Introduction

The jury of the Steenbergen Stipendium visited the final exam exhibitions of various art academies in the Netherlands to select five (photo) projects. This year's jury consists of Sterre Sprengers (Chair of the Steenbergen Stipendium and image editor at De Correspondent), Jaap Scheeren (photographer and honorable mention of the Steenbergen Stipendium 2003), and Caroline von Courten (PhD candidate in photo theory, Leiden University).

Lou Muuse (Willem de Kooning)

Retour Afzender
An online production about asylum policy in the Netherlands. On a website, the entire journey of an asylum seeker in our country is explained step by step using text and visuals (photography, drawings, infographics). As you scroll down, you go through all the steps, while navigating left and right provides more information about each component. The website is kept up-to-date but is also a work in progress. If there are changes in the policy, they can also be incorporated into this project. Lou Muuse's goal is to make a highly complex system understandable. During the graduation exhibition at Willem de Kooning, she showcased the website on a large computer screen. This allowed visitors to navigate through the website at their own pace.

Yara van der Velden (KABK)

Projections – a photographic research into a country and its buried treasures

Mongolia was named in 2014 by the International Monetary Union as the fastest-growing economy in the world due to the scarce resources hidden in the ground. What effect does this have on the country, landscape, and lives of the less than three million residents? What are their dreams, what is reality, and how does this relate to our world?
Yara heeft een publicatie gemaakt waarin ze op verschillende fotografische manieren deze thematiek heeft onderzocht. De publicatie wordt ondersteund door tekst en uitleg. Daarnaast heeft zij een installatie gebouwd van een green screen landschap waarin de schaarse grondstoffen worden getoond, en tegelijk de bezoeker bij het betreden van de installatie zichzelf op een beeldscherm in een virtueel Mongools landschap geplaatst ziet. Een installatie (schatting 4 x 6 meter en 3 meter hoog) van een green screen landschap met pilaren waarop de schaarse grondstoffen liggen. Daarnaast de publicatie op een sokkel. En op de grond het beeldscherm waarop de bezoeker zichzelf in een virtueel landschap ziet lopen.

Amber Toorop (KABK)

G’lijk weleer, mijn lieve schat

This project centres on four generations of Indo people in the Netherlands. This group is characterized by a strong identity shaped by a traumatic history. Among them, there is a cultural bond with a country to which they can no longer return. The project focuses on a world that now only exists in memories and associative details. In a metaphorical way, it depicts a lesser-known period in Dutch history that is difficult to put into words.

Her project consists of a publication in which she brings together old photographs, reproductions of recipes, interior photos, polymer prints of tropical houseplants, and portraits of family members. Amber presents the publication in a display case containing family archives from the former Dutch East Indies. In addition, she shows a projection on a floating screen, as if it is emerging in the space. The animation features passing paintings of nostalgic Indonesian landscapes, while the audio captures her great aunt recalling memories of the Dutch East Indies. In this way, Amber tells the migration story of her own family in an intimate manner. At the same time, it addresses a broader theme relevant to a larger group of migrants and their descendants.

Esther Hovers (KABK)

False Positives
A pseudo-scientific investigation into street security cameras and the analysis of "abnormal" behavior by experts. Nowadays, all deviant behavior on the street is classified as "suspicious." But what constitutes normalcy? Will surveillance cameras provide us with the safety we yearn for? Esther presented her project with a variety of visual elements she had collected and created, displayed on the wall. Additionally, she showcased a short film from a security camera, with a professional providing a voice-over explanation of how he analyzes the images. Esther has also crafted a publication where she skillfully merged her findings and personal photos into a compelling design.

Majda Vidakovic (KABK)

Did You Mean: Anything Else
Everything on the internet is found through search engines. Majda is reshaping this phenomenon of search engines and the influence it has on our perspective of the virtual world and the tangible reality of the objects that are the subjects of our search and discovery actions. What do we perceive when we look at a digital image of an object, and how does this differ from the actual object? Form takes on a different function and meaning, thus altering our experience as well. The project consists of various separate components that come together to form a comprehensive installation. An installation of a wooden window that physically manifests the Google Image search engine. Distorted cacti serve as three-dimensional translations of the virtual search results. Also, a performance is part of the installation, a physical search conducted by four participants. The performance is recorded and visible on a screen. On another screen, you can witness Majda building an installation photo with a cactus. Additionally, there is a publication featuring other images from this research.