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”.
Rirkrit Tiravanija
Rirkrit Tiravanija, born in Buenos Aires to Thai parents, currently lives and works in Thailand, New York and Berlin. He gained a reputation in the early 1990s with his interactive performances, which involved placing everyday activities in an artistic context. In one performance he appeared as a cook and prepared a meal for his audience. He also installed a recording studio in a museum and transformed his own apartment into a gallery. Tiravanija consciously creates situations in which the visitor is invited to participate, not only to influence his working method but also to impart new meaning to his work. By introducing social aspects of daily life into galleries and museums, he lays siege to modern museum culture. Rirkrit Tiravanija participated in the 2004 Access for All project.