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On Collection Video Art
Excerpts from the book "I Have a Friend Who Knows Someone Who Bought a Video, Once". This is a part of the interview with Han Nefkens about De-Collecting Video Art.
(Question): You like to think of yourself as an activist. Did the choice of collecting video works have something to do with that? Due to its nature, video can indeed be a vehicle for social reflection and social activism.
(Han Nefkens): It wasn't in my mind at the beginning, as most things usually happen in an organic way. I remember seeing many videos that i liked -the first ones were by Shirin Neshat- and only later I realized how well video could work in transmitting social issues and telling stories. Exemplary in this regard are all the exhibitions I organize in the context of Art Aids.
(Question): Nevertheless, video inverts all the characteristics that usually define the status of a medium as collectible: it is ephemeral. not unique, highly reproducible.
(Han Nefkens): I adore those qualities! it is exactly what I want: that people get to see a work by any possible means. I have no problem with the fact that five or six other people will have a copy of the work: all I want is for the video to be shown. And the fact that the limited-edition model (invented to secure moving image works a circulation within the art market) coexists with secondary ways of distribution (for instance YouTube, Vimeo, platforms such as Vdrome) doesn't bother me at all. I think it is very practical and intelligent way of promoting video and of guaranteeing it a wide dissemination.
A project by Emilio Álvarez and Carlos Durán. Loop Barcelona
ArtAids
The ArtAids foundation was set up in 2006 at Han Nefkens’ initiative. ArtAids fights AIDS with the power of art as its most important weapon. ArtAids invites leading artists to produce work that is inspired by AIDS and related problems. These works of art are used to raise the public’s consciousness and to encourage their involvement.
Fundació Han Nefkens
The Han Nefkens Foundation is a private non-profit organisation that was set up in Barcelona in 2009 with the aim of promoting the production of contemporary artworks. The mission is to stimulate artistic creation in Barcelona by offering international artists an opportunity to create artworks and interventions in the city, and to promote other fields of contemporary creation.
H+F
Han Nefkens started to collect art in 2000. The H+F Collection, named after himself and his partner Felipe, is in long-term loan to various museums in The Netherlands and abroad. Nowadays Han Nefkens is not only active as a collector but also as an initiator of international art projects, often in collaboration with museums and other art institutions.
