Series: Han Nefkens

From the moment that art freed itself from the rules of craftsmanship and moved towards the methods of science there have been benefactors; people with money who supported artists in their uncertain search for the possibilities of the image. The men of the De Medici family - in particular Cosimo, Piero and Lorenzo - have become famous. From the 15th century, they awarded challenging commissions in Italy to artists such as Fra Angelico, Sandro Botticello and Michelangelo Buonarotti. Thanks to these commissions, the artistic talents of these artists could reach maturity. In the Netherlands, Helène Kröller-Müller is well known for her faith in the importance of modern, and sometimes even completely abstract art. With her financial support, Piet Mondriaan and Bart van der Leck were able to take the most important steps in their development in or around 1918. Writer and collector Han Nefkens (1954) has been called a modern benefactor. He prefers to call himself an art activist. Nefkens works in collaboration with Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen and supports innovative artists, fashion designers, young curators and non-Western artists. In addition, he is active in his support of Aids research. This series contains an interview with Han Nefkens by Hanneke Groentenman and examples of projects that were undertaken by his organisation H+F. Gerald van der Kaap, Pipilotti Rist and Walter Van Beirendonck and others make their own contribution.