Tilburg artist Tommy van der Loo wins Brabant Culture Prize

Tilburg artist Tommy van der Loo has won the Cultural Prize of the Noord-Brabant Cultural Fund. The prize is awarded to a person or organization that has made a special effort for the culture and/or nature of Brabant. The Cultural Fund did not want to announce the news until next week, but Omroep Brabant found out earlier. The sculptor himself is completely surprised: “I didn’t know what to say for a moment, what do you mean?”

Overwhelmed and amazed. Those are the words Tommy uses to describe his feelings upon hearing the news. The prize includes a small retrospective of his work in a Brabant museum, the location is not yet known. He will also receive a sum of 10,000 euros to invest in his visual work.

Emerging artist
“I am very proud to receive the award, but although I have been working for a long time, I really did not expect this.” Van der Loo is an emerging artist; his work was purchased by Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam and he had an exhibition at the Kunsthal. He also created a temporary memorial for the abolition of slavery in Eindhoven and is still fighting for the final work of art. Yet he is not nearly as well known to the general public as previous winners, such as Piet Hein Eek and René Daniëls.

“That’s why I really didn’t see it coming. But I’m very happy with it,” he says. “It is a huge compliment to read it like this. A real compliment to my work. They indicated that they find the formal language of my images, the narrative power and the way in which I question things very appealing.” The Cultural Fund itself does not want to share the jury report yet and will wait with a substantive response until they officially announce the news.

Tommy studied sculpture at the art academy in Tilburg and art history at Radboud University. “I sometimes work almost scientifically, I ask questions and do research. But of course I can also actually work it out and work with my hands.”

Racism and discrimination
The documentary ‘Spiegelbeeld’ about his work was previously published by Omroep Brabant. In this documentary he explores the influence of superiority thinking, racism and color in his life. His mother is from Curaçao and his father from Udenhout. His father is also a sculptor.

Tommy was born and raised in Udenhout. He has had several experiences with discrimination and incorporates them into his sculptures. Identity and image are important to him: how do you look at the other person, and how does the other person look at you? In the documentary Tommy also made an image of a brother from Tilburg. The brothers of Tilburg form a brotherhood who have provided education worldwide and continue to do so. Tommy delved deep into this history and discovered many parallels with his own life. His parents also have a link with the brothers: his father made a sculpture about them and his mother received lessons from the brothers.

“The documentary on Omroep Brabant certainly contributed to the fame of my work and perhaps also to winning the prize. One of the committee members had seen the broadcast and is also involved with the brothers of Tilburg, and that’s when the ball started rolling,” he says.

Performance pressure
In addition to the great happiness of winning the prize, Tommy also experiences the downside: pressure to perform. “It is very nice and honorable to receive an award, but you also have to live up to it. The artist’s life is difficult; sometimes things go very well, but that offers no guarantees. I am also regularly told no; in fact, you have to audition again every time. That makes everything uncertain and I do not have a stable income. That is why I still teach two days a week at the Ruivenmavo in Berkel-Enschot, so that I have a basis for my family. It remains an uncertain existence.”