After a survey that took several months, during which the work of a number of designers and studios was researched, the Memorial 2015 foundation and advisor-curator Ronald van Tienhoven have decided to invite design studio Moniker to develop a first proposal for a memorial.
The memorial will consist of three parts: the actual memorial that will be located on the Dam Square, a publication, and a website. With these three ways of communication remembrance and information will be conveyed for witnesses and next of kin, and for a broader audience interested in what happened on May 7th, 1945. The primary goals are to give the victims a name, and to disclose the personal stories that were collected by the foundation.
The greatest challenge for Moniker will be merging the actual remembrance aimed at an older generation of witnesses with finding a meaningful way to place remembrance in a contemporary perspective. By inviting a relatively ‘young’ art and design office the foundation and curator hope that Moniker is able to put the notion of ‘remembrance’ in a contemporary perspective that will appeal to a younger generation.
Thanks to financial support by the city of Amsterdam and the Amsterdam 4 and 5 May Committee Moniker is able to develop the first proposal. An advisory group consisting of Memorial 2015 foundation board members, writer and newspaper editor for NRC Handelsblad Bianca Stigter, art historian and curator Jeroen Boomgaard, senior curator Annemarie de Wildt from the Amsterdam Museum, and advisor-curator Ronald van Tienhoven will discuss and judge the Moniker proposal in December.
The proposal by Moniker will be the point of departure for further funding by cultural institutes and sponsors. The memorial will be officially revealed on May 7th, 2015.
Moniker is a design studio based in Amsterdam, and founded in 2012 by Luna Maurer, Jonathan Puckey and Roel Wouters. Moniker, meaning ‘nickname’, or ‘pseudonym’, develops both experimental autonomous and commissioned art and design projects. The studio is able to deploy various analog and digital media, with a broad array of clients in the cultural and commercial world. Moniker researches the socio-cultural effects of technology and how it influences our daily life. Often the public is actively involved in projects initiated by Moniker, that tend to develop organically, thus revealing underlying structures and organisational processes. Moniker is specialised in interactive media, printed matter, video, installation art and – design, and performance. In 2014 Moniker received the Amsterdamprijs voor de Kunst, an award for stimulating young talent.
Moniker Website: http://studiomoniker.com