Refresh Amsterdam #2: War & Conflict

Participating makers

This second edition is organised with more than 20 Amsterdam cultural institutions, with the We Sell Reality collective as the principal partner. More work by the makers shown here can be seen at various locations, and there is a weekly public program of talks and performances spread throughout the city.

The names of the selected artists, sometimes in duos or as a collective, are Nasam Abboud & Yazan Maksoud & Roua Jafar, Kristina Benjocki, Marcel van den Berg, Luan Buleshkaj, Dina Danish, Ehsan Fardjadniya & Raul Balai, Tina Farifteh, Clinton Kabena, Ayşen Kaptano��lu, Susanne Khalil Yusef, Gert Jan Kocken, Senka Milutinović, Vika Mitrichenko, Sithabile Mlotshwa, Pieter Paul Pothoven, Ratu R. Saraswati, Anika Schwarzlose & Elena Khurtova, Victor Sonna, Handan Tufan and We Sell Reality.

Theme 'War & Conflict'

Amsterdam has been partly shaped by wars and their consequences. The city has been a refuge for many for centuries. At the same time, Amsterdam has also contributed to war and oppression in various places worldwide. This together results in a great diversity of residents. Many people carry war with them, even in Amsterdam.

To see

All works in the exhibition are new or recently created. For example, with her audiovisual installation The Flood, Tina Farifteh (Tehran, Iran, 1982) analyzes the idea of water as a metaphor for the people who try to reach Europe every year via the Mediterranean Sea and who use terms such as 'asylum tsunami' or statements such as 'we are being overrun by migrants' are interpreted as a threat.

Gert Jan Kocken (Ravenstein, Netherlands, 1971) shows a large version of Depictions of Amsterdam, an archival work composed of city maps. They were used in Amsterdam during the Second World War, such as the 'dot map' that shows the distribution of Jews across the city.

The digital artwork Momentary Lapse in Memory by Senka Milutinović is an interactive environment based on Milutinović's family and friends' memories of the 1999 NATO bombing of the former Yugoslavia.

Partners

The leading partner of this second edition is We Sell Reality, an art collective of documented and undocumented makers. In addition, the Amsterdam Museum for Refresh Amsterdam #2 works closely with leading institutions for art and culture throughout Amsterdam: AGA LAB, de Appel, CBK Zuidoost, Framer Framed, International Institute for Social History, Kriterion, Melkweg Expo, Amsterdam Public Library, OSCAM, Pakhuis de Zwijger, Paradiso, P/////AKT, Podium Mozaïek, Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten, ROZENSTRAAT – a rose is a rose is a rose, Sexyland World, NDSM-werf Foundation, The Black Archives, Tolhuistuin and W139.

Various locations

During the duration of Refresh Amsterdam #2, works by the selected makers can be seen at various locations in the city, such as the second part of Clinton Kabena's installation Landed Rock (2022) at the NDSM wharf, the neon artwork Bidnan3eesh – بدنا نعيش (WE WANT TO LIVE) (2022) by Susanne Khalil Yusef at OBA Oosterdok and the installation Overtoom 274 (2023) by Pieter Paul Pothoven at the International Institute for Social History (IISH).