This year, as an extension of my Himmelsbach Idea Library, I am collaborating with curator Arda van Tiggelen on a new community art project: Fantastic Idea Artists Land in Amersfoort. Commissioned by the municipality of Amersfoort, we bring artists and residents together to approach everyday issues in an unconventional way.
On this page, you will find the open call for artists to join the project and establish a new Idea Library for Amersfoort together. This collection will include artistic concepts, interventions, and speculative solutions, which will ultimately be compiled into a unique blueprint for the city.

– deadline: 7 april –

Fantastic Idea Artists Land in Amersfoort
Are you the kind of maker who comes up with ideas that make people say, “How do they even think of that?!”
Then sign up now for Fantastic Idea Artists Land in Amersfoort—a social art project in which artists collaborate with the people of Amersfoort to find unconventional solutions to everyday problems.

We are looking for artists who can approach social and personal issues of Amersfoort residents in a surprising and visual way.

You are an artist with a social practice, and your idea-generating ability allows you to engage with a variety of topics. Through sessions, walks, gatherings, or workshops, you will explore Amersfoort, meet its residents, and engage with their concerns. We collaborate with local organizations—from a historical society and The Salvation Army to a neighborhood living room or even the Rotary Club—where you will be given a space to engage in conversation with Amersfoorters.
The topics may range from urban space, society, and public life to social, urban, or deeply personal matters. You will translate these discussions into artistic responses and ideas (concepts, sculptures, interventions, monuments—think big!). These concepts will be visualized in 2D format (drawings, cartoons, manuals, infographics—whatever suits your style). The collection of ideas and solutions that emerges will be turned into blueprints, which will be exhibited in the city. Finally, this new Idea Library for Amersfoort will be donated to the City Archives, serving as both an artistic legacy and an inspiration for the future.

Background: The Himmelsbach Idea Library
The Himmelsbach Idea Library is the inspiration for this project—a collection of 15 years of HIMMELSBACH ideas, each socially engaged and thought-provoking.
We believe in the power of artists’ ideas: through associative and conceptual thinking, artists can offer new perspectives, devise unexpected solutions, and turn social questions upside down. Good ideas don’t even need to be executed to have an impact—a rumor, a drawing, or a speculative concept can already shift perspectives and inspire change.
With this project, we make the conceptual and visual power of artists visible and publicly accessible.

Who are we?
This initiative is led by HIMMELSBACH & Van Tiggelen, an occasional artistic duo.
We are:
• Domenique Himmelsbach de Vries, a social artist known for projects such as A Paper Monument for the Paperless (www.himmelsbach.nl).
• Arda van Tiggelen, a curator with a focus on community engagement.

How to Apply
To ensure meaningful participation, applications are only open to Dutch-speaking applicants. For more details on how to apply and the selection process, please visit the Dutch page → Here.