Exploring Maastricht During TEFAF
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Erik de Jong, chief executive of the Museum aan het Vrijthof, has been gearing up for a busy time as The European Fine Arts Festival (TEFAF) in Maastricht opens and runs through March 24. The fair is one of the most important in Europe and its gravitational pExploring Maastricht During TEFAF
Erik de Jong, chief executive of the Museum aan het Vrijthof, has been gearing up for a busy time as The European Fine Arts Festival (TEFAF) in Maastricht opens and runs through March 24. The fair is one of the most important in Europe and its gravitational pull draws thousands of extra visitors to the museums around the city. Galleries and museums always try to have something special happening during this period of high visibility., drawing many visitors to museums around the city.De Jong spoke with Blouin Artinfo about how to make the most of Maastricht as a whole, as well as providing insights into the city’s art scene, and of course his museum. The interview has been trimmed for length and edited for clarity.How long have you worked in the art scene?In Maastricht, I‘ve been director of this museum about 5 years now — this is my third museum. Before I worked in the Museum of Contemporary Art in Den Bosch. Afterward, I worked in a castle in the region, but before that I wasn’t interested in culture and the arts at all. Eventually a friend of mine suggested I bring some of my entrepreneurial skills to the art world.How are you going to be involved in TEFAF?TEFAF has been one of our major sponsors for five years now, so we’re going to come up with a good exhibition, which is TEFAF-minded and high quality. Now we have a show about a couturier with jewelry. During the night, when the museums are closed, a lot of galleries also put up social events... dinners, drinks, or whatever. For me personally, I see a lot of museum colleagues during that 10 days from all over the country or from Belgium, for instance. It’s good for networking.What should we expect from TEFAF?When TEFAF arrives at Maastricht, all the museums, theatres, and galleries are putting their best efforts in. The city is filled with flags and banners, and hotels and restaurants are well-filled — the whole city is filled with a kind of TEFAF buzz. People are dressed nicely, and there are all sorts of dinner activities. Yes, art is all over, pop-up exhibitions are all over, but there’s a kind of buzz during those 10 or 14 days. The whole city changes and everyone is reacting to it, which is nice.Are there any artists you’re particularly looking forward to seeing at TEFAF?Our exhibition of course! It’s about a couturier and jeweler which who is well known in Japan. There’s a Musee Bonnefantenmuseum exhibition about David Lynch. And if you want to be surprised, just walk through the city and see all the pop-up expos, that’s the most exciting part of it all.How long have you been living in Maastricht?I know Maastricht very well, I’ve been living 15 kilometers from the city since before I started in the arts. The city pretty much has no secrets from me. If you walk from the north to the south center of the town it’s about 15 minutes walk — it’s not that big, everybody knows each other.How has the art scene evolved in that time?It’s too short to talk about change, but there are a lot of new people working in the city now. A lot of the people who were working here for a long time are all gone now, so what you see is a lot of collaboration among the new people. There’s a desire to innovate the arts scene more and more. A lot of the galleries here are very old school. There’s a change from the traditional gallery to the online gallery, visiting fairs. That energy is still just starting now, but you can sense it.Do you have any favorite artists from the area?Last year we did an exhibition with Ted Noten, and international designer and kind of a guerrilla artist, we also did an exhibition about Les Deux Garcons, two artists in Maastricht working with taxidermy. Those three are all well- known outside of Maastricht who have kept a good track record.How would you describe the character of the city? What moods does it evoke?It’s like Paris in small— a very ancient town, with an old center, traditional, nicely built; I think one of the two oldest cities in the Netherlands. We take care of the environment very well — it’s neat, with an upcoming group of international students who are bringing life to the city over the last 15 years. Now you see far more coffee shops, small restaurants, and workspaces for students, which influences the whole ambience of the city. I compared it a few weeks ago with Lille. Small center, and old, but with lots of energy from youngsters. I think that describes Maastricht.What would be on your agenda if you had a free day in the city?A tour of a few things, I’d take them to a few bars, shops, and a walk through the center. At the end of the city you’ve got Casino Sloventa. There’s “Little Paris,” or Wyck, everyone’s fun in that part, a lot of cafes, bars, trendy restaurants, cocktail bars and it’s not that expensive. It’s got everything everyone wants to see there. One of the greatest bookstores in the world, which is the Dominican Church, a former church rebuilt into a giant bookstore with all kinds of concerts, book presentations, authors and writers coming to do signings, that is definitely a hotspot, absolutely.Best local food?There are a lot of hotspots here. Sphinx Kwartier is new and upcoming, with more of an industrial look. The other side of the city which is upcoming with some new art houses, and a cinema, it’s more rough area now.Best spots for nightlife?If you’re into techno or dance you’ve got Complex, which is a large club, one of the upcoming things is Lumiere, an alternative cinema. You’ve got the former fire station where there is a new restaurant in the renovated garage.What’s a must-try authentic local item only available in Maastricht?The Vlaai. It’s a kind of cake, typical Maastricht. There’s also very good Maastricht white wine, Apostelhoeve. In Wyck there are snack bars which make original fresh French fries, completely opposite in taste to McDonald’s, definitely worth checking out.https://www.blouinartinfo.com/ Founder: Louise Blouin Read more