Dries on French TV in Arte, Tracks

On October 7, the French program Tracks paid attention to Dries’ work. In this item, he explains, among other things, why he sees the arts, by definition, as an unsafe space. Watch it here.

Dries receives Fentener van Vlissingen Cultuurprijs 2022

On Sunday 22 May, the Fentener van Vlissingen Cultuurprijs has been awarded to Dries Verhoeven for his exceptional contribution to art in the city of Utrecht and far beyond. The prize is awarded every three years.

“Dries Verhoeven is a versatile Utrecht artist with roots in theatre, who moves effortlessly between multiple art disciplines. Verhoeven continues to develop and is an inspiration for many other artists”, according to Lisette Pelsers, chairwoman of the Fentener van Vlissingen Fonds.

The award ceremony took place in the Ping Pong Club in Utrecht on the Wisselspoorterrein, where the latest work The NarcoSexuals can also be seen until 6 June.

Photo by Willem Popelier

‘Broeders’ nominated for the VSCD Mime Prize

On August 25, it was announced that ‘Broeders verheft u ter vrijheid’ has been nominated for the VSCD Mime Prize. The other nominees are Urland, Boogaerdt/VanderSchoot, Nicole Beutler Projects and Davy Pieters. The winner will be announced on 11 September during the Gala van het Nederlands Theater in ITA.
The jury about the work: “In this multidisciplinary diptych on capitalist globalisation, Verhoeven shows how the individual mind of workers from low-wage countries can triumph over their exploited bodies. The old-Dutch, socialist protest song that ten Bulgarian seasonal workers sing for eight hours in a distribution centre taken over by robots is a dreamy protest against their interchangeability. In an art institution in The Hague, where the performers lived for three months, a layered documentary and a mimographic three-panel video intimately brought their rich inner world close.”

Extra performances in Het HEM, Zaandam

After almost two months of travelling along the Dutch theatres, we conclude the tour of ‘Broeders verheft u ter vrijheid’ with extra performances in the exhibition space of Het Hem, the old bullet factory in Zaandam. For three days, eight hours a day, you have a chance to see the performance. And while you are there, you can also pay a visit to Chapter 4our, the exhibition of Simon(e) van Saarloos. For Amsterdammers: With nice weather you cycle through the western port area to the Hempontplein. You can also take the Zaan ferry (at 14:00 and 18:00 hrs from Amsterdam C.S.).
For tickets check here >

After the performances in Het Hem, the performers travel back to Bulgaria. Their residence and the accompanying exhibition can still be seen in West Den Haag until 15 August.

Happiness is on tour in Europe

Happiness is on tour. Our humanoid travels through Europe: to France, Estonia, Germany and Norway. And she will also be back in the Netherlands in August. After the first stop at the Ruhrfestspiele in Recklinghausen (DE), Happiness travels to Chalon dans la rue in Chalon-sur-Saône (FR), MU in Eindhoven (NL), SAAL Biennaal in Tallinn (EST), CTM Festival in Berlin (DE), Figuren Theater Festival in Erlangen (DE) and Black Box teater in Oslo (NO).

‘Songs for Thomas Piketty’ on view at the Bundeskunsthalle, Bonn

In March this year, Dries had an encounter with a homeless man from Albania named Rele, in the town centre of Bonn, Germany. The singing and panhandling voice of Rele is to be heard coming out of a boom box in front of the entrance of the Bundeskunsthalle, where the act of begging is normally banned. The presentation is part of “State of the arts”, an exhibition about the merging of visual and performing arts.

16 June t/m 16 August 2020, Bundeskunsthalle in Bonn (DE), bundeskunsthalle.de