Press release New board members Witte de With

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Press release

Rotterdam, March 2013

Ellen Gallagher, Patrick van Mil, and Nathalie de Vries to join Witte de With Board

We are pleased to announce that Ellen Gallagher, Patrick van Mil, and Nathalie de Vries have joined the board of Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art, which to date also includes Kees Weeda (President), Bart de Baere, Claire Beke, Nicoline van Harskamp, and Karel Schampers.

Kees Weeda (Board President): "We are pleased to welcome three exceptional individuals in the board: Ellen Gallagher with her background as a visionary artist, Patrick van Mil with his experience in management of cultural institutions, and Nathalie de Vries as an accomplished architect/urban planner, will undoubtedly add tremendous value to our board.”

Ellen Gallagher is an artist based in Rotterdam and New York. Gallagher’s diverse practice draws from an eclectic range of sources, including literature, music, myth, black popular culture, science fiction and advertising. She obscures and abstracts this imagery, leaving behind traces that give rise to unnerving stories. Gallagher’s work is held by a number of public collections including Centre Pompidou, Paris; Moderna Museet, Stockholm; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. Gallagher took part in the 2003 Venice Biennale. In 2013, Tate Modern will present the UK’s first substantial solo exhibition of her work. Gallagher says of her election to the Board: "I'm honored to contribute to the discussions to be had especially having now been based in Rotterdam for ten years; I look forward to be a part of this inspiring group of peers."

Patrick van Mil is a consultant and manager. Van Mil was the Business Director of the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam from 2010 to 2012. Prior to this, he was the Managing Director at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (2008-2010), Deputy Director at the Dutch Architecture Institute (2001-2008), and the Senior Consultant in Culture and Media at Berenschot (1999-2001). He is currently acting as the interim director of the organization Erfgoed Delft responsible for cultural heritage of the city of Delft and as a consultant to Een Hectare Cultuur, a new to open cultural hub in Almere. Van Mil adds: “The new energy at Witte de With is visible and palpable through the new directions that its program has taken. I’m glad to take part in extending my support for Witte de With’s financial stability and its relationship with the public".

Nathalie de Vries is one of the co-founding directors of the globally operating architecture and urban planning firm MVRDV, based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. She recently joined the board of The New Institute for architecture, design and e-culture in Rotterdam, the trustees for IBA 2020 in Berlin, and has been a board member of MOTI Breda since 2010. Prior to this, she was a chairman of the BNA Research program team, and from 2005 to 2008, she was Chief Railroad Architect on behalf of ProRail/NS, board member of the Netherlands Architecture Fund, member of the Gestaltungsbeirat Salzburg, as well as member of the foundation board of the Dutch architectural journal Oase. In addition, De Vries regularly lectures, takes part in international juries and teaches at universities and institutions worldwide, such as at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, TU Berlin, IIT Chicago, Berlage Institute in Rotterdam and Delft University of Technology. De Vries: “It is a great pleasure for me to become a part of the inquisitive and adventurous world of Witte de With. This institution is of great importance for the cultural spirit of Rotterdam.”

On this new board, director of Witte de With Defne Ayas adds: "Our board is now complete and we are looking forward to our new chapter. We also wish to thank departing board members Jack Bakker and Stef Fleischeuer for all their work over the past six years. It is on this note that I would like to use the opportunity to welcome our new board members in this new chapter of Witte de With, as well as welcoming new staff members Yoeri Meessen as the new curator of Education & Theory and Sarah van der Tholen as our new Business Coordinator.”

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Witte de With
Center for Contemporary Art
Witte de Withstraat 50
3012 BR Rotterdam
The Netherlands

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Witte de With is supported by the city of Rotterdam and the Dutch Ministry of Culture.

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