Vincent van Velsen is a curator, writer and editor with a background in art and architectural history. Since February 2025 he is the Head of Exhibitions at Eye Filmmuseum, Amsterdam. Prior to this appointment, he was the Curator of Contemporary Art and Photography at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, where he took care of the museum’s acclaimed collection and curated solo exhibitions by Anne Imhof, Nan Goldin, Ellen Gallagher and Nora Turato. Alongside his position Van Velsen curated exhibitions at the Dutch national museum for architecture, design and digital culture Nieuwe Instituut, Rotterdam (Submerged Heritage, 2023) and national museum for religious art Museum Catharijneconvent (Christianity and Slavery, 2024). Van Velsen regularly writes for individual artists, institutions, catalogues and magazines; most notably Dutch contemporary art magazine Metropolis M where he also holds a position as contributing editor. Furthermore, Van Velsen was a member of the curatorial team at sonsbeek20→24, board member at De Appel Amsterdam, advisor to the municipality of Amsterdam and chair of several committees at the Mondriaan Fund.
In 2015 curator Vincent van Velsen realised the exhibition exclude / include Alternate Histories at H401. This exhibition took a critical stance towards history, wherein decisions about in- and exclusion of narratives, ideas, individuals and groups are emphasized and brought into contact with alternative views on common ideas – taking into account that no (hi)story emphasizes the true, correct or complete version. With an impressive range of artists from various backgrounds excluding / including Alternate Histories was realised and it is still to be considered as an important and still, highly actual research. Vincent van Velsen realised other projects with similar research that shine light on the NL discourse of post-colonialism:
In his pilot training opening, Vincent highlighted the importance of creating safer spaces as a way to open up new perspectives and narratives — a goal that lies at the heart of TCZ’s mission.
