2003 - 2010
Visit the website (in Dutch only)
Assignment: Dutch Parliament, Rijksgebouwendienst
Photography: Appie Bood and Paul Gofferjé
Hotline to the people
the Service
Research organ for art for the Dutch parliament
Martijn Engelbregt was asked to make an artwork for a new building of the Dutch Parliament. Coincidentally, the budget was 160.000 euro – exactly 1 eurocent per inhabitant of the Netherlands. De Dienst (the Service) presented a number of works of art, asking the Dutch people to react and vote. People could also send in their own ideas and were involved in the process of choosing those works of art that would be installed in parliament.
De Dienst can be seen as research into the (im)possibility of combining art and democracy. In 2006, nine of the submitted works of art were installed in the Dutch Parliament.
Winners, from left to right, top to bottom:
1. Het is niet zo, André Boone
2. de Hotline naar het Volk, Martijn Engelbregt
3. de Driekleurenvlag, Hoofdtooi, Klompen en Windmolen, Amit Bar
4. de Aanpassing Nederlandse Vlag, Jasper van den Brink
5. Jullie zijn hier voor Ons, Liset van Dommelen
6. Kids TEGEN geweld, Annabel Konings
7. Zoveel Mensen, Zoveel Zinnen, Jan Juffermans
8. Tinnen Dranghekjes, Heleen Klopper
9. Chica bonita, Pieter Zandvliet
The publication, DIT IS NEDERLAND (This is Holland); de Dienst catalogue, is documenting in detail de Dienst’s research about the combination of art and democracy. Al 554 proposals for works of art received by de Dienst are discussed, as well as the many reactions and comments received about these proposals.