Gemak
Art - Politics - Debate
As the heart of politics and democracy in the Netherlands and the international city of peace and justice, The Hague is the best possible place for a combined platform for art, current affairs and debate. The Gemeentemuseum Den Haag and the Vrije Academie workplace for the visual arts have joined forces to set up a venue where the hot topics of the day can be addressed by means of both visual images and debate: this is Gemak.
Gemak’s sensational exhibitions explore a variety of topical issues from surprising perspectives. The Gemak galleries have played host to art from Iraq, Afghanistan and the Middle East, and also from Armenia and Russia. In Kibri a Kulturu, Marcel Pinas showed how the Maroons of Suriname have been driven from their home, causing their culture to disappear. Dutch photographer Joël van Houdt travelled with a Moroccan refugee fleeing by boat, producing a spectacular series of photographs that was shown at Gemak.
Gemak’s exhibitions are never isolated events; they are generally accompanied by lectures, interviews and debates, where art provides the inspiration rather than the subject. The activities often concern social issues and politics, though they can just as easily be about football or photojournalism.
Photo: Joel van Houdt