AGA LAB first and foremost serves the artist and is therefore ‘an important link in the chain from creation to presentation in the art world.’ This is what the Amsterdam Fund for the Arts (AFK) states. But despite positive advice, there was no money left for AGA LAB upon distribution. This decision affects hundreds of Amsterdam artists annually, but will also affect exhibition spaces and museums that now exhibit art printed in AGA LAB.
Artists who fear they might see their open workshop – a breeding ground for graphic art, design and photography – close its doors, started a petition. To the city of Amsterdam, these Amsterdam residents say: AGA LAB cannot do without the support of the municipality.
Initiatief van kunstenaars
Herma Deenen, who printed at AGA LAB when the studio was still located in the Laurierstraat in the Center, ‘relocated’ with AGA LAB when it moved years ago to Broedplaats Bouw, on the edge of Nieuw-West, overlooking the soccer fields of Sloterdijk. The petition, an initiative of Herma, is addressed to Amsterdam councillor for Art and Culture Touria Meliani, to provide AGA LAB with the structural subsidy it needs.
Artists know where to find the studio, not only from other parts of the city, but also from world cities such as New York, Mexico City, London and Paris. Besides the facilities, such as the heavy printing presses and large screen printing tables that they would never be able to purchase individually, printmakers find the knowledge and skills in a network of makers just like them, who reflect on each other’s work. In the open workshop there is plenty of exchange, artists learn from each other and experiment. Do you want to see the best screen printers in the world at work? Then you go to AGA LAB.
AGA LAB was founded in 1958 by graphic artists as a studio open to everyone. Consistent with that mission is keeping it affordable for every artist. This is a necessary basis for nurturing experimentation and new development.
Our vision of a diverse and future-proof lab that lives and breathes, where every artist is welcome to use their own imagination, is unfortunately being challenged at the moment.
Young artists, fresh from the academy, will have to travel to other cities to continue practicing printing techniques, to develop new work, and to find networks they now find in Amsterdam. Renowned artists will produce their work in other cities. And artists from all over the world, who now come to Amsterdam for AGA LAB, will look for ‘the next best thing’ in another world city.
Not only AGA LAB, other graphic workshops in the Netherlands are also having a hard time. For example, the Grafische Werkplaats in The Hague may not receive structural subsidy from the municipality and might have to close its doors after 50 years. Even when young artists are increasingly returning to old crafts and analogue techniques.
An example of artists’ response to NFTs and AI is to incorporate them into work printed with analogue techniques such as Toyobo or into digitally printed photography. Avant-Garde NFT projects like CryptoPunk and Opepen bring digital and physical art together in print and invite everyone to participate in a global art project. Without structural subsidies, it is becoming increasingly difficult for Amsterdam residents to participate in global trends in the art world, let alone set the trend.
The petition therefore not only calls upon Amsterdammers who like to have ink on their hands, but also on art lovers who visit the Stedelijk – or any art exhibition in the world for that matter – who may never have wondered where that print or printed textile was created, developed and produced.
For all Amsterdam residents, for the cultural city of Amsterdam, we hope that AGA LAB stays open. AGA LAB cannot do without the support of our municipality.
Photography: Alex de Vocht