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For lovers of the visual arts, spring (or summer) is a time to discover what creativity has produced behind closed doors during the winter 'depression'. But how can you find out about gallery openings and the best exhibitions? The editor gives some direction to newcomers to the Netherlands, the art scene. The Governor never calls
Starved of solar warmth for too long, we pretend not to notice that a fur coat or even a scarf would still be appropriate in this illusive first sight of better days to come. We scrutinise the circumference of fellow sun-worshippers' sunglasses to verify we haven’t missed a sudden fashion warp in this not-so-much the fashion capital of Europe. 
For lovers of the visual arts, spring is also a time to discover what creativity has produced behind closed doors during the winter 'depression'.
Over the weekend, a friend of mine suggested we go to the opening of Ars Macabra Holandica at the ABC Treehouse Gallery, an exhibition of work by Dutch comic-strip artists, illustrators and animators, linked by a love of the bizarre, horrific and fantastic which echoes the theme of this month's Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival. [The start of the programme for 2008 is already on view at the same web address].
I took the kids with me – erring on the side of caution. As much as trawling around art galleries can potentially bore them, intuition tells me that a single mum shouldn't overstretch her babysitting network- I'd been out a lot the weekend before. Plus I thought the children might be amused.
They were, should I say, engaged. The first object we saw was a cabinet containing a mechanical doll strapped into an electric chair. You put a two-euro coin into a slot, crank up the voltage manually and press the release button. The doll jerks and judders before coming to rest with slumped head. 
by Paul van Fessem
The idea reminded me of a Victorian toy I saw in the Museum of Childhood in Edinburgh. You put a coin in the slot of a tiny, glass-cased model of a guillotine, which provokes a mechanism to spring into action; a rapidly descending guillotine blade slices off the puppet-victim's head. [Please, no readers' letters on the morality of taking children to a museum containing such machine(s).] Birgit
In the gallery, Dutch creator of the two-and-half-meter-high, one-meter-wide, electric-chair model, Paul van Fessem, tells me with a distinct American accent that he isn't sure if what he makes is Art "but it's fun". I ask him if he's lived in the US for a while but he replies "no, I just watch a lot of TV." Mostly American films I guess, with a bent towards horror.
For several years Van Fessem has designed and produced a collection of awards given at the Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival the Black Tulip, the Silver Scream (audience-appointed) and the Lifetime Achievement awards.
The highpoint of this opening for some visitors was a fleeting visit by Dutch poprock singer and actress Birgit Schuurman, who evidently stood by me and the kids while we viewed a particularly depressing animated film by the talented comic-book illustrator Hulsing. I had attributed the flurry of male interest around me to the becoming spring dress I had donned to celebrate 'rokjes weer', until I heard the words "it's Birgit", whispered by the lad standing by me to his mate. Both were clutching beers with rapidly whitening knuckles.
So, for art lovers and those wanting to expand their social and professional networks, going to openings can be a great thing to do. The difficulty lies in selecting the best from the rest.
Too many doors stand open, complains a Belgian graduate from art academy Rietveld. "The Netherlands exhibits far too much and it looks like people here can't make a real choice. Art is displayed on the curb rather than on a throne as in Belgium." This may be true, but if you are a regular visitor to gallery openings you'll soon develop a nose for potentially interesting events.
Seasoned opening-goers will likely have subscribed to the newsletters of their preferred galleries and will also hear about what’s going on through their network in the Art world.
If you are a newcomer to the Netherlands, there are several websites you can visit to help launch you into the scene. Start with:
Check out Expatica's What's on calendar for a full listing of current and upcoming exhibitions.
For previews and reviews, visit our Entertainment channel .
4 April 2007
Natasha Gunn
Editor
Expatica Netherlands
Want to reply? Send your email to feedback@expatica.com
[Photo by Dutch Artist Volja]
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