Elke Uitentuis

Description

Elke Uitentuis (b. 1977) is a visual artist, human rights activist, mother and a full-time collaborator. From 2005 to 2013, Elke was part of the artist duo Osterholt/Uitentuis. Osterholt/Uitentuis realized projects aimed at defining people's relationship with their immediate environment in Amsterdam, Cairo, Istanbul and Los Angeles. At the moment when the collaboration between Osterholt and Uitentuis came to an end, the refugee collective We Are Here started their protest in Amsterdam. Elke became involved with this group of refugees fighting for their basic human rights. Together they founded Here to Support. This foundation set up the We Are Here Academy - a school for refugees in limbo - and several art projects such as the theater piece Labyrinth, and the cooking project Wij Zijn Hier, Wij Koken Hier. Elke left Here to Support in 2017 to work for the Vluchtmaat, a temporary shelter for 40 undocumented refugees and a workspace for artists and social entrepreneurs. This is where the art collective We Sell Reality came to life. We Sell Reality reflects on the paradox of closed borders for some and open borders for others. For immigrants without wealth, these borders prove almost impossible to cross.