[spectre] MIEKE GERRITZEN NEW DIRECTOR OF DUTCH GRAPHIC DESIGN MUSEUM

[Geert Lovink]

> MIEKE GERRITZEN NEW DIRECTOR GRAPHIC DESIGN MUSEUM
> The Graphic Design Museum, Beyerd Breda (NL), has a new director.  
> Mieke Gerritzen has been appointed by the Supervisory Board of the  
> Graphic Design Museum, with the approval of the City Council of  
> Breda.  She will assume her new position on January 1, 2009.
>
> Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Hedy D'Ancona: 'Mieke Gerritzen  
> will bring a strong vision to this new national museum. She has a  
> unique combination of qualities as an internationally renowned  
> designer, publicist, curator and organiser of exhibitions both in  
> the Netherlands and abroad and has, in addition, considerable  
> experience in art education.'
>
> Mieke Gerritzen (1962) attended the Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam.  
> She was involved from the start in the design of the World Wide Web.  
> In the early nineties, she worked on the very first Dutch websites,  
> including that of radio and television broadcaster VPRO. At the  
> moment, Gerritzen makes films, publishes books and organises public  
> events such as The Biggest Visual Power Show in the Netherlands,  
> Germany and Los Angeles.
> She creates networks between designers, writers and artists. Mieke  
> Gerritzen is head of the Graphic Design section of the Sandberg  
> Institute, the masters’ course affiliated to the Gerrit Rietveld  
> Acadamy.
>
> Wilbert Willems, Alderman for Culture, Traffic and the Environment  
> in Breda: 'The city of Breda, with its focus on graphic design, is  
> delighted with the arrival of Mieke Gerritzen. In her, we have an  
> excellent designer with strong roots in education, who will manage  
> the museum. It is fully in line with the Dutch tradition of  
> appointing multi-talented top designers as museum directors, such as  
> Willem Sandberg at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam and Willem  
> Crouwel at the Museum Boijmans van Beuningen.'
>
> The Graphic Design Museum, Beyerd Breda, the first museum in the  
> world that specifically focuses on graphic design, was opened on  
> July 11, 2008. It is an institute that acts as national museum,  
> knowledge centre, education environment, shop for graphic culture,  
> designers’ café and production house for graphic design. The Graphic  
> Design Museum offers an international podium to established  
> designers and also provides a springboard for new top talent.
>
> Peter Rijntjes, currently interim director of the Graphic Design  
> Museum, Beyerd Breda, will, from January 2009, act as trailblazer to  
> promote the nomination of Brabantstad as European Culture Capital in  
> 2018.
>
> For more information, please contact Fran van de Bogaert via  
> 076-5299909 or f.van.den.bogaert at breda.nl