For more than twenty years, five prominent Rotterdam-based artists’
initiatives have made an essential contribution to the international
character of the city’s art scene.
Together Duende, foundation B.a.d, Het Wilde Weten, Kaus Australis and Kunst & Complex
manage fifteen guest studios, which are used by artists from around the
world for periods of three to twelve months. Over the years they have
created an extensive and enduring international exchange network that
has also afforded artists from Rotterdam the opportunity to take up
residencies abroad.
In 2008 these five artists’
initiatives established RAiR – Rotterdam Artists in Residence – to
jointly organize artists’ talks, debates and exhibitions. RAiR’s aim is
to function as the point of contact between the visiting artists at these five initiatives, the initiatives themselves and the art institutions in Rotterdam and their partner organizations in
the Netherlands and abroad.
Beginning 2010, RAiR received a structural funding until 2012 by the city of Rotterdam (DKC). This funding will be used to set up a structure that will enable the five initiatives to continue and improve their residencies.