curated the symposium [Hard Talk on] Soft Power at the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, with Defne Ayas, Touria El Glaoui, Reem Fadda, Hedwig Fijen, Katerina Gregos, Abdellah Karroum, Beatrix Ruf, and a performance by artist Alexis Blake.
Previous positions also include Artistic Director of 3rd International Madness & Arts Festival in Haarlem, 2010; Curator of De Grote Kunstshow, a ‘performative art show’ presenting contemporary art works from museum collections (a.o. Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, Frans Hals Museum Haarlem and Museum De Lakenhal Leiden) in national theatres; Curator at Castrum Peregrini in Amsterdam at intervals between 2011-2018, a.o. of the year programme and publication The Female Perspective.
In 2018, Folkersma curated two editions of Sensory Spaces at Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam, commissioning site-specific works by Anne Hardy and Latifa Echakhch. Most recently, she curated the critically acclaimed exhibition The Tears of Eros: Moesman, Surrealism and the Sexes at Centraal Museum Utrecht.
Folkersma regularly contributes to art magazines and catalogues, and for many years was an editor of Metropolis M, the leading Dutch magazine on contemporary art. She was a visiting lecturer at HISK, Higher Institute of Arts in Ghent and an adviser to the Dutch Council for Culture and a member of the art committee of the North-South Metroline in Amsterdam.
Interviews
Here you can read some interviews with me (Dutch only):
Bulletin Kunsthistorici, Soms voel ik heimwee naar de museumwereld, voorjaar 2016
Museumtijdschrift, De conservator: Nina Folkersma, 2 maart 2015
Humanistisch Verbond, Once in an Lifetime … the making of, 21 april 2016
Metropolis M, Waarom [Hard Talk on] Soft Power, 20 november 2015
NRC Handelsblad, De smaak van Nina Folkersma, 29 november 2014
Metropolis M, Madness & Arts Festival in Haarlem, Interview met Nina Folkersma, 27 september 2010
Het Parool, Een lesje kunst (De Grote Kunstshow), 28 november 2013
De Groene Amsterdammer, Weg met de musea, 30 april 1997
