Han Nefkens started to collect art in 2000. The H+F Collection, named after himself and his partner Felipe, is in long-term loan to various museums in The Netherlands and abroad. Nowadays Han Nefkens is not only active as a collector but also as an initiator of international art projects, often in collaboration with museums and other art institutions.
The Han Nefkens Foundation is a private non-profit organisation that was set up in Barcelona in 2009 with the aim of promoting the production of contemporary artworks. The mission is to stimulate artistic creation in Barcelona by offering international artists an opportunity to create artworks and interventions in the city, and to promote other fields of contemporary creation.
According to Han Nefkens, sharing is the antidote to loneliness, and he does so through his artistic and anti-AIDS projects and his writing. In 1995, he made his debut with the autobiographical novel Bloedverwanten (“Parents”), which was followed by Twee lege stoelen (“Two empty chairs”, 2006) and De gevlogen vogel (“The bird flew”, 2008). Nefkens also writes short pieces, “vignettes”.
FRAC NPDC
The FRAC (Fonds Régional d’Art Contemporain) Nord-Pas de Calais in Dunkirk was founded in 1982. The collection’s director is Hilde Teerlinck. Its primary mission is to build up and manage a collection of international contemporary art, which is actively used in a number of projects and exhibitions in the region, in France and abroad. Han Nefkens has given more than 50 works from his H+F Collection on long-term loan to the FRAC NPDC. Each year through the H+F Curatorial Grant, Han Nefkens enables a young curator to work for 18 months on the realisation of an exhibition at the FRAC NPDC. The FRAC NPDC will collaborate with ArtAids Thailand to present the ArtAids project in the region of Nord-Pas de Calais in 2009.
www.fracnpdc.fr