Opening: 13 December | 15:00 - 17:00 hrs.
Buzzing, sliding chairs, a digital screen between the green velvet curtains. The classrooms of Minerva Art Academy on Praediniussingel are filled daily with teaching, lectures and presentations. But few attendees are aware of the history that took place here. On the spot where a projector now shines, famous works by Vincent van Gogh, such as Sunflowers and Starry Night, hung in 1896.
The current location of Minerva Art Academy on Praediniussingel was at the time the just-opened Groninger Museum. At the time, the museum presented mainly on archaeology, antiquities and period rooms. 1986 marked a key moment in the development of modern art, with a retrospective of no less than 128 works by Vincent van Gogh, as well as work by Jan Toorop, Belgian symbolists and French printmakers, including Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec: all innovators within the existing art order.
The van Gogh exhibition was an innovative presentation of work by contemporary artists and shocked the general public and the press for its activist and avant-garde basis. It stood for a new modern élan in Groningen, which expressed pride in a young generation, where striving for innovation was central, and learning to see things differently.
As an art academy, this historic place now once again offers space to a young generation of artists who relate to the world and speak out about it. In cooperation with the Groninger Museum, current students of Minerva Art Academy look back at the 1896 exhibition and the significance it had. With these insights, a group of 20 students is putting together an exhibition that depicts the current zeitgeist of young artists as this group looks at it. The central themes are nature, the making process and mental health. Based on these themes, students from across Academy Minerva submitted work. Almond Blossoms refers to Van Gogh's famous series of paintings and symbolises a new beginning. This symbolism was particularly important to Van Gogh in his quest his mental well-being.
Cooperation Minerva Art Academy and Groninger Museum
Minerva Art Academy and Groninger Museum are seeking cooperation around How Van Gogh came to Groningen. In the exhibition in the Groninger Museum, we see how education and art are connected and generation after generation is inspired by art in the museum. The final exhibition space in the Groninger Museum is also decorated with work by recently graduated students of Minerva Art Academy.
More information about How Van Gogh came to Groningen (Groninger Museum website)
