Steven van Teeseling

Lecturer in: 2019, 2020

Steven van Teeseling is general director of Sonsbeek and State of Fashion Foundation in Arnhem, The Netherlands. Under his management, the former quadriennale Sonsbeek (since 1949) has abandoned the usual rhythm of contemporary art event and biennial exhibition, and instead will stretch out in a continued public process until 2024. sonsbeek20→24 will be curated by Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung as a platform in which various activities like exhibitions, discursive programs, residencies, publishing, radio and more can emerge throughout its time-frame. The next exhibition in public space, titled Force Times Distance: On Labour and its Sonic Ecologies, takes place from 10 April to 21 June 2021. It will follow the 16km route between Museum Arnhem in the city centre and Kröller Müller Museum - via Sonsbeek Park. The event will commission some 20 new art works and 5 pavilions and will have an extended public program including a temporary radio station. In 2022, the foundation will organize the international fashion biennial State of Fashion, that is aimed at solutions for a more sustainable future. In the run-up to 2022, State of Fashion will host a series of ‘interventions’ that re-think the fashion system, its flaws and its future.

Previously, Steven van Teeseling was head of innovation and communication at Mondriaan Fund, the public fund for visual art and cultural heritage in the Netherlands. In that role he initiated various (pilot) projects around new forms of financing, public art commissions and fair practice. Steven holds a master’s degree in both art history and business management.