Kunsthuis SYB

Kunsthuis SYB is happy to announce Saksenpeerd, a research residency by artist Jens Huls taking place from November 18 through December 1, 2024. The research at SYB is part of the Artist in Space grant program initiated by the network of the Noordenaars.

During the residency, Huls examines the peculiarities between domesticity and the influence of authoritarianism on identity-building. The artist delves into old publications in the area from the 30s dealing with bilingual regional identity. Particularly, Huls focuses on the magazine Saxo-Frisia, a bimonthly publication led by Germanist J.M.N. Kapteyn (1870-1949) at the University of Groningen. The magazine aimed to promote knowledge of the Saxo-Frisian regions – their landscapes, history, language and literature, folklore, and society – but was ultimately aligned with the SS during the second world war. How could an interest in regional marginalized languages become a vehicle of oppression? At SYB, Huls creates a fictional reconstruction of the first Saxo-Frisia meetings, two of which were held in Beetsterzwaag in 1941. 

The residency at SYB represents a deepening period of the ongoing year long research by Huls titled “Vjens” (“Vriezenveens” or Vjens), which deals with issues of regionalism, (auto)biography and (dis)identification through dialects of the Low Saxon language present in the area of Twente. By adopting regionalism as a non-normative and queer body, “Vjens” reflects on their peculiar family history, biography, marginalization, fiction, and mythology. The aim is to generate materials for an upcoming publication in the form of a multilingual anthology.  

About the artist
Jens Huls (Vriezenveen, NL, 2000) creates texts, multimedia installations, and performances exploring normativity, (de)-identification, (auto)biography, and the fictional. Their practice critically examines invisible power structures: how is identity shaped in public and private space, and vice versa? Community, commoning, resistance, and the queer subject are central elements of their inquiry. Through long-term collaboration, Jens acts as a scribe, focusing on the legends, myths, and memories of communities involved.

Jens holds a BFA from Minerva Academy in Groningen (NL) (2023). Recent works include: “Helsche Boosheit”, MONSTER ARCHIEF (Groningen, NL); Cruise, Het Resort (Groningen, NL), and teaching at Minerva Academy. Jens currently resides and works in Groningen.

Noordenaars and Artist in Space
Noordenaars is a platform for art presentation venues and initiatives in the north of the Netherlands. In 2024, Noordenaars launched four new programs to stimulate the artistic and professional practices of promising visual artists, from emerging to mid-career (Veld, Lucht, Land, and Horizon). The Artist in Space program encourages the creation of new work that can make a meaningful contribution to contemporary art in the Netherlands. Over the course of a year, artists  collaborate with art spaces in Friesland, Drenthe, and Groningen, as well as with partners from both within and outside the art sector, guided by their individual developmental goals.

The Veld program specifically supports visual artists who have a developmental question and wish to collaborate beyond the art world. These collaborations might be with organizations such as healthcare institutions, folk associations, research institutes, or nature organizations. Veld links the artistic field with other sectors and promotes non-hierarchical partnerships.