A Tale of A Tub is a non-profit institution for contemporary art and culture located in the former washhouse and bathhouse of the Justus van Effen complex in Spangen, Rotterdam. The complex was designed in 1922 by Dutch architect Michiel Brinkman as a social housing project for the city’s dock workers, and is named after the eighteenth-century journalist, italic writer and translator Justus van Effen (who, importantly, translated the political satire A Tale of A Tub to Dutch for the first time).

Throughout the complex—which now has heritage status and continues to function as an apartment block—modernist ideals of rationalism and functionalism are reflected in the self-sufficiency of the building and the sense of community emphasised through architectural planning. In this way, and when in operation, the bathhouse and washhouse formed the centrepiece of the complex, and was a place where residents met to bathe and launder together.

As the only contemporary art space in Spangen and inspired by the historical, communal and residential functions of our location, A Tale of A Tub works with artists, curators, writers and practitioners from various fields of research to develop projects that are intersectional in nature and often based on research and dialogue with the neighbourhood. As such, our program draws on the social impulse of the site, developing exhibitions, events, education initiatives and publishing projects to bring a range of people, places and (urgent) ideas into conversation through art.
 
A Tale of A Tub was founded in 2014 by Nathanja van Dijk and Suzanne Wallinga and was directed in partnership with Fleur van Muiswinkel and Carolyn Drake Kandiyoti. Between 2019–2021, the institution was jointly directed by Julia Geerlings and Niekolaas Johannes Lekkerkerk and from 2022–23 Julia Geerlings was the sole director and curator. As of 2024, A Tale of A Tub is run by artistic director Isabelle Sully and business director Sofie Post.
 
A Tale of A Tub is structurally supported by the Mondriaan Fonds and Rotterdamse Cultuurplan (Gemeente Rotterdam). We additionally receive project-specific support from a range of funding bodies including Cultuurfonds, VriendenLoterij Fonds/Stichting Doen, Stichting Stokroos, CBK Rotterdam and Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds.

Our annual reports for 2021 and 2022 are available here and here. A Tale of A Tub is a member of De Zaak Nu and holds ABNI status.

Team

Artistic Director
Isabelle Sully
isabelle@a-tub.org
 
Business Director
Sofie Post
sofie@a-tub.org
 
Education Curator
Lisanne Janssen
lisanne@a-tub.org
 
Graphic Design
Sabo Day
 
Project Coordinator
Erika Roux
erika@a-tub.org
 
Volunteer Coordinator
Christen Faver
christen@a-tub.org
 
Translation
Harriet Foyster (English) and Mirjam Linschooten (Dutch)

Website Programmer
Ronja Andersen
 
Installation Technicians
Tomi Hilsee
and Ramón Jiménez Cárdenas
 
Hosts

Raissa Bonfanti
Ligia Cristea
Miriam Del Seppia
Noëlle van den Dungen
Marina Eroshenko
Marin de Heij
Vivien Hollo
Antonina Iakovleva
Zhanna Laka
Edith Lee
Madison Leah Turner
Maia Liu
Alexandra Lyudkovskaya
Madara Sīmane
Amishi Singhal
Akvile Slegeryte
Can Toksoy
Vanda Vlasicova
Alina Sing-Cih Wang
Amishi Singhal
Tutu Xinyi Guo
Lisa Zakharova
Tianyi Zheng

Supervisory Board

Norbert De Munnik (Chair)

D.O.B: 24-12-1953

Chair of the board since 2016

Justice at the Criminal Court of Appeal, Amsterdam 

Board member of Hustai National Park Trust
Member of the Advisory Board of Nationaal Park De Hoge Veluwe
Board Member of Stichting Collectie De Stadshof
Board
Member of Stichting Chimbo
 
Jessy Koeiman (Member)

D.O.B: 18-09-1991

Member of the board since 2022

Visual artist
Curator Collective Learning at Kunstinsituut Melly, Rotterdam
 
Vinod Singh (Member)

D.O.B: 02-11-1979

Member of the board since 2020

Freelance communication advisor in arts and culture

Member of the Supervisory Board at Bimhuis, Amsterdam

Member of the Monitoring Committee at Raad voor Cultuur

Vacancies

There are currently no vacancies at A Tale of A Tub, however we always welcome enquiries about joining our volunteer team. 


Volunteers

We are always searching for enthusiastic volunteers. You will be part of a small team and you will come into contact with a lot of artists and people from the art field. We are looking for people who are interested in art and how art can contribute to our understanding of present-day sociopolitical issues. We are also looking for people who enjoy and are interested in conversing with visitors. Practically, volunteers need to be available a minimum amount of three times per exhibition. An exhibition runs for two–three months and A Tale of A Tub is open on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 1–6pm. Volunteers receive a volunteer fee of €4,50 per hour.

If interested, do not hesitate to send a short motivation and CV to christen@a-tub.org and we will contact you soon.