Vrije Tijd Amsterdam is a website on which you can find information on the best exhibitions and events in Amsterdam. It also shares background stories about local entrepreneurs, artists and musicians. This week I was interviewed by Rik Verkaik: ‘Het verhaal van Maartje Jaquet‘. The interview is in Dutch. For those who would rather read it in English, I made a translation that you can find below.

^{Setting up the exhibition ALA SMA TORI with husband Rogier, Paramaribo 2024.}

Amsterdam is home to special artists and Vrije Tijd Amsterdam is happy to share their stories. Today we ask Maartje Jaquet a few questions.

THE STORY OF MAARTJE JAQUET

Could you first introduce yourself?

“My name is Maartje Jaquet. I was born in Egmond aan Zee (1963) and have lived in Amsterdam since I was seventeen, where I studied Dutch Language and Literature at the UvA. In 1988, I obtained my master’s degree with a first-degree teaching qualification and started working as a teacher of Dutch as a Second Language (NT2). Until 2007, I taught migrants from all over the world and I loved it.”

^{Painting at the ‘Waterkant’, portrait of Astrid Druiventak, Paramaribo 2019}

Autonomous visual artist

“Since then I have developed into an autonomous visual artist in various disciplines. I also design and publish my own books and websites. I live in the centre of Amsterdam, with my husband Rogier van der Ploeg, son Jim and daughter Loren, they are still studying and living at home. I love art and visit exhibitions, but my greatest source of inspiration is the world around me.”

Which art training did you follow and what was it that appealed to you most about it?

“In the 90s I studied Graphic Design at the Rietveld Academy, which I found an excellent course. On the one hand it was nice to work in an applied way, on the other hand I could complete the assignments according to my own vision. Free in the choice of material, including drawing, photography or self-written text.””

School of Visual Arts

“From the Rietveld Academy I participated in an exchange program with the School of Visual Arts (SVA) in New York. There I learned a lot about building websites, interactive design, filming and editing video and sound recordings. I still benefit from that. The following year I graduated at the Rietveld Academy, with an interactive computer project and a self-made font with accompanying book.”

Can you tell us something about the place/studio where your projects are created?

“For the past 5 years I have had a studio in Den Ilp, about 15 kilometers north of Amsterdam. I love working on my projects there and enjoy the walls around me, which are full of artworks that I have collected over time. Bought from, exchanged with and received from artist friends or art objects found on the street. Above all I enjoy the peace here. With a few steps I am in nature: the Ilperveld and the Twiske. I make my collages, work out my drawings and design my books here.”

Working from anywhere

“But actually I work everywhere, I like to look around, take pictures of details that stimulate my imagination, make short videos of situations or draw people on the street, in a café or on public transport.”

Artist in Residence

“I also did this kind of work as an‘Artist in Residence’ in Amsterdam Zuidoost, Nieuw West, North-Morocco and Paramaribo (Suriname) and, when I travel, for instance in Paris, New York and Istanbul. A few years ago I traveled through Japan with my family, where I made a diary with drawings of people ont the subway.”

What materials do you prefer to work with and how is your work created?

“I take my photos and videos with my mobile phone, the quality is good enough these days. Before, I used to always have a digital camera on me. I make my collages with images from old books and magazines. I usually use two different images, which I combine with each other by cutting and pasting.”

Drawing and looking

“I draw my drawings of people in the city with a black pen. I look while I draw or vice versa, the pen in my hand is controlled by my eyes, so to speak. They are quick line drawings. When there is enough time I add in color with watercolor. I pay attention to the incidence of light, in the lighter parts I leave the paper unpainted. That white paper gives the whole thing extra liveliness. Because of that I prefer not to use white paint.”

ALA SMA TORI – Keti Koti Verbeeld

“The portraits in my latest book ‘ALA SMA TORI – Keti Koti Verbeeld’ were created in a different way. I took portrait photos on the spot during Keti Koti and drew and painted them in my studio via computer screen. In the same way as I would have done that ‘live’, as lively as possible, with pen and watercolor, with the only difference that I first made a draft with soft pencil.”

^{Window display Scheltema Bookstore 2024}

What is the content and target group of the ‘art workshops’ and where are they given?

“As diverse as my work can be, so are the workshops. Video workshops at art academies in Beijing (China) and Paramaribo (Suriname). At Academie Sint Joost in Den Bosch workshops ‘drawn newspaper’ a combination of drawing stories and designing with pen and watercolor. In my studio making collages with children and adults. Photography and poetry on location are also possible, as are tailor-made workshops for children in Special Education.”

Latest workshops

“Lately I have been giving workshops around my book ‘ALA SMA TORI – Keti Koti Verbeeld’, such as drawing and painting portraits. And making one’s own ink with natural materials to make illustrations for poems by Surinamese writers, or painting a Bigi Spikri procession. This is often done in consultation with the client. So far I have worked with students from the Nola Hatterman Art Academy in Paramaribo, a primary school and an art school for children in Amsterdam and a school for Special Education in Zaandam. All ages and target groups are possible.”

What is your connection with Keti Koti and how have you carry this out?

“From a young age I have loved people from different cultures and I can worry about discrimination and injustice. In 2009 I came to Suriname for the first time to give video workshops at the art academies of Paramaribo. I made friends there, mostly artists: including Rinaldo Klas, then director of the Nola Hatterman Art Academy, and Marcel Pinas. Pinas invited me to come and give photography workshops to children in the city of Moengo and the surrounding villages the following year. In 2019 I was in Paramaribo for the third time, at the invitation of Rinaldo Klas for a duo exhibition in Readytex Art Gallery: “Soulful lines”. I brought drawings of people in Amsterdam Zuidoost with me and drew and painted portraits live on the spot at the Waterkant.”

The Murder of George Floyd

“I was shocked by the images in 2020 of the murder of African-American George Floyd by a white police officer. I realized that I wanted to do more as an artist. When I saw people dressed specially for Keti Koti day in Amsterdam Zuidoost on July 1, I got the idea: I could draw and paint portraits of them and draw attention to Keti Koti. I took photos that I worked out in my studio.”

Giving people a voice

“The following year, interviews were added to give the people not only a face, but a voice too. The people at Keti Koti showed me old photos from the family archive and sometimes came up with songs or a poem. Each interviewee also gave a quote that summarized what Keti Koti means to that person. I painted these quotes on cotton cloths using ink that I made with products that were appropriate for each individual’s story, and sew them together on a 4.5 x 2 meters wide ‘mamyo,  like a quilt.

Portraits, interviews and texts

“After three years, I put together the entire project in my book ‘ALA SMA TORI – Keti Koti Verbeeld’ with all 79 portraits, 30 interviews, the cloths painted with texts, the mamyo, photos, videos (via QR codes) and an explanatory glossary. The book is published by LM Publishers and can be obtained via their website, bookstores or bol.com (€27.50). A signed copy can be arranged through me (see ‘contact’ on my website maartjejaquet.nl).”

^{Portrait of Jhezzdin Bosnie for ALA SMA TORI, Amsterdam 2022}

What are your favorite movements in art history?

“As far as my photography and collages are concerned, they are Dadaism and Surrealism. I think the inspirations for my video work come from Bert Haanstra and Jacques Tati. For my drawing/painting, there is not necessarily one favorite movement. For example, I like the drawings of Rembrandt, Picasso, Maira Kalman, the paintings of Matisse, Raoul Dufy, David Hockney and the portraits of Alice Neel and Kerry James Marshall.

I would like to add that ‘art history’ is mainly focused on the Western world. Many more beautiful and interesting art works have been and are being made in other parts of the world, of which I have not seen enough yet.”

What is 10x10artist? 

”10x10artist is a project by gallery Atelier Open. It is a website, stage and webshop for various artists from the Netherlands and abroad. Every artist who is affiliated with it makes works of 10×10 cm especially. The technique, subject, shape, use of materials and price may be different, but the size is the same. Exhibitions, where artists (also) exhibit larger works, are organized, in collaboration with Café Eijlders in Amsterdam, but sometimes also elsewhere.”

^{Four 10x10cm works for 10x10artist ‘BLUE’ in Café Eijlders}

Solo-exhibition Café Eijlders

“A few months ago I had a solo exhibition in Café Eijlders with portraits from my book ‘ALA SMA TORI’. This summer there will be a group exhibition of a large part of the 10x10artists with specially made work on the 10×10 format with the theme ‘Blue’. All works of 10x10cm are for sale via the webshop 10x10artist.com.”

Are you a member of an artist group?

“In addition to ’10x10artist’, I am a member of ‘Arti et Amicitiae’ on the Rokin in Amsterdam, an association of visual artists that was founded in 1839. Every year, I participate in the Salon. Exhibitions are also organized in the ‘society’ on the ground floor, I once showed my art collection there, in collaboration with Harald Schole. As an artist member, you can also rent a small space for presentations, I did that one time for an interim overview of my project on Keti Koti. Besides these groups I have a lot of contact with WG Kunst and CBK Zuidoost, both in Amsterdam. I like to visit these cultural institutions and I often participate in their exhibitions.”

Are there more solo exhibitions on the agenda?

“Last January I exhibited work from my book ‘ALA SMA TORI’ in Suriname, in the Nola Hatterman Art Academy (Paramaribo) and in CAMM (Contemporary Art Museum Moengo). In June/July I had larger and smaller solo exhibitions in bookstores in Amsterdam.”

Major overview exhibition

“And in February 2025 there will be a major overview exhibition of all the portraits and the accompanying art works in Artblok Paramaribo, at the invitation of George Struikelblok. I am still looking for a nice place in Amsterdam or elsewhere in the Netherlands to make such a large overview of all the artworks, the portraits, the mamyo, the photos and videos in one exhibition!”

Does Amsterdam inspire you as an artist?

“Yes, I love the people, the liveliness, the diversity and the amount of art and culture within walking distance. I love chatting with people and walking through the city and zooming in on details.”

Inspiration in other places

“Of course you can find inspiration in all sorts of other places, but I am always happy to be home. That applies, but in a different way, to my studio in Den Ilp too. The peace there is an alleviation to me. Although I also take photos and videos there, they are different from the ones on the street.”

Would you like to add something?

“Since the exhibition ‘Blue’ in Café Eijlders (by 10x10artist), I have been working on more work around the theme of my work there. For this exhibition I combined collages with drawing/painting. Old photos from books about the wonders of the world: blue of the sea, the sky, the starry night. I drew (parts of) human figures in them.”

Tribute to Mother Earth

“A tribute to Mother Earth, called ‘Mama Aisa’ in Winti: the mother of all mothers, fathers, all creatures on earth. An ode to the power of life, of creation, of spirituality and of making art.”

Photos from old books

“Meanwhile I have also made works with other photos from old books, of Surinamese plants for example. In the coming months I want to work on it extensively, dive deeper into the subject, and add a new material: ceramics. The new works in this series will be on display in June and July 2025 during the Surinamese Months of Stadsherstel Amsterdam, in the Amstelkerk in Amsterdam”, Maartje Jaquet concludes.

Two new works, collage drawings, for the new theme ‘Mother Earth’.