WARP #4 - Risja Steeghs

WARP is an ongoing curatorial project at SEA Foundation Tilburg. As assistent curator at SEA Foundation I co-curated the WARP 2020. WARP is borrowing its name from a term that is widely used in the textile tradition. Warp is setting the direction of the threads when weaving. Warp threads run vertically and provide structure to the woof; the weft threads that are being wrapped around the warp.

Tilburg is a city with a rich textile tradition. During the Industrial Revolution, the textile factories that were established in our town gave Tilburg it’s label ‘wool city of the Netherlands’. At the height of textile production, over 140 factories were active in Tilburg. 

The mission of SEA Foundation is to support visual artists in their professional practices, to stimulate art production, and find exposure for these works in an international context.

Organisations like SEA Foundation resemble the warp: a collection of threads being stretched in place presenting a frame and a given direction. For WARP we invite artists to produce new works and to draw their practice over and under like the weft threads. The result is a fabric made through collaboration, experiment, skills, and trust.

SEA Foundation is recognised by its large shop window at Gust van Dijk’s. This vitrine is a transparent in-between space offering passers-by the opportunity to be curious about what is happening inside at SEA Foundation. WARP is a curated project that exhibits works of art in the vitrine, a restricted space of  387 x 88 x 174 cm. The vitrine is the “loom” that allows invited professional artists to twist and bend their practice over and under accordingly. 

The aim of WARP is to establish a portfolio of regional and national artists and interlink the project with our international artist in residence program. We see the macro-level of international cooperation as our strength. The WARP project pursues a movement of artistic production that evokes discourse and acknowledges connectivity. The time-frame for each WARP project is set at 2 to 4 weeks.

#1 05.06. – 05.07.2020 Sabine de Graaf

#2 10.07. – 30.08.2020 Lisette de Greeuw

#3 16.10. – 15.11.2020 Peng Zhang

#4 11.12.2020 – 17.01.2021 Risja Steeghs​​​​​​​