Dölle succeeds Jacqueline Grandjean, who, in recent years, has successfully established the Oude Kerk as a leading art institute that brings together heritage, art and music in a contemporary way. Mariette Dölle is currently director of Museum Kranenburgh and will take up that position at the Oude Kerk from February (2022). Together with the team, she will build on the current role and positioning of Amsterdam's oldest building, focusing on both local connection and international reputation.
Tjepco van Voorst Vader, chairman of the Supervisory Board Oude Kerk Amsterdam: 'We are delighted to have found with Mariette Dölle an inspired museum director with proven talent for realising exhibitions that reflect the spirit of the times. She knows how to combine contemporary art and heritage in a topical and convincing way. We are convinced that Mariette Dölle will be able to further strengthen the Oude Kerk's place in the Amsterdam community and within the (inter)national cultural sector, thereby continuing on its chosen path as a leading contemporary art institute.'
Mariette Dölle: 'It is a great adventure to be allowed to lead this prestigious institution that programmes large-scale site-specific solo presentations by leading (inter)national artists. The Oude Kerk has become a place where the public loves to come to be inspired by exceptional art projects and to enjoy the extensive public programme, and all of this in Amsterdam's oldest monument; it's to this interplay that I'm happy to commit. To me, Amsterdam is a city of monuments, art and history, but also the city where people shape the future every day. That ongoing dialogue between then and now comes together in a unique way in the Oude Kerk.'
About Mariette Dölle
Mariette Dölle (1965) is currently director of Museum Kranenburgh, museum for modern and contemporary art in Bergen. She was previously artistic director of TENT, stage for contemporary art in Rotterdam. Dölle regularly advises on cultural policy, participates in juries, is a board member of, among others, AVL Mundo in Rotterdam and chairman of ArtTable, the national association for female leadership in the arts.
About the Oude Kerk
The Oude Kerk is Amsterdam's oldest building (1306) and one of the largest patrons to (inter)national artists in the Netherlands, especially in the field of in situ/site-specific and new work. Artists are always given ample time to prepare for a presentation together with curators of the Oude Kerk through the process of slow curating. For the coming period, presentations by Susan Philipsz, Antonio Obá and Ibrahim Mahama are scheduled. The Oude Kerk is also conducting an extensive public programme including concerts and performances.