Palatti In Kulter artists. Clockwise from top left: Betty Ras, Gerardo Gómez Tonda and Sara Pape García, Audrey Bakx and Anna Bas Backer

PALATTI IN KULTER.
14 MAY – 22 MAY
Opens 14 May, 19.00

KULTER.
Sanderijnstraat 21

In the words of the eternal bard: ‘If you build it, they will come.’ This is certainly proving to be the case in Bos en Lommer, where the artist-run space Kulter has made a home for itself. Two years ago, at the close of an exhibition in a small gallery on Kinkerstraat, artist and Kulter co-founder Julie Dassaud and her cohorts organised an event with wine tasting and live music. A good crowd showed up, and it struck the organisers that the gathered audience were taking in much more of the works on display because they felt comfortable in the space. As fortune had it, they then got the chance to take over the gallery and so began Kulter. ‘We just put a sign up in the window stating “proeflokaal (tasting room) for artists and public”, and off we went,’ says Dassaud.

Upon closure of their Kinkerstraat location, Kulter made its way further out West to the residential Sanderijnstraat. Here it functions as both an intimate gallery space, specialising in bridging art, performance, music and words, and also as a collective that organises events in collaboration with other artist-run initiatives. Where it succeeds best is in the creation of a homely atmosphere. The artists and public can informally discuss the art while sharing a drink and a meal and enjoying contemporary, global performances. Dassaud explains the inspiration: ‘Noticing that the public were interested in the processes of artistic collaboration led the artists to reflect on each other’s differing disciplines and approaches. So we decided to organise a series of exhibitions to highlight the interactions between artists and public.’

Dassaud feels the next event, ‘Palatti in Kulter’, fits the proeflokaal’s mandate perfectly. ‘Palatti is a nomadic collective of artists who organise exhibitions and residencies around the world,’ she says. ‘They gather once a year to make site-specific works and this year’s event will be in Bos en Lommer.’ Featured will be drawings from Audrey Bakx, wall paintings and comics from Anna Bas Backer, collage and photography from Betty Ras, and installations and drawings from Gerardo Gómez Tonda and Sara Pape García. Last year, these artists made a site-specific project for Art Pie’s first edition in Istanbul – inspired by byzantine patterns, fish markets, carpets, new sounds and cultural habits. At Kulter, works from the Istanbul fair will be presented alongside new creations, and on the exhibition’s opening day, they will host a ‘black market’, where the artists will part with their handmade objects for a small price or a trade.