Celebrate the official anniversary of Amsterdam with a birthday breakfast in the Oude Kerk. As the city’s oldest building, it remains the last witness to Amsterdam’s earliest beginnings, when it was still a small settlement on the Amstel. In the run-up to this anniversary, the Oude Kerk is auctioning the very first vase by artist Navid Nuur. During the birthday breakfast, a film about his vase project (NN XXX) will premiere, alongside the presentation of a publication documenting the making process of the vases.
About the vase project (NN XXX)
Last winter, artist Navid Nuur created one hundred unique clay vases in the Oude Kerk. He took them into the city and rolled them along façades, doors, bridges and street furniture, so that the vases quite literally bear the impressions of Amsterdam. For the glaze he collected materials from all over the city: shells from the IJ, glass from cafés, charcoal from a kebab shop, ash from a pizzeria, and silt from the canals.
100 vases for 100 years of art
Each year, in the run-up to Amsterdam’s official birthday, one vase will be auctioned. The proceeds will go towards future art commissions. In this way, Navid Nuur hopes the vases will serve as a catalyst to keep art alive in the Oude Kerk for a hundred years. In 2125 the final vase will leave the Iron Chapel, marking the project’s completion.
