2. Kunstinstituut Melly
  3. Let’s publish the book "PAUL" together!

Let’s publish the book "PAUL" together!

Closed You can't donate anymore
Target reached
from €36,000 (100%)
300 donations

Paul van Gennip retires from Kunstinstituut Melly in April 2024. We think he is our most dedicated worker at Melly — and for a fact the longest employee ever! We opened our doors in 1990 as Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art, and Paul was already here. He has planned and installed pretty much all our exhibitions, and has been integral to our day-to-day operations. He has worked with more than 1,000 artists from all over the world, and is likely  one of the few people who has seen every exhibition at Melly.

 

To celebrate his dedication and passion, we are publishing PAUL as a tangible testament of both his trajectory and the evolution of Kunstinstituut Melly through Paul's hands.

 

“Paul is not just an architect. He is also a designer, producer, installer, and sharp critic.” 

— Chris Dercon, first director of Kunstinstituut Melly

 

Let's make this project happen! We can publish this book with your support. Every contribution brings us a step closer to our goal!

 

A publication about Paul

  • Together with artist duo THE KOKRA FAMILY, Paul van Gennip has selected 500+ objects that furnish our offices and live in our storage, from furniture to maquettes, and from tools to DIY creations. Photography of these conversation pieces tell the story of his career at Melly, and about the many exhibitions he worked on since the institution's foundation in 1990.
  • The book PAUL includes these photographs plus new essays about his professional trajectory, paired with the institution's development. Plus, Melly developed an oral history project for its archive, including professionally recorded interviews by our archivist to all former directors and key collaborators, from artists and curators, to bookkeepers and long-standing service providers.
  • The book PAUL is designed by the Rotterdam-based design studio 75B.

 

“Paul thinks with you and encourages you as an artist and partly because of that
it always becomes a better exhibition.”
— Erik van Lieshout, artist

 

All the donors will be mentioned in the book’s thank you credits and are invited to the book launch ceremony on April 30, 2024 at Kunstinstituut Melly.

 

About Kunstinstituut Melly

Kunstinstituut Melly’s mission is to organize activities on the latest developments in contemporary art and theory. It creates exhibitions, publications, and educational programs of artistic merit and cultural significance. It also commissions new art, supports innovative research, and advocates for cultural partnerships. Kunstinstituut Melly welcomes audiences year-round in its +3,500m2 nineteenth-century building, located at 50 Witte de Withstraat in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

 

 

** shipping costs will vary according to region of delivery**

€15 Donate Eternal gratitude - I would like to support this project and not receive anything in return. 80 donors €50 Donate Recommended The book PAUL (pick-up) - You will receive a copy of the book PAUL that you helped make possible. You can pick up your book at the book launch on April 30, 2024 112 donors €25 Donate Set of Vintage Postcards - You will receive a carefully selected package of 5 postcards from the Kunstinstituut Melly archive 11 donors No longer available €60 Donate The book PAUL (including shipping costs) - You will receive a copy of the book PAUL that you helped make possible. You receive your book by post in May 2024. 16 donors €75 Donate Signed version of Book PAUL (Pick-up) - You will receive a signed version of the book PAUL. Signed by Paul van Gennip and the KOKRA FAMILY You can pick up your book at the book launch on April 30, 2024 10 donors No longer available €85 Donate Signed version of Book PAUL (including shipping costs) - You will receive a signed version of the book PAUL. Signed by Paul van Gennip and the KOKRA FAMILY You will receive the book by post in May 2024. 11 donors No longer available €150 Donate The book PAUL and an invitation to a private reception (pick-up) - With the book PAUL, you will receive an invitation to a private reception on Tuesday April 30, 2024, preceding the public book launch. The event will be a reception including drinks and snacks, and you can bring a guest. You can pick up your book at the book launch. 14 donors No longer available €250 Donate The book PAUL and a notable selection of books published by Kunstinstituut Melly - Along with the book PAUL, you will receive a set of 5 institutional books from the archive of Kunstinstituut Melly. You can pick up the books at the book launch on April 30, 2024 or receive it by post in May 2024 (excl. shipping costs). 4 donors No longer available €500 Donate The book PAUL and a private archival tour by the artists of the book - You will receive the book PAUL and a special private tour of the institution’s archive by two contributors of the book, the artist duo The KOKRA FAMILY. 2 donors No longer available €1,000 Donate The book PAUL and Limited Edition by Douglas Coupland  - Along with the book PAUL, you will receive the (unframed) limited edition (a silkscreen) The Cloud is the New Infinity by Douglas Coupland. You can pick up your book and the limited edition at the book launch or receive it by post in May 2024 (excl. shipping costs). 2 donors No longer available €2,500 Donate The book PAUL and Limited Edition - Bouke de Vries - Along with the book PAUL, you receive a limited edition (porcelain cast in resin sculpture) by Bouke de Vries. You can pick up your book and the limited edition at the book launch or receive it via post in May 2024 (excl. shipping costs). No longer available €3,000 Donate The book PAUL and Limited Edition - Cecilia Vicuña - Along with the book PAUL, you will receive an (unframed) limited edition (a silkscreen) of Cecilia Vicuña, titled ‘El Paro’. You can pick up your book and the limited edition at the book launch or receive it by post in May 2024 (excl. shipping costs). 1 donor No longer available €5,000 Donate The book PAUL and a special WDWXXV box  - With the book PAUL you will receive the limited edition WDWXXV and the publication In Light Of 25 Years. Presented in a slim plexiglass box (20 x 80 cm), this portfolio features ten high-quality prints by the participating artists: Özlem Altin, Wineke Gartz, Camille Henrot, Germaine Kruip, Mahony, Raimundas Malašauskas, Zin Taylor, Freek Wambacq, and Xu Zhen. You can pick up the book and the limited edition at the book launch or receive it by post in May 2024 (excl. shipping costs). No longer available
View all

Thank you!!

 12-12-2023 | 16:23 Dear supporters,    Hooray! Our campaign to publish the book PAUL has been successfully achieved thanks to exactly 300 supporters! Thanks to your contributions, even more than the target amount of €36,000 was raised, €36,295 to be exact. We are extremely grateful to all of you. It was heartwarming to see the many wonderful comments on the campaign page:   “A unique character, Paul’s trajectory is representative of institutional developments in the field of contemporary art from the 1990s to the present! This forthcoming publication will surely attest to this, too! Can’t wait to hold it in my hands; to learn what Paul’s hands have built.”   “Paul is the highest quality of humans. I am so privileged to have worked with him!!!”   “Paul is a beautiful human being with a tremendous understanding of showing art is its best way at the best location. Realizing art exhibitions in a very nice working environment where everything flourishes and almost everything is possible.”   If you have chosen a reward with your donation, we will contact you in the coming weeks to redeem it.    Thanks again! In the meantime, we'll be sure to keep you updated on the progress of the publication PAUL. In any case, mark Tuesday 30 April 2024 in your calendar. On that day, we will organize a farewell reception for Paul and the book will be presented. See you then!   Love on behalf of everyone at Kunstinstituut Melly
Read more