Jonas Staal (born 1981 in Zwolle) is a Dutch visual artist. His work deals with the relationship between art, democracy, and propaganda and has often generated public debate.
Works The Geert Wilders Works (2005–2008) From 2005 to 2008, Staal was prosecuted by the Public Prosecutors' Office for threatening Party for Freedom politician Geert Wilders.Vinckx, Yaël (03-08-2007) "Kunstenaar: Wilders mijn muze", NRC Handelsblad This was the result of a project that Staal realized anonymously in April that year entitled The Geert Wilders Works,Website Jonas Staal ‘The Geert Wilders Works 2005-2008’ which consisted of twenty-one so-called ‘memorial works’ comprising a photo collage and framed portrait by Wilders, white roses, tealight candles and a cuddly bear in the public space of Rotterdam and The Hague. Even though police spokesmen stated not to know whether the installations were meant as a threat or sign of public support, Wilders decided to report the events to the police as being a personal life threat.Redactie Rotterdams Dagblad (21-05-2005), "Foto's Wilders opgehangen in straten op Zuid" Once Staal announced the work to be his and voluntarily reported himself to the police in Rotterdam, he was arrested and prosecuted for threatening a politician with death. Staal considered the trials to be part of his work and had invitations designed and printed to announce the court case as a ‘public debate’ in which key figures in the trial were presented as actors in a play entitled The Geert Wilders Works – A Trial I-II. The trials took place in 2007 in the Cantonal Court in Rotterdam and in 2008 in the Court of Justice in The Hague. Staal wrote his plea as a manifesto, which was published in the cultural section of the Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad.Staal, Jonas (16-05-2010) "Rather a threat, than a marginalized pawn", NRC Handelsblad / Cultural Supplement
Art, Property of Politics I-IV (2010–2012) In 2010 Staal realized the exhibitions Art, Property of PoliticsWebsite Jonas Staal Art, Property of Politics publication and Art, Property of Politics II: Freethinkers’ Space,Website Jonas Staal Art, Property of Politics II: Freethinkers’ Space publication in 2011 Art, Property of Politics III: Closed Architecture Publishing House Onomatopee Art, Property of Politics III: Closed Architecture and in 2012 Art, Property of Politics IV: Freethinkers' Space in which he researched the role of contemporary art in the political process. The first part took place in exhibition space TENT. in Rotterdam, during the municipal elections of 2010,Redactie Metropolis M (19-02-2010) 'Kunstenaars onderzoeken politieke propaganda', Metropolis M' in which he showed the artworks of all parties involved in the elections.Schröder, Rob; Staal, Jonas Art, Property of Politics documentary The second part took place in the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven, the Netherlands and existed of artworks that were selected by the liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie, VVD) and the far-right Party for Freedom (Partij voor de Vrijheid, PVV) in their so-called ‘Freethinkers’ Space’: and exhibition space that the parties opened in Dutch parliament for artists that had dealt with religious (Islamic) censorship.Redactie NRC Handelsblad (31-07-2008) "'Vrijdenkersruimte' VVD en PVV is open"4Art, AVRO (2011) Ann Demeester in conversation with Jonas Staal on the Freethinkers' Space The third part opened in Extra City in Antwerp,Website Extra City 1:1, Hans van Houwelingen and Jonas Staal, Extra City Kunsthal Antwerpen and continued in the form of a theater piece in Frascati in Amsterdam.Theater Encyclopedia Art, Property of Politics III: Closed Architecture - Society as Prison Central in the project is a thesis entitled Closed Architecture (2004)Website Freedom Party Curriculum Vitae Fleur Agema written by the far-right MP Fleur Agema, number two on the list of the Dutch Freedom Party (Partij voor de Vrijheid, PVV). The thesis comprises a sketch for a new prison model, which Agema has developed during her master's degree in Interior Design. In the project Staal expanded Agema's sketches into a fully developed model.Website Jonas Staal Documentation of the publication, film and maquette Art, Property of Politics III: Closed Architecture Moreover, it investigates the extent to which her earlier architectural work is the blueprint from which she now exerts an influence on current government policies, and hence the organization of our present society.Wensink, Herien (07-11-2011) “Opsluiten, uitsluiten”, NRC Handelsblad Staal, Jonas (08-12-2011) “De samenleving als gevangenis”, Groene Amsterdammer The fourth part took place in the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven and in art space De Appel in Amsterdam as a result of an open call made by Rogier Verkroost, politician for the social-liberal Democrats 66 party, and GreenLeft politician Jesse Klaver to immediately re-open the Freethinkers’ SpaceD66 Eindhoven (30-08-2011) ‘D66 wil Vrijdenkersruimte naar Eindhoven halen’ Groenlinks.nl (12-11-2011) Klaver neemt Vrijdenkersruimte over’ that had been closed in 2011 by the liberal VVD and extreme-right PVV.Redactie Volkskrant (26-08-2011) ‘Vrijdenkersruimte VVD en PVV alweer opgeheven’ The creation of these new Freethinker's spaces was supported by Staal and the museum.Staal, Jonas (15-09-2012) ‘Vrijdenkersruimte Vervolgd’, Joop.nl Verkroost's and Klaver's Freethinkers‘ Spaces opened in September 2012,Verkroost, Rogier (30-10-2012) ‘Zonder vrije rafelrand geen populaire cultuur’, Freethinker's Lecture on website D66 Eindhoven Klaver, Jesse (17-11-3012) ‘Nederland als Vrijdenkersruimte’, Freethinkers' Lecture on website Joop.nl followed in Amsterdam by a Freethinkers’ Space curated by Carolien Gehrels, alderman for arts and culture for the Labour Party in Amsterdam.Gehrels, Carolien (06-10-2012) ‘De Stad is de Vrijdenkersruimte’, Freethinkers' Lecture on website Jonas Staal
New World Summit (2012–...) In May 2012 Staal announced in his pamphlet “Art in Defense of Democracy”Staal, Jonas (12-04-2012) ‘Art in Defence of Democracy’, NRC Handelsblad / Cultural Supplement the establishment of the artistic and political organization New World Summit. This organization aims to provide parliaments for stateless political organizations that are being placed “outside” of democracy,7th Berlin Biennale video archive Interview with Jonas Staal on the New World Summit for example by use of so-called international designated lists of terrorist organizations that block their bank accounts and result in an immediate travel ban, relegating them to the “edge” of the political system.Website New World Summit See ‘About'
The first edition of the New World Summit, taking place on May 4 and 5, 2012, in the Sophiensaal in Berlin, hosted four political and three juridical representatives of blacklisted organizations, such as the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDF), the Kurdish Women Movement, the Basque Independence Movement and the National Liberation Movement of Azawad (MNLA). According to Staal, his organization wants to explore at what level art can operate as an instrument to create an “alternative political space” as politics is unable to act upon the promise of what he calls a “fundamental democracy.”Former West video archive (29-09-2012) ‘Art, Democratism and Fundamental Democracy’, lecture on the New World Summit The second edition of the New World Summit took place on December 29, 2012, in de Waag in Leiden, the Netherlands, and focused on Professor Jose Maria Sison, the founder of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, the New People's Army (NPA), both of which are internationally blacklisted.New World Summit video archive (29-12-2012) Keynote speech by Professor Jose Maria Sison at the New World Summit in Leiden Sison, who lives in exile in the Netherlands, debated several politicians, lawyers, public prosecutors and judges on his case. The 3rd New World Summit was announced to take place early 2013 in Kochi, India, in the context of the 1st Kochi-Muziris Biennale. For this occasion, an open air parliament was built in front of a former British colonial complex, but by order of the State Intelligence, flags in the parliament were painted over and three members of the summit were accused of material support to blacklisted organizations.Van de Boogaard, Raymond (03-01-2013) ‘Politie India censureert project Staal’ / NRC HandelsbladVan de Boogaard, Raymond (11-02-2013) ‘Jonas Staal in India aangeklaagd’ / NRC Handelsblad The fourth New World Summit took place from September 19–21, 2014 in the Royal Flemish Theater in Brussels, bringing together twenty representatives of what the organization describes as "stateless states," such as representatives of organizations in Kurdistan, Somaliland, West Papua and Azawad.Website Royal Flemish Theater (KVS) Full program 4th New World Summit The New World Summit in this context also speaks of their work as the "art of the stateless state."Staal, Jonas (09-2014) ‘To Make a World, Part I: Ultranationalism and the Art of the Stateless State / e-flux journal #57
In October 2015 Jonas Staal announced in different interviews that the fifth summit would take place in Rojava, a region declared autonomous by Kurdish revolutionaries in the northern part of Syria in 2011, and would include a celebration of the start of construction of a new public parliament developed together with the Democratic Self-Administration of Rojava.Domeniek Ruyters interviews Jonas Staal (16-10-2015) ‘Democracy without the State: Jonas Staal builds a parliament in northern-Syria’ / Metropolis M Cohen, Mischa (16-10-2015) ‘Democratie zonder staat: het kan in Koerdistan’ / Vrij Nederland The New World Summit in Rojava took place on October 16–17, 2015 in the city of Derîk, Cezîre canton, and included speakers from the Democratic Self-Administration of Rojava as well as an international delegation, amongst which representatives from Catalonia, Scotland and the Amazigh community.Website New World Summit Full Program and speaker biographies New World Summit – Rojava, Part I At the end of the two-day summit, the participants gathered at the building site of the new public parliament, where Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cezîre Canton Amina Osse and Staal announced the construction as a symbol of the Rojava revolution and of the friendship with other stateless peoples from all over the world.New World Summit video archive (11-2015) Video showing the international delegation, two-day summit and celebration of the construction start of the new public parliament in RojavaStaal, Jonas (01-11-2015) ‘New Lines: A Parliament for the Rojava Revolution’ / Roar Magazine According to articles by journalists traveling with the international delegation to the summit in Rojava, a second part of the New World Summit in the autonomous region is to take place in the finished parliament, early 2016.Kluijver, Robert (December 2015) ‘The Artist Giving Stateless Syrians a Voice / The Art Newspaper Keulemans, Chris (12-11-2015) ‘Charlie Chaplin is een Koerd’ / Groene Amsterdammer
Together with BAK, basis voor actuele kunst, Utrecht, in 2013 the New World Academy was founded, which invites stateless political groups to develop collaborative projects with artists and students.Website BAK, basis voor actuele kunst, Utrecht Announcement of the first sessions of the New World Academy In 2014, BAK also hosted the first New World Embassy of Azawad, a temporal embassy for the unacknowledged state of Azawad, developed by Staal and writer and National Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) representative Moussa Ag Assarid.Website BAK, basis voor actuele kunst, Utrecht Announcement of the inauguration of the New World Embassy of AzawadBBC Africa (10-09-2014) "Embassy of Azawad in the Netherlands"
Other projects