The organisation
store
December 2011 till January 2012
(not realised)

Curator Jelle Bouwhuis invited me in the end of 2011, he was head curator SMBA (Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam) at that time and part of a commission for Foundation Art in the Station Area in Utrecht. He asked me to develop a site specific artwork for an empty store in Hoog Catharijne - a shopping mall in Utrecht.

My proposal listened to the title 'The organisation store'. To be able to play a meaningfull role with this art project I asked for an active collaboration with the Municipality of Utrecht, Corio (owner of the shopping mall), shop owners, customers and students of several design academies.

Hoog Catherijne experienced difficult economic times, some of the shops were empty and the ongoing renovation caused for tension by shop owners. My proposal was to open a laboratory for the period of two months. With the above mentioned partners I wanted to research the commercial language used in the mall.

This laboratory would look like a trendy shop and provide the infrastructure for a customers research after their shopping experience. In collaboration with students of design academies I wanted to offer small design gadgets that would be able to engage the commercial language used in the mall.

A few weeks after I presented my first proposal I received a short email with the message that 'The organisation store' was cancelled. A few years later I understood that the owner of the shopping mall (at that time) Corio cancled my proposal. It made me aware that instead of seeing art as a social and innovative tool - to improve the situation in Hoog Catherijne - it was seen as a potential threat that had to be stopped.

'The organisation store' wanted to follow the concept behind #theorganisation, Founded in 2011 to make knowledge and means available for alternative perspectives that serve society as a whole.

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Best regards, Edwin Stolk.

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