Renzo Martens

Renzo Martens is a Dutch artist and filmmaker who currently serves as the Co-Founder and Artistic Director of the Institute for Human Activities (IHA).14 Born in 1973 in Terneuzen, Netherlands, Martens now lives and works in both Amsterdam and Kinshasa.1

Background and Education

Martens studied Political Science at the University of Nijmegen and art at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts (KASK) in Ghent and the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam.1 He has also participated in prestigious programs such as:

• Artist-in-residence at the ISCP program in New York (2010)
• Yale World Fellows Program at Yale University (2013)
• PhD candidate in the arts at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts (KASK) in Ghent1

Notable Works

Martens gained recognition for his controversial work, particularly:

Episode III: Enjoy Poverty (2008):: A documentary suggesting that Congo market their poverty as a natural resource.12

The Institute for Human Activities (IHA):: Founded in 2012, this research project aims to prove that artistic critique can address economic inequalities in real, material terms rather than just symbolically.13

Human Activities and CATPC

As the Artistic Director of Human Activities, Martens collaborates with the Cercle d'Art des Travailleurs de Plantation Congolaise (CATPC), a Congolese artist collective.4 Their work focuses on:

• Establishing an arts center on a former Unilever plantation in Congo
• Creating and selling art to generate income for local communities
• Purchasing exhausted plantation land to create ecological and egalitarian gardens
• Challenging traditional power dynamics between Africa and the West24

Philosophy and Approach

Martens' work often addresses themes of economic inequality, post-colonial dynamics, and the role of art in society. He believes that artistic engagement can have real-world impacts on inequality and aims to redirect the economic benefits of art production to the communities represented in the work.23

Renzo Martens continues to be an influential and sometimes controversial figure in the art world, pushing boundaries and challenging conventional notions of art's role in society and economic development.