Chairmen

Christian Braak

Maarten Doorman

Maarten Doorman is a writer and philosopher and is emeritus professor of German Cultural History on behalf of the DIA at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. He taught cultural philosophy at Maastricht University and is a contributor to NRC. His well-known books include Art in Progress: A Philosophical Response to the End of the Avant-Garde (2003), De romantische orde (2004), Rousseau en ik: Over de erfzonde van de authenticiteit (2012), De navel van Daphne: Over engagement in de kunst (2016), Dichtbij en ver weg: Opstellen over kunst, filosofie en literatuur (2018), and Een jager in het woud: Frankrijk, Duitsland, Europa (2023). In addition, Doorman has published several collections of poetry and has written extensively on art criticism, philosophy, the canon, art, and various social issues.

Peter van der Es

Peter van der Es has a background as a visual artist and curator. He is co-founder and director at Unfair Amsterdam, a biennale, art fair and curating platform through which he sets up various projects with visual artists and institutions. In addition, he is secretary on the board of online art magazine Mister Motley and is active as an advisor to other (cultural) institutions, with a focus on talent development, entrepreneurship and innovation.

Raul Balai

Raul Balai is beeldend kunstenaar- curator. Raul werkte onder ander voor The Black Archives, het Rembrandt Huis, het Rijksmuseum Amsterdam en CBK Amsterdam Zuidoost. Op dit moment is werk van de kunstenaar te zien op Documenta fifteen in Kassel (Duitsland) en Façade 2022 in Middelburg. Tevens is Raul lid van de Raad van Toezicht van danstheatergezelschap Don’t Hit Mama.

Rita Ouédraogo

Rita Ouédraogo is a curator, researcher, moderator and writer with a background in cultural anthropology. Rita is currently curator of the new Buro Stedelijk, writes for Mister Motley, among others. She is involved in various projects as program maker and curator including making museum collections accessible. Rita's work is invluenced by an interest in the African diaspora, the decolonization of organizations, institutional racism, pop culture and social issues.

Sandjai Bhulai

Sandjai Bhulai is professor of Business Analytics at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and has a background in mathematics. He is involved in applying mathematical models, data science and artificial intelligence to help institutions improve business processes. His research is at the intersection of mathematics, computer science and operations management, with a specialization in decision-making under uncertainty. Sandjai is co-founder of the Amsterdam Center for Business Analytics (ACBA), co-founder of the postgraduate program Business Analytics and Data Science, and also co-founder of PersonalAIze.

Youri Appelo

Thomas Bakker

Thomas Bakker is a visual artist. He makes conceptual, site-specific work in which analogue film and sculpture form the main components. His work has been shown in (inter)national museums, art institutions, artist initiatives and in public spaces. His work is in private and public collections at home and abroad. Thomas initiated exhibitions in public spaces and is co-founder of the artist initiative Club Solo in Breda. In addition to his own practice, he was a visual arts advisor at various cultural institutions from 2011. Since 2003 he has been teaching at the visual arts department AKV St. Joost in Breda/Den Bosch and worked on a project basis at the Design Academy, Eindhoven.