The outcome of this project was on view at De Appel from 3 until 11 May 2019.

For this series of Kunstklassen, artist Yuri Veerman will be assigned his own classroom within the Huibersschool, a primary school in Amsterdam New West. In this classroom he will continue his work on the artwork Rood Wit Blauw (2012), which is part of De Appel’s ‘Unintended Collection’. For this artwork Veerman bought various Dutch flags on Marktplaats. He separated the different colours of the flags and sewed all similar colours together. Notably, each flag uses a slightly different tone of blue, white or red. These newly assembled flags no longer reference a country, but solely the colour of which it is made up of: red, white or blue.

This artwork undermines the concept of vexillology, the study of flags, where certain colours and shapes are tied to the organization of a country. The flag often symbolizes how a community is organized, and which political beliefs and cultural identities prevail.

Together with the artist, several classes will research the connotations and overall concept of the flag using their own experiences and environment. The students will think of alternative forms of coexistence, eventually using their own beliefs, rules and values as basic ideals to form a new country. For this country the students will make a flag that aims to reflect its society. Through this project, students will learn to think critically about what a country or society actually is, and what their own ideal country would look like. By acting both individually and collectively, the students will discover that they have the ability to shape our society of today and the future.

Kunstklassen natraject

Na de schoolinterventies van Yuri Veerman, organiseert De Appel met de Huibersschool een natraject voor de leerlingen die een grote interesse tonen om nog verder na te denken rond de centrale vraag van de kunstenaar: hoe zal jullie nieuwe land eruit zien?

In het natraject gaan de leerlingen verder nadenken over alternatieve vormen van communicatie en leefvormen in de toekomst. Bij iedere workshop focussen de leerlingen op een nieuwe vraag: Hoe communiceren we in de toekomst? Welk schrift hoort hierbij? Welke rol speelt geld en hoe zullen munten eruit zien? Welk geluid past bij onze planeet in 100 jaar? Hoe zal dan de radio klinken? Bij elke kunstklas wordt met nieuw materiaal gewerkt, variërend van klei en papier tot synthesizers en opname apparatuur.

Yuri Veerman is an artist, designer and performer who lives and works in Amsterdam. Veerman tells simple, yet extraordinary stories through posters, books, videos, websites, campaigns, flags or performances, about an increasingly complex world.