Christie van der Haak wins Ouborg Award 2015

Location: Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, Stadhouderslaan 41, The Hague
Date: Friday 27 November 2015, 17:30 hrs, presentation by Joris Wijsmuller, alderman of culture

On 27 November next, visual artist Christie van der Haak will be awarded the 2015 Ouborg Award for her large and rich body of work. The official presentation of the prize will be accompanied by the publication of Sproken / Fairy Tales, a richly illustrated book designed by Studio Renate Boere and published by Stroom Den Haag / Jap Sam Books, and the opening of the exhibition Sproken / Fairy Tales (27 November to 31 January 2016) at the Gemeentemuseum Den Haag.

NEWS
In May 2016, the publication Sproken / Fairy Tales won the Silver European Design Award in the publications category. The Ouborg Award jury appreciated Christie van der Haak's versatility, the convincing way in which her work moves at the interface of art and design, in which she uses a variety of materials and techniques, and in which she manages to transmit her relentless inspiration and passion to others.

Jury chairman Arno van Roosmalen:
‘Recently, Christie van der Haak's work Heda (2015) was on display at the important international fair Design Miami / Basel. It attracted interest from collectors from all over the world. In 2013, Van der Haak's work was already on display at Gemeentemuseum Den Haag. On the occasion of the exhibition Delfts Wit - Het is niet alles Blauw dat in Delft blinkt, she designed an installation that provided the perfect ambiance for the Delfts Wit. At the Stedelijk Museum Schiedam, Van der Haak created an impressive period room as part of the exhibition Schilderkunst op drift (2014). And recently, she was given a free hand by Museum De Lakenhal and designed New Leids Laken, which will go into production at the reopening of this Leiden museum. This sampling of the recent past illustrates Christie van der Haak's scope, both geographically and institutionally.

And it is precisely these motives, the quality of the oeuvre and its local and (inter)national importance, on the basis of which the Ouborg Award is awarded to artists from The Hague. Therefore, if the jury alone was convincingly unanimous in awarding the 2015 Ouborg Award to Christie van der Haak, that conviction was reinforced by the appreciation of the enormously inspiring and stimulating influence she, as a teacher at the Royal Academy of Art, has had on generations of visual artists.’

Ouborg Award
The Ouborg Award, a city award named after Hague artist Pieter Ouborg (1893-1956), is awarded to an artist from The Hague every two years for a body of work of great local and (inter)national significance.

Previous winners were: Christie van der Haak (2015), Marcel van Eeden (2013), André Kruysen (2011), Justin Bennett (2009), Zeger Reyers (2007), Ben van Os (2005), Hans van der Pennen (2003), Vojta Dukàt (2001), Philip Akkerman (1999), Auke de Vries (1997), Martin Rous (1996), Dick Raaijmakers (1995), Tomas Rajlich (1994), Lotti van der Gaag (1993), Gerard Fieret (1992), Wil Bouthoorn (1991), Frans Zwartjes (1990).