Nachtelijke Dwaling #4

Alberto De Michele
6 September 2014, begins promptly at 8 pm – midnight, doors open at 7:30 pm.
oude kerk, oudekerksplein, amsterdam

online tickets: 5 euro
oudekerk.nl

Nachtelijke Dwalingen consists of bimonthly, performative events that will take place in and around the Oude Kerk. These ‘dwalingen’ are organized by different artists and each have their own starting point, in which the hidden, forgotten and obscure aspects of the Oude Kerk as well as her environment the red light district, will be examined. Invited by the Oude Kerk and curated by Julia Geerlings with the collaboration of Rieke Vos, each artist has been asked to create a new work concentrated in a nocturnal walking route, examining the rapidly developing area of the Oude Kerk. Each Nachtelijke Dwaling will conclude with music by the Red Light Radio.

Some years ago an Italian fugitive came to hide out in the home of Dutch-Italian artist Alberto De Michele in Amsterdam. According to the fugitive the red light district was the perfect place for hiding and doing things that have to remain hidden. De Michele grew up in the criminal environment of his Italian father, who surrounded himself with gambling addicts and thieves. In his work he explores the world of criminality and simultaneously tries to show the human, mundane and amicable side of people involved with criminal activities. Through his background he is able to enter worlds that are inaccessible to most people. For Nachtelijke Dwaling #4 De Michele will lead us through and shed light on the hidden criminal underworld present in the red light district. This ‘dwaling’ is not for the faint-hearted. For their own safety, participants won’t be allowed to make any kind of recordings during the event.

Alberto De Michele (IT, 1980) received his education at the Rietveld Academy (1997-2001) and his masters at the Sandberg Institute (2001-2004) in Amsterdam. De Michele took part in a number of residency programs including the Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten (2010-2011), Lugar a Dudas in Colombia (2012) and Ateliers ’89 in Aruba (2013). Depending on the subject and context the work by De Michele can take the shape of an installation, a film, a book, a sculpture, a performance or a photo. His work has been part of various national and international exhibitions in institutions such as De Appel arts centre in Amsterdam, Kunstraum in London, Museo d’Arte Provincia di Nuoro, Freiraum quartier21 INTERNATIONAL in Vienna, Apexart in New York, Universidad de Cauca in Popayán, Colombia and in the recent large scale exhibition ‘Call of the Mall’ in Hoog Catherijne Utrecht.