independent curator / cultural strategist
Strangely Familiar
For the Rotterdam-based exhibition space Het Archief Artspace I curated the exhibition Strangely Familiar.
The works in Strangely Familiar invite you to look closely - at the small, the fragile and the ever-changing. Seven artists explore the theme of transformation in their own way: through growth, decay, care, matter and memory.
From large installations to small wearable objects, video and biomaterials, both natural and artificial elements - oysters, seeds, glass, seaweed and bioplastics - interact. All works create a connection between humans, microscopic life forms and an almost supernatural world. Together they form a breathing archive that feels both strange as familiar.
- Vera da Costa
- Lore Pilzecker
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Marieke Peeters
- Pihla Pellinen
- Lorena Rode
- Jeltje Schuurmans
- Bas Oussoren
Colophon
Curator: Hannah van den Elzen
Art direction, photography, graphic design: Studio Evert.
Public programme: Giuliana di Dato
Production: Valentijn Joosten
With thanks to: Herman Lamers
Exhibitions in Het Archief Artspace are made possible by: SKAR Ateliers, CBK Rotterdam, Voor de Kunst, Fleur Groenendijk Foundation. With thanks to Herman Lamers, Hannah van den Elzen, Eva Welten.
Ruins & Renewal
What is the impact of industrial activities on ecological resilience? How can we redesign the harmony between humans and nature?
The exhibition Ruins & Renewal invites you to reflect upon your role in the ecosystem. Through speculative stories, landscape interventions, an ecosphere that evolves over the course of a month at Het Archief Artspace, or a new perspective on our surroundings and its animals - all artists in this exhibition explore the thorough relationship between humans and the earth.
Delve into new worlds, historical elements combined with scientific insights, and discover the impact of human activities on our landscape. How do the echoes of our past merge with visions on a (sustainable) future?
- Timaeus
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Erik Peters
-
Thomas Meijerman
-
Rui de Boer
- Deep Time Agency (Miriam Sentler & Wouter Osterholt)
Colophon
Concept and curator: Hannah van den Elzen
Art direction, photogrphy and graphic design: Eva Welten (Studio Evert)
Producer: Valentijn Joosten
With thanks to: Herman Lamers
Exhibitions in Het Archief Artspace are supported by: SKAR Ateliers, CBK Rotterdam, Voor de Kunst and Duvel. With thanks to Herman Lamers, Hannah van den Elzen and Eva Welten.
The Naked Truth
Immerse yourself in the stories that shape who we are. The exhibition The Naked Truth takes you on a journey through memory and selfhood. By reconstructing nostalgic moments, this group exhibition illuminates both the challenges and possibilities that shape our self-understanding.
The artists Daan Kamphorst, Rosalie Wammes and Sander Coers reflect on their personal history, while Daleen Bloemers explores the impact of a distorted self-image, and the artist Eline Schellekens reconstructs her day of birth in an innovative way - in search of meaningful self-insight.
The Naked Truth invites you to explore the nonlinear experiences of life. As the past and present unite, human existence in all its complexity will be unveiled.
- Daleen Bloemers
- Daan Kamphorst
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Eline Schellekens
- Rosalie Wammes
- Sander Coers
Colophon
Concept and curator: Hannah van den Elzen
Art direction, photography, graphic design: Studio Evert.
Exhibitions in Het Archief Artspace are made possible by: SKAR Ateliers, CBK Rotterdam and Oedipus Brewing. With special thanks to Herman Lamers, Hannah van den Elzen, Eva Welten.
XTRNL
In 2019 I developed a conceptual jewel called the XTRNL, which was showcased in the exhibition Body Control: Jewellery and Fashion at the boundaries of the Human Body at Museum Arnhem.
What if we would be able to expand our brain capacity in the (near) future with the help of one single gadget? What if this jewel would become a luxury item - enhancing our neocortex while simultaneously affecting our limbic system? The speculative jewel XTRNL (2019) explores a possible future in which (some) humans can technologically modify their bodies. This project originates from earlier research into designer DNA, transhumanist developments and its possibly dystopic future.
This exhibition was curated by Anne-Karlijn van Kesteren and showcased the works of Iris van Herpen, Imme van der Haak, Lauren Kalkman, Ted Noten among many others. The exhibition was designed by Maison the Faux. Photography (left) Eva Broekema. Photography (right): Hannah van den Elzen, model: Nikki Giessen.
READ
News
Selection of interviews, articles and podcasts
→ Curatorial voice: Hannah van den Elzen x Current Obsession Magazine
→ Video interview on Radio Het Archief
→ Operator Radio’s Mildy Urgent Matters w/ CQC x The Naked Truth
→ Podcast ‘Inside the Mind of A Curator’ x Rotterdam Art Week
→ NPO Radio 1 interview about The Naked Truth
→ NPO Cultuur about The Naked Truth
→ Recorded interview Radio Brutus x Mesh Print Club
→ Poem published in NRC as part of International Poetry Festival
→ Published poem in Werklicht: 100 kunstenaars en dichters op Katendrecht
Writing
Selection of written articles and interviews with fellow artists
→ Miloš Trakilović (CLOT Magazine)
→ Monali Meher
→ Venus Jasper
→ Jaasir Linger
→ Valentina Gal
→ Nanno Simonis
→ Sweet Scope studio
About
Hannah van den Elzen (she/her) is a Rotterdam-based independent curator of Contemporary Art and Cultural Strategist (PR, Marketing & Organisation in the arts)
She is currently re-writing her biography, which will appear on this page soon. Stay tuned!
Want to collaborate? → hello@hannahvdelzen.com
CV
(CURATED) EXHIBITIONS ↓
2026, Interface @ Rotterdam Art Week
2025, Strangely Familiar @ Het Archief Artspace
2025, Crafted Gems @ Schiehavenhallen (part of Obsessed! Festival 2025)
2025, Flesh Remembers @ Het Archief Artspace
2025, Ruins & Renewal @ Het Archief Artspace
2025. The Naked Truth @ Het Archief Artspace
2024, Radio Brutus x Mesh Print Club
2023, On Repetition x Mesh Print Club @ Garage Rotterdam
2021, Collage works @ Scandinavian Art & Design
2021, Sculptures on display in The Mass Awakening
2021, TransformAction, Nieuwe Instituut, Rotterdam
2021, Publieke werken, Rotterdam
2020, Body Control, Museum Arnhem
2018, Beyond Dada and the Stijl - Museum DR888, Drachten
(ONGOING) PROJECTS ↓
2026/now, Operations Manager @ Current Obsession Magazine
2025/now, Marketing & PR @ Rotterdam Art Week
2025/now, Co-founder @ Het Archief Artspace
2025/now, Marketing Manager @ Speels Collectief
2025, Production/coördination for GEMZ exhibition @ Kunstfabriek (Current Obsession)
2021/26, Head of communication @ Garage Rotterdam
2025, Marketing & PR @ Emerging Exits
2022/23, Head of Marketing & Communication @ FIBER Festival
EDUCATION ↓
2024, Independent Curator (course) @ Central Saint Martins, London
2021, Minor in Visual Culture, Willem de Kooning Academy, Rotterdam
2017/21, BA in Transformation Design, Willem de Kooning Academy, Rotterdam
2021, Graphic design - Camberwell, University of the Arts, London
2020, Copywriting (course) - Versdenkers, Rotterdam