MaMA 

March 1, 2022
Rotterdam

Süheyla Yalçın is founder of the cross-media platform NederTürk, a collection and archiving of oral history at the intersection of Dutch and Turkish identity. She is also involved as a producer and editor in chief at production house Fufu & Dadels. As a columnist, she contributed to offline and online media such as LINDA.meiden (LINDA.girls), Brandpunt+ and OneWorld. In 2021 she was selected as a new talent by the Stimuleringsfonds Creatieve Industrie. And currently, Süheyla is working on her debut novel in collaboration with the literary project WOLK.

“It’s time to think about redefining what we mean by art. In practice, I encounter many creators who, because of the age-old views with are common to interpret creative expressions, hardly get access within established art institutions. And this while alternative stories and idiosyncratic creations have an important function in our society. They mirror our image of a more equal world.

As a storyteller, I am fascinated by the oral histories that are taken for granted in many diasporic cultures. The broad framework from which I operate will help me to fully carry out my new position as director of MAMA. I see MAMA as a progressive institute within which all forms of storytelling have a place. The welcoming character of MAMA and the widely held belief that it is important to invest in the future generation fits my personal vision.

I am very much looking forward to starting as director and to broadening the development of their  inclusive nature. In addition, I will work hard to make structural changes in the area of undervaluation within the overall art and design world, and seek out international like-minded people.” – Süheyla Yalçin, director of MAMA as of April 1, 2022

Since 1997, MAMA has been one of the leading presentation institutions in the field of talent development in the visual arts in the Netherlands. By employing a broad definition of art and making deviations into popular and subcultures, it has always worked to make contemporary art accessible, not least by granting a large degree of ownership to young people. At MAMA they are given the space to experiment and develop. We summarize our mission around five core concepts: MAMA is a place where we (1) work together, (2) with generosity and (3) boldness as core values, (4) develop entrepreneurship, and (5) increase the influence of young people.

“The board is very happy to have found in Süheyla a socially engaged, creative, and opinionated director who perfectly fits MAMA’s rebellious and warm character. At the same time, the board will miss Nathalie’s sharpness and great strategic ability. Nathalie has taken MAMA to new creative heights over the past seven years and provided a warm home for countless young creators. We thank her for the fantastic work she has done over the past years and hope to build on this together with Süheyla. Given Süheyla’s fresh perspective and inspiring ideas on youth culture, inclusion, and talent development, we are confident about this.” – MAMA Board

“It gives me immense pleasure to hand over the baton to Süheyla after seven years. As a podcast enthusiast, I have not missed a single episode of her media productions Fufu & Dadels and NederTürk. The combination of empathy and sharpness she possesses are qualities I am convinced will benefit Team MAMA. The impressive range of interdisciplinary artistic interests and the fact that she continually advocates space for the personal perspective in her activities already makes me curious about the next chapter of MAMA. An asset to Rotterdam and the visual arts field.” – Nathalie Hartjes, director of MAMA 2015–2022

Nathalie Hartjes will be leaving the organization as of May 1 and in the near future will focus on a number of personal research projects and further developing her writing. She will also join the permanent team of Cultuur+Ondernemen for the mentoring program for Young Talent.