Artistic Director

New Director

De Appel will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2025, and the Curatorial Programme will celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2024. In addition, De Appel’s current location will be renovated in the coming period, and the new arts plan period will begin in 2025. This is just a glimpse of all the prospects, opportunities, and possibilities for the coming years, for which De Appel is seeking a new artistic director.

The artistic director is expected to lead de Appel in the coming years based on a clear vision: she/he/they will shape the artistic content of de Appel’s program. This includes exhibitions, public programs, educational initiatives, and publications. In addition, the new director will also provide artistic leadership for the Curatorial Programme and work closely on the management and visibility of de Appel’s archive, which consists of more than 16,000 objects.

The artistic director sets the artistic and operational direction in close collaboration with the executive director, the team, and in consultation with the Board of Trustees. Together with de Appel’s executive director, she/he/they lead the team and share responsibility for the operational aspects of the institution. Together with the curators of the Archive and Education, the new director shapes the artistic and programmatic direction of de Appel.

In accordance with the articles of incorporation, this appointment is for a term of three years, with the possibility of a one-time extension at the end of this term for an additional three years.

De Appel is a nonprofit foundation with a staff of 6.4 full-time equivalents, an extensive network of freelance colleagues, and an annual budget of approximately 1 million euros.

Job Requirements

The artistic director has proven experience as a programmer and in leading teams. As a manager, she/he/they is decisive and empathetic. As a programmer, the artistic director is skilled at curating programs at the local, national, and international levels.

The new director is a team player who works closely with the team and brings out the best in employees by creating an open and stimulating work environment. The director is resilient under pressure, available in the evenings and on weekends when necessary, and, as the face of De Appel, will frequently attend meetings, openings, and conferences. De Appel is run by a small team, and all employees—including the director—are expected to have a hands-on work ethic.

The director is expected to reside in the Amsterdam metropolitan area as of January 1, 2023.

The new director of De Appel:

• has experience as a manager and as a program producer;
• has an artistic vision for the program, the Curatorial Program, and a business acumen;
• takes an inclusive approach (both in terms of content and human resources policy);
• has an international perspective and can relate it to the Amsterdam context;
• is familiar with developments in the field of contemporary visual art,
• cultural education, archives, and curator training programs;
• has a network that reflects this knowledge;
• is able to promote and implement his or her vision in local, national, and international contexts;
• is a team player, a connector, and a generous leader;
• has demonstrable work experience at an arts institution;
• has experience in fundraising, possesses an entrepreneurial spirit, and is able to generate revenue and solicit donations;
• has excellent communication skills;
• is willing to relocate to the Amsterdam area.

Procedure

Applications may be submitted to the Supervisory Board of De Appel by email at vacature@deappel.nlo.v.vbefore July 1, 2022. Job opening: Artistic Director.

Cover letters should be written in English or Dutch and must be accompanied by a resume and a statement of purpose outlining how the applicant intends to lead De Appel over the next three to six years and what direction they plan to take the organization.

Candidates selected for the shortlist will be notified in early July. An initial round of interviews, including presentations by the candidates, is scheduled for late August 2022. The committee hopes to have made its decision by early September 2022 and to submit its appointment proposal to the Board of Trustees. Following a meeting between the final candidate and the Board of Trustees, the decision on the new artistic director will be made in mid-September. The new director is expected to begin in October 2022.

Terms of Employment

De Appel offers a gross annual salary of 65,000 euros. The position includes a pension plan, paid vacation days, a vacation bonus, and a relocation allowance.

Policy

De Appel is an exhibition venue with a public program, a world-renowned curatorial program, an archive, and a library. De Appel has been in existence for 47 years and has proven itself during that time as an experimental space for contemporary art. With its curatorial program, launched in 1994, De Appel has also built a strong international network. De Appel is a place where art and critical reflection converge, as do new ideas about the curatorial profession and years of unique archival material on performance art.

De Appel curates, responds, initiates, and listens. We have been doing this since our founding at various locations throughout the city and have been based in Amsterdam Nieuw-West since 2017. De Appel believes in the indispensability of the voice of art in contemporary debate, dares to take a stand, demands time for reflection, and works on a theme over an extended period. De Appel invites artists and designers to collaborate with the organization and, preferably, commissions them to develop new work, ensuring local roots and (inter)national resonance.

The three pillars of de Appel—the public program, the Archive, and the Curatorial Program—are interrelated; their content is developed in relation to one another, and the executive director therefore formulates a vision for these three components of de Appel, their future, and their programmatic focus.

For more information, please contact the Supervisory Board of De Appel at vacature [​at​] deappel.nl.

Image: Catching Up in the Archive, de Appel, 2022. Photo: Nicola Baratto