The winners of the Piket Art Prizes 2018 have been announced!
To put a stop to decay, to the passing of time, and to attempt to preserve what is transient; Eden Latham confronts these vast themes with simple interventions and everyday materials. Discarded utilitarian objects seem to remember their erstwhile functions: the contours of a sleeper in a mattress, the impression of a wardrobe in a carpet. For Eden these are points of departure in a process of wrapping, rubbing, encasing, in order to conserve corruption. She produces work so powerful, that it seduces you despite its filthiness.
Kinda Gozo grew up in the Central African Republic where, on the streets with the kids from her neighborhood, she discovered dance as a means of expression. At the age of ten, she moved to La Rochelle in France, where she started training as a dancer at the local conservatory. What is immediately striking about Kinda is her strength, unpredictability and suppleness, not only physically, but also mentally and emotionally. It is probably because of the monetary origin of the term ‘talent’, that we tend to associate it with the static image of a kind of treasure chest. Kinda’s talent, however, is pure dynamism – an internal source of power, feeding her energy, and motivating the decisions she takes in dance as well as in life. Her intuitive connection to this source is fascinating. In Kinda we find quite literallyan origin-ality, which we could also call her soul as a performer. It gives her artistry a depththat we have rarely encountered to such an extent.
Jos Nargy, born and bred in The Hague, produced a lot of theatre in his own city. His long record of service shows how he coloured the cultural landscape. He not only creates his own performances, but also performs with Collectief ‘Thomas, Sacha en Jos’, and was one of the founders of Poezieboys. He alternates energetic stage productions with subdued, poetic programs, stimulating the audience’s imagination. He really communicates with his audience. He loves literature and his keen sense of language is evident from his work. It is always expressive, literate and transparent. This prize is a reward for everything Jos did for theatre in The Hague.
For decades Hedda Twiehaus, teacher and repetiteur at Nederlands Dans Theater 2 (NDT2), has been of tremendous importance to all this youthful talent coming to The Hague from all over the world to develop and mature. With unbridled energy and passion she communicates the magic of dance and the company’s values to generation after generation of young dancers.
Hedda Twiehaus fulfilled her task with the enthusiasm and wisdom that not only made her an excellent repetiteur, but also a sounding board, coach, and ‘surrogate mother’ for NDT2’s young dancers. She provided the warm humanity necessary to make them grow, both as dancers and as human beings. With characteristic modesty she always places herself in the background.
