SCENOGRAPHY & EXHIBITION
SUBVERT THE ORDINARY
Todd van Hulzen is an exhibitionist. At his design studio a shameless love of history and beauty are harnessed to help you set the scene for lasting memories.
Todd van Hulzen Design is an Amsterdam based multifaceted design studio specialized in showing off: creating museum exhibitions, visitor experiences, design presentations, exhibit furnishings, art objects and theatrical environments. We combine vision with pragmatism and fantasy with professionalism.
Services
Exhibitions can be emotional experiences: when done right. Let us help you create a compelling visitor journey without losing sight of your institutional principles. We offer display solutions for all budgets, innovative concepts, […read further]
If you require an unusual film set you need a broadly experienced designer. Todd van Hulzen has 25 years of film experience. He’s built on his love of historic architecture to become the go-to guy for the design of period sets […read further]
No project gets pulled perfectly formed out of a hat. We can help you do early development for vision-statements, fundraising, PR or just brainstorming. With our partners we make workshops, presentations, proposals and brochures […read further]
Producing a large project doesn’t have to be a leap of faith. With our dependable partners we have all the tools to create not only scenography, but also research, content, graphics, construction and project coordination […read further]
NEW News
RECENT POSTS
Animation of the old Haarlem Gate, Amsterdam
My recent post on Twitter with this animation of the old Haarlem Gate designed by Hendrick de Keyser garnered a fair amount of interest. I’ve posted it here, now in higher resolution, to be able to enjoy it more. During
3D Models of Vanished Amsterdam Buildings
Todd van Hulzen has always been a big fan of the Amsterdam architect Hendrick de Keyser. De Keyser was city’s master architect in the first half of the 17th century and is responsible for many distinctive buildings and beloved landmarks,
Harlequin mannequins
We are calling the festive dressing models in this video “Harlequin Mannequins”. But having been originally made in Holland for an exhibition about Carnival where the diamond shape was used as a recurring motif, they also get the Dutch dialect name
It’s all in the details: Neo-Gothic explorations
You never really give up on your old loves. While rebuilding my website recently I came across a lot of old drawings and research material from past projects that made my heart flutter. For the series ‘Sanctuary’, a Canadian Sci-Fi/fantasy
Revisioning Amsterdam’s Dam Square
In 2016 the Amsterdam daily newspaper Het Parool began a conversation about the city’s central square, the Dam, or “Dam Square” as tour guides call it. Originally built as a proper dam in the Amstel River giving the medieval town
Game of Goose, the LGBT-refugee version
For the exhibition Pride & Prejudice (see below), a show about the creative lives of LGBT refugees in the Netherlands, we conceived and created a board game. It was in the form of a “Game of Goose”, an old European
old news
RANDOMIZED POSTS
Remembering the Submarine K XVIII in the Navy Museum
For the Dutch Navy Museum in Den Helder we created a kind of memorial display for a bit of neglected, but no less glorious, history. In cooperation with the Technical University in Delft the Navy Museum aspired to tell the
Installation opens for the exhibit “Gold” at the Museum Catherijne Convent in Utrecht.
The third unveiling this year is “Goud” (or Gold) at the Catherijne Convent in Utrecht. The Catherijne Convent is the museum of eccliastical heritage in the Netherlands, and by extension also a podium for the ritualistic and medieval. It is known for
Furniture and Interactive Wall for the Bonnefantenmuseum
For the Bonnefantenmuseum in Maastricht TvH created designs for an interactive “mosaic wall” and a number of collapsible furniture units. The wall consists of magnetic tiles printed with imagery chosen out of the collection of the museum. The Bonnefantenmuseum has
Museum Broekerveiling, phase I: “The Auction Day”
The first phase of Museum Broekerveiling’s debut as an important new regional museums is finished. “The Auction Day”, an installation found in the visitor’s center/museum of the Broekerveiling, is a first introduction to life in the Realm of 1000 islands,
Queen Beatrix opens “de Westerstraat” at the National Open Air Musem
Queen Beatrix opened a new exhibit at the Open Air Museum in Arnhem this week. “The Westerstraat” is a reconstruction, or rather a ‘reassemblage’ of a group of buildings from Amsterdam’s Jordaan district, in particular the old slums in the
4 visions of Dutch prehistory
The museum of the province of Drenthe in the Netherlands wanted to create a vision statement for the future. This was part of an extensive, long term fund raising project. For hypothetical exhibitions on prehistory in the Netherlands Todd van
who is Tvh?
From a little studio in Amsterdam Zuid Todd is conquering the world of museum design. At least, that’s the idea.
todd a van hulzen
designer
Todd van Hulzen (1967) hails from the state of Oregon in the U.S. from a family of Dutch Reformed rancher-farmers. He studied history and art in Portland, Oregon (Lewis & Clark College.) After an initial stay in the Netherlands in 1989 and in Italy after that he settled permanently in Amsterdam in 1999. He returns yearly to Klamath County, Oregon to work on his cabin.
After an early career as a fine artist and sculptor in the film world Todd moved on to be a designer of film sets, with as a specialty period architecture and design. As Art-Director/Set-Designer Todd designed film sets for the Oscar nominated films Girl with a Pearl Earring and Fantastic Mr. Fox. Recent Dutch productions are Bloed, zweet en tranen, Michiel de Ruyter en de western Brimstone. Since 2007 he has turned towards the museum world as an exhibition designer. In his own words, “the scientific side to museums gave me something that I could never get from the fiction of film.”
At Todd van Hulzen Design it’s all about making unforgettable experiences and inspiring emotions such as admiration, amazement, and self recognition. We love to help people discover how awesome the world is.
The love of a museum for it’s collection is something we admire. We encourage clients to rediscover the beauty of their own missions. Yet, making an exhibition that is also an artistic sensation in itself is the designer’s valhalla. So let’s combine the two!
Here’s a guide to a proper work strategy when making an exhibition:
- Immersion
You begin designing a space by first immersing yourself in the content. Draw everything you can out of historic and scientific material. Draw connections and dare to make thematic leaps. - Integration
Make sure that you can unite as many exhibit elements as possible under one umbrella: graphics, multimedia, architecture, PR and story. Encourage as much cross-pollination as possible. - Distillation
Distill all the themes into one visual brand; if possible one that represents your narrative in a nutshell and one that visitors can have an emotional bond with. Couple it to a slogan. - Respect
Value the building and its history and keep the unique mission of the institution in high regard. Don’t let an exhibition clash with its surroundings. Remember accessibility. - Visitor orientation
Make sure the design answers basic questions of orientation:
Where. Where am I? Where am I within the whole and what is my next step? (Give a clear structure)
Why. Why am I here? What draws me onward. (Reward curiosity with amazement)
What. What is the key question? (Make the raison-d’être of the exhibition apparent)
How. How is my world view changing? (Effective means of communication)
Todd keeps up an Instagram feed where he shares his observations over art, design and museums.
Contact
Come visit Todd at the studio in Amsterdam’s De Pijp, or call for an appointment to see a presentation
- Studio / Atelier
- Lutmastraat 191D, 1074 TV Amsterdam
- +31 626196137
- Postal Correspondence
- 2e Wittenburgerdwarsstraat 172, 1018 LP Amsterdam
- info@vanhulzen.com