Get to know our new conservator Amira Gad through this brief Q&A:
Amira, this function is like ‘coming home’. In what way exactly?
I mean it literally: 10 years ago I worked here in Rotterdam at Kunstinstituut Melly as curator and head of publications. So much has changed in those years and I’m looking forward to diving back into the scene and getting to know it.
Where has your work taken you over the last decade?
When I left Rotterdam, I moved to London to work as a curator at the Serpentine Gallery. There, I curated over 20 exhibitions, some of which have traveled the globe and edited the shows’ accompanying catalogues. Most recently, I worked as a curator at KANAL-Centre Pompidou, a new museum in the making in Brussels. There I was responsible for developing a strategy on how the museum can engage with digital contemporary artistic practices. It is interesting to look at how the advent of technology can have an impact on museum practices and the works of contemporary artists. I’m looking forward, amongst others, to bringing in this research into my work at the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen and how it can contribute to our thinking for the future of the museum.
The Depot isn’t your run-of-the-mill museum. Is that an obstacle for you?
I think you get creative when dealing with obstacles! I thrive in challenges and finding ways to break down barriers. For me, one of the unique characteristics of the Depot is that it’s not an experience that is demarcated in advance. It leaves rooms for unexpected discoveries every time. It’s also a special environment for a conservator closely engaging with the museum’s collection, it’s not only a new approach to caring for that collection but also enables the possibilities to experiment with how audiences can engage with the works.
Can you already give us a sneak peek into what you have in store for us?
I’m curating an exhibition that will open in April 2025 and that will be launching a new program of curated exhibitions. Taking place on the fifth floor of the Depot, where Lievelingen is currently on view, the show will be highlighting new perspectives on the museum’s collection. And later in the year, we will kick-off a new series of site-specific commissions titled Le Miroir Vivant inviting a contemporary artist to conceive of a special installation in one of the Depot’s galleries. We hope to create several opportunities for visitors to keep on coming back to the Depot and (re-)discovering the museum’s special collection and new program of presentations.