W139 Colored
20 Jan - 25 Feb 2007
W139 COLORED
Openings exhibition: 20 Jan. -25 Feb. 2007
Opening party: Friday 19 Jan. 9 P.M
W139 is a combined work/exhibition space for contemporary art in the centre of Amsterdam. It was founded in 1979 by a group of young artists who wanted to present an alternative to what was shown by the city’s museums and commercial galleries at the time, which they felt to be too uniform. In the course of 25 years, W139 has developed from an anti-establishment laboratorium into a professional non-institutional platform for art. Today W139 operates parallel to, rather than in opposition with the more established venues. W139 provides ‘room for risk’, fulfilling a unique role in the Dutch art world.
W139’s main venue is situated in the heart of Amsterdam’s historical centre, between the hustle and bustle of Damrak and the shady goings-on of the red light district. This location, and the crude volumes of W139’s exhibition spaces (which in former times served as a theatre) all add to W139’s unique character. Warmoesstraat 139 provides an environment in which artists can develop projects which would be inconceivable anywhere else.
W139 started out as an experimental site for local Amsterdam artists, and continues to build on a tradition of flexibility and ingenuity to this day. Artists from both the Netherlands and abroad are encouraged to develop new insights into their ideas and their work, and are actively supported in realising the results of this process. W139 is a workplace for the unrestrained imagination.
Thanks to: Gemeente Amsterdam, Ministerie van OCW, VSBfonds
Openings exhibition: 20 Jan. -25 Feb. 2007
Opening party: Friday 19 Jan. 9 P.M
W139 is a combined work/exhibition space for contemporary art in the centre of Amsterdam. It was founded in 1979 by a group of young artists who wanted to present an alternative to what was shown by the city’s museums and commercial galleries at the time, which they felt to be too uniform. In the course of 25 years, W139 has developed from an anti-establishment laboratorium into a professional non-institutional platform for art. Today W139 operates parallel to, rather than in opposition with the more established venues. W139 provides ‘room for risk’, fulfilling a unique role in the Dutch art world.
W139’s main venue is situated in the heart of Amsterdam’s historical centre, between the hustle and bustle of Damrak and the shady goings-on of the red light district. This location, and the crude volumes of W139’s exhibition spaces (which in former times served as a theatre) all add to W139’s unique character. Warmoesstraat 139 provides an environment in which artists can develop projects which would be inconceivable anywhere else.
W139 started out as an experimental site for local Amsterdam artists, and continues to build on a tradition of flexibility and ingenuity to this day. Artists from both the Netherlands and abroad are encouraged to develop new insights into their ideas and their work, and are actively supported in realising the results of this process. W139 is a workplace for the unrestrained imagination.
Thanks to: Gemeente Amsterdam, Ministerie van OCW, VSBfonds