NIMk Press Release
Amsterdam, April 21, 2011 - Olof van Winden has been appointed as General - artistic Director of the Netherlands Media Art Institute. He took up his new position on May 1, 2011.

Olof van Winden (b. 1976, Mukumu, Kenya) was trained at the Hotel School in The Hague. After working in this sector for some years Olof opted for a totally different career. His first step into the new field was in The Hague in 2002, with the Sound / Vision Festival on the Malieveld, and after that he was involved with Detroit's Electronic Music Festival. In 2004 he established The Generator Foundation, an organisation of young creative spirits that grew into a professional festival and production platform, from which the adventurous annual TodaysArt Festival in The Hague - among other activities - is organised.

In only a few short years Olof has built up a fascinating list of activities and has gained broad experience on the cutting edge of media art, the performing arts and visual arts. In addition to his work for TodaysArt he sits on committees for the Department of Art and Culture in Rotterdam and for the Mondriaan Foundation.

Max Meijer, Chairman of the Board of Supervisors for the Netherlands Media Art Institute, lets it be known that he is very pleased with the arrival of Olof van Winden, and believes that he will be the ideal successor to Heiner Holtappels: "young and unconventional, with the right mix of experience with cultural entrepreneurship and (media) art, and with a strong international network."

The Media Art Institute is very enthusiastic about Olof's coming to strengthen its team as of May 1, 2011. With him we gain someone who can actively break new ground, and can raise the Institute to a new level, in a time that will be of crucial importance for the future of the Institute and for the field of media art. After Heiner Holtappels' announcement in February 2011 that he would be stepping down as director after thirteen years, with Van Winden as the new team leader the Institute has now found a cultural entrepreneur with whom we can look forward to a productive future, in which Van Winden will surely play an inspirational and leading role.

Photo by Ilya van Maarle
Thumb photo by Olga Westrate

Olof van Winden will continue to provide artistic guidance for TodaysArt, but will turn over a number of the business and operational tasks to his team in The Hague. Olof: "I need this platform in The Hague to succeed at the Media Art Institute. TodaysArt has a lot of energy, current knowledge and a very relevant network that I can draw on productively at the Institute. Further, the day for individualism is past. Cooperation, alliances, partnerships and shared leadership have to help us through these shaky economic and political times. I believe in this sector and the potential of the artists and the partners when we all work together. I'm willing to make a tremendous effort to see that realised in the coming years!"

The Netherlands Media Art Institute (NIMk) promotes the free development, application and distribution of, and reflection on new technologies in the visual arts. The NIMk supports media art in three central areas: presentation, research and collection. In addition to many larger and smaller presentations, the Institute offers extensive services to artists and art institutions, and an educational programme coupled with these activities.

Source: The Netherlands Media Art Institute (NIMk)