Artist Statement
Before graduating from the art academy, Harm Weistra completed a master's degree in social sciences. He worked in journalism and as a management consultant. These influences are reflected in his artistic practice, which can be summarised as a fascination for the unpredictability and often cruelty of social relationships and human behaviour. Weistra is inspired and produces work based on his experience and research. His work refers to the theory of gender and sexuality and to emancipatory movements, translated into artistic expressions such as video, film, photography and installations.
Most of Weistra's work emphasises aesthetics while addressing social and political issues. This generates a disruptive tension. Emphasizing aesthetics is a way to seduce the viewer to watch. By simultaneously creating confusion or manipulating the viewer's perception, Weistra breaks through their passivity and questions the seemingly rational and logical, but often culturally determined, beliefs and opinions. His work can also be seen as an echo of an open society with ubiquitous interactions, since the internet has become the dominant platform for (anonymous) human debate.
Storytelling is usually the basis of Weistra's work, though implicitly presented, allowing the viewer to fill in his or her own story. Stories are applied as a means of questioning the dichotomy between ourselves and others. As a result, his work often leaves the viewer with a mix of conflicting feelings and thoughts. The visual seductiveness and the questions and confusion that his work evokes underline its layered character.
Weistra studied visual arts at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam and at the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam, where he graduated in 2011. The Mondriaan Fund - the publicly financed fund for visual arts in the Netherlands - granted him in 2015 the Stipendium for Emerging Artists and in 2019 the two-year Stipendium for Established Artists.
Before graduating from the art academy, Harm Weistra completed a master's degree in social sciences. He worked in journalism and as a management consultant. These influences are reflected in his artistic practice, which can be summarised as a fascination for the unpredictability and often cruelty of social relationships and human behaviour. Weistra is inspired and produces work based on his experience and research. His work refers to the theory of gender and sexuality and to emancipatory movements, translated into artistic expressions such as video, film, photography and installations.
Most of Weistra's work emphasises aesthetics while addressing social and political issues. This generates a disruptive tension. Emphasizing aesthetics is a way to seduce the viewer to watch. By simultaneously creating confusion or manipulating the viewer's perception, Weistra breaks through their passivity and questions the seemingly rational and logical, but often culturally determined, beliefs and opinions. His work can also be seen as an echo of an open society with ubiquitous interactions, since the internet has become the dominant platform for (anonymous) human debate.
Storytelling is usually the basis of Weistra's work, though implicitly presented, allowing the viewer to fill in his or her own story. Stories are applied as a means of questioning the dichotomy between ourselves and others. As a result, his work often leaves the viewer with a mix of conflicting feelings and thoughts. The visual seductiveness and the questions and confusion that his work evokes underline its layered character.
Weistra studied visual arts at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam and at the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam, where he graduated in 2011. The Mondriaan Fund - the publicly financed fund for visual arts in the Netherlands - granted him in 2015 the Stipendium for Emerging Artists and in 2019 the two-year Stipendium for Established Artists.
Curriculum Vitae
Harm Weistra lives and works in Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Education
2007 – 2011 Bachelor of Fine Arts, Willem de Kooning Academie, Rotterdam (NL)
2009 – 2010 Gerrit Rietveld Academie, Amsterdam (NL)
2003 – 2004 Master in Social Sciences, Awarded with Distinction, Utrecht University (NL)
1994 – 1997 Bachelor in Social Sciences, Utrecht University (NL)
Grants
2019/2020 Stipendium for Established Artists, Mondriaan Fund (Werkbijdrage Bewezen Talent)
2015/2016 Stipendium for Emerging Artists, Mondriaan Fund (Werkbijdrage Jong Talent)
Competitions
Finalist
2018 Winter Edition of the Alternative Film Festival, Toronto (CA)
2018 Utah Dance Film Festival, Center for the Arts, Orem, Utah (US)
2018 European Cinematography AWARDS, Warsaw (PO)
2016 Premio Combat Prize, Livorno (IT)
2015 Iris Prize, Cardiff (GB)
Awards Intrinsic Moral Evil
Best Short Film in various categories:
2019 Audience Award, Dance On Screen Film Festival, Graz (AT)
2019 Best LGBT, The Hague Global Cinema Festival, The Hague (NL)
2019 Best Experimental, Malmö International LGBTQ+ Short Film Festival, Malmö (SE)
2018 Best LGBT, Sierra International Film Weekend, Santa Cruz de la Sierra (BO)
2018 Best LGBT, Short Long World Festival, Corrientes, (AR)
2018 Best LGBT, Whatashort Independent Int. Film Festival, New Delhi (IN)
2018 Best Choreography, Five Continents International Film Festival, Puerto la Cruz (VE)
2018 Best LGBT, Five Continents International Film Festival, Puerto la Cruz (VE)
2018 Best Choreography, MarDelDance on Film Festival, New Jersey (US)
2018 Best Experimental, April Edition Moscow Shorts, Moscow (RU)
2018 Best Dance Film, AltFF Alternative Film Festival, Toronto (CA)
2018 Audience Award, Utah Dance Film Festival, Utah (US)
2017 Best Experimental Cinema, London Indie Film Festival (GB)
2017 Best Cinematography, Portland Dance Film Fest, Portland, OR (US)
2017 Grand Jury Prize, In/Motion Dance Film Festival, Chicago (US)
2017 Audience Favourite, In/Motion Dance Film Festival, Chicago (US)
2017 Best Dance Film, New Renaissance Film Festival, Amsterdam (NL)
2016 Best LGBT, Erie International Film Festival, Pennsylvania (US)
2016 Best LGBT Short, Queen City Film Festival, Cumberland, (US)
2016 Golden Cine Award, Headline International Film Festival (US)
2016 Outstanding Excellence: Choreography, Depth of Field, Nassau (US)
2016 Outstanding Excellence: Editing, Depth of Field, Nassau, (US)
2016 Outstanding Excellence: Cinematography, Depth of Field, Nassau (US)
2016 Best Editing, Short to the Point, Bucharest (RO)
2016 Best Editing, Best Independent Film Festival, Karlsruhe (DE)
2016 Best LGBTQ Short, Paris Play Film Festival (FR)
2016 Best Score, OutlantaCon Short Film Festival, Georgia (US)
2016 In Our image Award, OutlantaCon Short Film Festival, Georgia (US)
2015 Audience's Choice Award at Queer Shots Munich 2015 (DE)
2015 Best Editing at Eindhovens Film Festival, Eindhoven (NL)
2015 People's Choice Award at PiGrecoZen, Ancona (IT)
2015 Best Director of Photography, Paris Art and Movie Awards (FR)
2015 Best International Short Film at MICGénero, Benito Juaréz (MX)
2015 Best LGBT Short at Cannes Short Film Festival (FR)
2015 Best Art/Experimental Film at Sunderland Short Film Festival (GB)
2015 Best Dutch Short Film at Roze Filmdagen, Amsterdam (NL)
2015 Audience Award at Loikka Dance Film Festival, Helsinki (FI)
2014 Best Experimental Short at festival aGLIFF Austin, Texas (US)
2014 Mexican First National Screendance Award at Agite y Sirva –Screendance Touring Festival, Mexico (MX)
Miscellaneous:
2018 Special Mention Cinematography, Five Continents International Film Festival, Puerto la Cruz (VE)
2018 Special Mention Sound Design, Five Continents International Film Festival, Puerto la Cruz (VE)
2018 Special Mention Editing, Five Continents International Film Festival, Puerto la Cruz (VE)
2018 Audience Award 3rd Place, Five Continents International Film Festival, Puerto la Cruz (VE)
2018 Honorable Mention, Jacksonville Dance Film Festival, (US)
2016 Award of Merit, Southern Shorts Awards, Roswell, GA (US)
2016 Award of Merit, International New York Film Festival, (US)
Awards Damaged Goods
2016 Winner Best Experimental Film, Carmarthen Bay Film Festival, Llanelli (GB)
2014 Award of Merit, Indie Fest, La Jolla CA (US) for the video Damaged Goods.
2013 Awarded third price at SurReal || Iberoamerican Videodance Competition, Berlin (DE) for the video Damaged Goods.
2011/2012 NeuNow Festival of the European League of Institutes of the Arts (ELIA), selected as one of the 10 most promising graduates in fine arts of the year 2011 ‘across Europe and beyond’.
Reviews / interviews
2018 Interview by Albert van der Weide at weblog Arnhem aan Zee.
2017 Het Digitale Kunstmagazine, Art Rotterdam 2017, Young Artists, Harm Weistra. "The large inkjet prints are a blend of found footage of war and conflict, that cause confusion because of a dark gray photographic light and a mix of images."
2016 A Delicate Beauty, Ouchy Film Awards, Lausanne (CH)
2015 The New Current, Iris Prize Shorts 2015, Harm Weistra, Intrinsic Moral Evil
2013 de Volkskrant review of Art Rotterdam Projections: "... all nineteen videos from galleries from The Netherlands and surrounding countries (are) of a sublime quality, top of the bill."
2012 NeuNow, the European League of Institutes of the Arts (ELIA), selected as one of the 10 most promising graduates in fine arts of the 2011 graduates ‘across Europe and beyond’.
2011 Metropolis M online, selected as one of the three most promising graduates in Fine Arts of the 2011 WdKA graduation class.
Publications
2017 De Grote Nederlandse Kunstkalender 2018. Publisher Trichis, Rotterdam; ISBN 978-94-92077-82-0
2017 Toelichting op het werk van Harm Weistra, Mique Eggermont. Tijdschrift TERRAS voor internationale literatuur & kunst
2015 De Grote Amsterdamse Kunstkalender 2016. Publisher Trichis, Rotterdam; ISBN 978-94-92077-24-0
2014 F-STOP, a photography magazine. Issue 67, October – November 2014.
Group Exhibition ‘Happy Accidents’. Participating with the images Amsterdam City view from Duintjer Building, Berlin, City view from Park Hotel and Venice Ponte dell Accademia from the series Curbed Chaos, the Beauty Beneath. F-STOP is an American online magazine.
2013 Attraction of the Opposites, ed. Kiki Petratou; Publisher Nadorst, Rotterdam; ISBN 978-94-90338-00-8 NUR 604
Gallery & collections
Harm Weistra is represented by the Rotterdam-based gallery JOEY RAMONE
His work is included in private collections.
Harm Weistra lives and works in Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Education
2007 – 2011 Bachelor of Fine Arts, Willem de Kooning Academie, Rotterdam (NL)
2009 – 2010 Gerrit Rietveld Academie, Amsterdam (NL)
2003 – 2004 Master in Social Sciences, Awarded with Distinction, Utrecht University (NL)
1994 – 1997 Bachelor in Social Sciences, Utrecht University (NL)
Grants
2019/2020 Stipendium for Established Artists, Mondriaan Fund (Werkbijdrage Bewezen Talent)
2015/2016 Stipendium for Emerging Artists, Mondriaan Fund (Werkbijdrage Jong Talent)
Competitions
Finalist
2018 Winter Edition of the Alternative Film Festival, Toronto (CA)
2018 Utah Dance Film Festival, Center for the Arts, Orem, Utah (US)
2018 European Cinematography AWARDS, Warsaw (PO)
2016 Premio Combat Prize, Livorno (IT)
2015 Iris Prize, Cardiff (GB)
Awards Intrinsic Moral Evil
Best Short Film in various categories:
2019 Audience Award, Dance On Screen Film Festival, Graz (AT)
2019 Best LGBT, The Hague Global Cinema Festival, The Hague (NL)
2019 Best Experimental, Malmö International LGBTQ+ Short Film Festival, Malmö (SE)
2018 Best LGBT, Sierra International Film Weekend, Santa Cruz de la Sierra (BO)
2018 Best LGBT, Short Long World Festival, Corrientes, (AR)
2018 Best LGBT, Whatashort Independent Int. Film Festival, New Delhi (IN)
2018 Best Choreography, Five Continents International Film Festival, Puerto la Cruz (VE)
2018 Best LGBT, Five Continents International Film Festival, Puerto la Cruz (VE)
2018 Best Choreography, MarDelDance on Film Festival, New Jersey (US)
2018 Best Experimental, April Edition Moscow Shorts, Moscow (RU)
2018 Best Dance Film, AltFF Alternative Film Festival, Toronto (CA)
2018 Audience Award, Utah Dance Film Festival, Utah (US)
2017 Best Experimental Cinema, London Indie Film Festival (GB)
2017 Best Cinematography, Portland Dance Film Fest, Portland, OR (US)
2017 Grand Jury Prize, In/Motion Dance Film Festival, Chicago (US)
2017 Audience Favourite, In/Motion Dance Film Festival, Chicago (US)
2017 Best Dance Film, New Renaissance Film Festival, Amsterdam (NL)
2016 Best LGBT, Erie International Film Festival, Pennsylvania (US)
2016 Best LGBT Short, Queen City Film Festival, Cumberland, (US)
2016 Golden Cine Award, Headline International Film Festival (US)
2016 Outstanding Excellence: Choreography, Depth of Field, Nassau (US)
2016 Outstanding Excellence: Editing, Depth of Field, Nassau, (US)
2016 Outstanding Excellence: Cinematography, Depth of Field, Nassau (US)
2016 Best Editing, Short to the Point, Bucharest (RO)
2016 Best Editing, Best Independent Film Festival, Karlsruhe (DE)
2016 Best LGBTQ Short, Paris Play Film Festival (FR)
2016 Best Score, OutlantaCon Short Film Festival, Georgia (US)
2016 In Our image Award, OutlantaCon Short Film Festival, Georgia (US)
2015 Audience's Choice Award at Queer Shots Munich 2015 (DE)
2015 Best Editing at Eindhovens Film Festival, Eindhoven (NL)
2015 People's Choice Award at PiGrecoZen, Ancona (IT)
2015 Best Director of Photography, Paris Art and Movie Awards (FR)
2015 Best International Short Film at MICGénero, Benito Juaréz (MX)
2015 Best LGBT Short at Cannes Short Film Festival (FR)
2015 Best Art/Experimental Film at Sunderland Short Film Festival (GB)
2015 Best Dutch Short Film at Roze Filmdagen, Amsterdam (NL)
2015 Audience Award at Loikka Dance Film Festival, Helsinki (FI)
2014 Best Experimental Short at festival aGLIFF Austin, Texas (US)
2014 Mexican First National Screendance Award at Agite y Sirva –Screendance Touring Festival, Mexico (MX)
Miscellaneous:
2018 Special Mention Cinematography, Five Continents International Film Festival, Puerto la Cruz (VE)
2018 Special Mention Sound Design, Five Continents International Film Festival, Puerto la Cruz (VE)
2018 Special Mention Editing, Five Continents International Film Festival, Puerto la Cruz (VE)
2018 Audience Award 3rd Place, Five Continents International Film Festival, Puerto la Cruz (VE)
2018 Honorable Mention, Jacksonville Dance Film Festival, (US)
2016 Award of Merit, Southern Shorts Awards, Roswell, GA (US)
2016 Award of Merit, International New York Film Festival, (US)
Awards Damaged Goods
2016 Winner Best Experimental Film, Carmarthen Bay Film Festival, Llanelli (GB)
2014 Award of Merit, Indie Fest, La Jolla CA (US) for the video Damaged Goods.
2013 Awarded third price at SurReal || Iberoamerican Videodance Competition, Berlin (DE) for the video Damaged Goods.
2011/2012 NeuNow Festival of the European League of Institutes of the Arts (ELIA), selected as one of the 10 most promising graduates in fine arts of the year 2011 ‘across Europe and beyond’.
Reviews / interviews
2018 Interview by Albert van der Weide at weblog Arnhem aan Zee.
2017 Het Digitale Kunstmagazine, Art Rotterdam 2017, Young Artists, Harm Weistra. "The large inkjet prints are a blend of found footage of war and conflict, that cause confusion because of a dark gray photographic light and a mix of images."
2016 A Delicate Beauty, Ouchy Film Awards, Lausanne (CH)
2015 The New Current, Iris Prize Shorts 2015, Harm Weistra, Intrinsic Moral Evil
2013 de Volkskrant review of Art Rotterdam Projections: "... all nineteen videos from galleries from The Netherlands and surrounding countries (are) of a sublime quality, top of the bill."
2012 NeuNow, the European League of Institutes of the Arts (ELIA), selected as one of the 10 most promising graduates in fine arts of the 2011 graduates ‘across Europe and beyond’.
2011 Metropolis M online, selected as one of the three most promising graduates in Fine Arts of the 2011 WdKA graduation class.
Publications
2017 De Grote Nederlandse Kunstkalender 2018. Publisher Trichis, Rotterdam; ISBN 978-94-92077-82-0
2017 Toelichting op het werk van Harm Weistra, Mique Eggermont. Tijdschrift TERRAS voor internationale literatuur & kunst
2015 De Grote Amsterdamse Kunstkalender 2016. Publisher Trichis, Rotterdam; ISBN 978-94-92077-24-0
2014 F-STOP, a photography magazine. Issue 67, October – November 2014.
Group Exhibition ‘Happy Accidents’. Participating with the images Amsterdam City view from Duintjer Building, Berlin, City view from Park Hotel and Venice Ponte dell Accademia from the series Curbed Chaos, the Beauty Beneath. F-STOP is an American online magazine.
2013 Attraction of the Opposites, ed. Kiki Petratou; Publisher Nadorst, Rotterdam; ISBN 978-94-90338-00-8 NUR 604
Gallery & collections
Harm Weistra is represented by the Rotterdam-based gallery JOEY RAMONE
His work is included in private collections.