ZERO on Sea
“Zero is silence. Zero is the beginning. Zero is round. Zero spins. Zero is the moon. The sun is Zero. Zero is white. The desert Zero. The sky above Zero. The night.” – Otto Piene, Heinz Mack, Günther Uecker – 1963
Heinz Mack, fotocollage in ZERO 3.
Halfway through the fifties, an influential, international art movement was born, called ZERO. The ZERO movement was a progressive movement that wanted to separate itself from the heaviness after the years of war. ZERO is a group of young artists that found each other in their optimistic, utopic and innovative perspective on life. Artists from all around the globe where part of this ZERO movement, and also in The Hague, ZERO (Nul) had a strong representation.
ZERO wanted to break with the established principles regarding what art should look like. The movement saw a strong relationship with society and its environment, – earth, wind, fire, water – and used new, common materials that had become available through technological progress. Revolutionary in that time was that ZERO-artists were as much ‘researchers’, ‘entrepreneurs’, ‘scientists’ and ‘curators’ as they were ‘artists’.
In 1965, exactly 50 years ago, The Pier was the main site for a large scale, open-air multimedia art manifestation: ZERO on Sea, with plans for installations, performances, soundworks, music, video and even theater. However, because of financial difficulties and bad weather conditions, the event was postponed to spring 1966 and eventually even cancelled.
“ZERO on Sea” photo montage by Henk Peeters using works by Gianni Colombo, Hans Haacke, Heinz Mack, 1965
Venues
The Pier
The Pier, an architectural and technical highlight from 1959, is not just an icon for the Netherlands; it is also well-known outside our country. Millions of people have memories of The Pier. In October 2014, The Pier was bought by two groups; KondorWessels Vastgoed (VolkerWessels) and DanZep. The Pier is the main venue of TodaysArt festival 2015, all different Islands will be used as part of the festival.
Address:
Strandweg (op de pier)
2586 JK Scheveningen
E.ON Electriciteitsfabriek 
In 2013 E.ON and Stichting Electriciteitsfabriek turned this industrial hall into an artistic hub. A large part of the factory is still active, but the former turbine hall (40x40x60 meters) has not been in use for 30 years. During TodaysArt the Electriciteitsfabriek provides the ideal space for the 4DSOUND program.
Address:
De Constant Rebecqueplein 20
2518 RA The Hague
Grand Hotel Amrâth Kurhaus 
The Kurhaus was build in 1818. This monumental hotel was always known for its allure and high-end guests. Nowadays it is part of the Amrâth Hotel Group and it still has one of the best sea views of Scheveningen. The Kurhaus will be the location for the official opening and the opening performances of TodaysArt 2015.
Address:
Gevers Deynootplein 30
2586 CK The Hague
