Dekoor Close Harmony, world champion of choir music in the jazz, pop and gospel categories, will hold a big jubilee concert in the Grote Zaal of TivoliVredenburg on 8 July 2025. Dekoor is looking for a Utrecht-based creator to design and create a set for the hall for this concert.
Theme of the concert
For 40 years, hundreds of singing students have contributed to the unique identity of Dekoor, which occupies a prominent place in the (amateur) choir world and the Utrecht cultural landscape. A jubilee naturally involves looking back. At Dekoor, that retrospective consists mainly of traditions. Broadly speaking, those traditions for Dekoor are:
- Connecting with each other through choral singing
- Aiming for the maximum level
- Student choir
- Enriching Utrecht together with audiences and partners
While Dekoor has many traditions to celebrate, there have also been transformations. The culture of Dekoor has changed, with more attention and love for each other. The conductors and directors have changed, creating a new sound and image. The language has changed, to welcome new Dutch people as well. And that did not always go without struggle.
This tension between tradition and transition is felt not only by Dekoor, but by many. Traditions and transitions are both to be celebrated and to be mourned. To laugh and to cry. To oppose, or to embrace.
Who and what are we looking for?
- You will create large-format work that ties in with our theme and can influence the atmosphere of the entire Grote Zaal.
- We are open to different disciplines. Whether you work with digital techniques or textiles.
- You may interpret the term “set design” broadly. We find it interesting if the work provides a connection between the stage area and the audience area. We also have the possibility of hiring a large projection screen, should you wish to use it.
- We are open to both new and existing work. Or an adaptation of existing work. In doing so, look carefully at what is possible within the budget.
- Your work should be relatively easy to install, and you should require only minimal technical support from Dekoor and TivoliVredenburg to do so.
- You live or work mainly in Utrecht. Or you have some other close relationship with the city.
Conditions
- You will receive a fee consisting of €2500 including VAT for the work and €1000 including VAT for production costs.
- You may also respond as a collective, though the budget remains the same.
- During the process, you will work in collaboration with Dekoor's director Marjolein Marzacu to ensure that the set design fits into the thematic line of the concert and that the set design reinforces (and does not impede) the choir's choreography. You may also have contact, through Dekoor, with TivoliVredenburg.
- You should be available all day on 8 July. Installation times will be communicated later. There is a lot of set-up and soundcheck happening during that day, please indicate what you need for the installation of the project.
- From TivoliVredenburg: Set pieces should be impregnated so they are not flammable. If you want to hang pieces, it is good to take sightlines into consideration.
Plus (not required)
- You've worked with stages before.
- You use/have knowledge of projection techniques, such as projection mapping, in your artistic practice.
- You will be available on April 8th for a possible site visit.
Do you want to apply? Send the following information before Sunday, March 9th, 2025 to opencall@dekoor.nl
- A brief description of your initial ideas for the set. Consider at least:
- Photos if it concerns existing work, or a mood board if it concerns new work
- Link to the theme
- The medium/material you work with
- The size of the work
- Feasibility
- Preliminary budget (it does not have to be final yet, but we would like to know approximately how you want to use the budget). - Portfolio / CV (Doesn't have to be exhaustive. Introduce yourself and pick the projects that say something about why you are interesting for this particular project.)
In the middle of March, Suitable candidates will receive an invitation for a video interview. After the final selection, a work agreement will be drawn up between both parties.
