Regina Broersma (1972) has worked for many years with great passion and pleasure at Noorderlicht | House of Photography. Her position as the gallery and projects coordinator comes with many challenges. In addition to her job, she also creates her own work as a visual artist. What exactly does her role as coordinator entail?
"I actually see the gallery as a big playground for photography and visual experimentation. Of course, it does have a certain vision. Noorderlicht is an international platform for professional photography. That is also our goal, and we always use that as the basis for what we do.
At Noorderlicht we are actually a documentary and photography club. That's how it started. In the end, it's all about the professional photography with a good story. It is also pretty special that we get it all done with a fairly small club. We are pretty big in the photography field abroad, because our photo event or festival is well known. Many people don't really know the gallery. A little more attention could be paid to that as well.”
"I'm all about making connections. I like establishing links and seeing things that others may not see. Giving people opportunities to create something beautiful with their work. I especially like that about my role! As a coordinator you must be able to see the big picture. You are putting together an exhibit, but what is the best way to do it? Who are you going to ask for that? As coordinator, I have to keep an eye on all these links and lines. That's actually my job. I've learned how to do it over the years. God, how long have I been doing this anyway?"
"Really? For so long? I'm a gallery coordinator now, of course, but I was also a festival coordinator for a while, until last year. I am phasing out this second job and passing it on to others. I also want to spend some time on my own photography, mixed media and film. I haven't been able to do anything with that in a while. In my studio in Het Paleis I have so much left. Fortunately, I can start spending more time on that now.”
"Well, how I got to Noorderlicht is a funny story. During my studies I worked at Simplon, where my love for music and photography actually began. Someone from Noorderlicht was looking for people through Minerva who wanted to work at the festival. They were still in the USVA at the time. My work consisted mainly of sending out invitations, attaching stickers, framing and counter work. I really hate framing, haha. Then we got the gallery at the Akerkhof, and I started coordinating the desk in the gallery and at the festival. That's how it got rolling. I actually kind of got sucked into Noorderlicht.”
"It's all about good listening. That's the most important feature. Listening to what people have to say and knowing how to translate that into something useful. And not being afraid to say when you think something is not a good idea. So, not being afraid to make decisions. Sometimes it is a difficult job, because you work with many different people and therefore have to process a lot of information. It's all about seeing what's happening and listening to what's being said. That also means that if things aren't going well somewhere, you have to know how to shift things quickly to the right direction.”
"Yes, it's a lot, but then again it's a lot of fun! Otherwise I wouldn't have stayed here for so long. I just have a really big soft spot for Noorderlicht. And for photography in particular, of course. Through networking and maintaining lines of communication, I can also easily arrange things. So, a coordinating position suits me well. Some things are just a phone call away from being handled. That's the fun part of my job. Connecting things. If someone asks, ‘Hey, how do we do that?’ Then I quickly have ideas about how we can make it happen. And because I'm the go-getter type, I immediately start working on it. You also have to stay calm and not let yourself get crazy.”
"I see myself running the gallery onto the right track. Because in my opinion it needs a little more attention. That means that when I go to an exhibit, I look at what works best. From laying out and supervising the content to implementing this in practice. We also have several other projects. Currently, those are a collaboration with OPERA SPANGA and possibly something else in Veenhuizen."
"In what I have portrayed at Noorderlicht you can indeed see my own predilections ... Dark worlds, mythology and a kind of melancholy." Regina Broersma
"That again has to do with that click we have and the trust. So maybe that's it. Then it's funny to see that the first photographer I brought in, Lasse Hoile, is also very much into the dark side of things, just like me. He is also a photographer and filmmaker, and I knew his work because we have so much in common. Dark worlds, mythology and a kind of melancholy that we employ. When you say that about Rahi, I immediately think of the click I had with Lasse. You can definitely see certain preferences of mine reflected in what I have done at Noorderlicht. All three of us also happen to be metalheads, so that's kind of funny too.”
“Yes, because we very often have such special exhibits, and they are gone after a few weeks sometimes. Then you frequently hear, ‘Oh did you guys have that?’ Yes, we definitely had it. And I think that’s a pity and a shame, because we have some really cool stuff. And we’re often the first to have it. Perhaps we are too down-to-earth as Groningers and therefore too modest. Actually, we should show off Noorderlicht a bit more. We do all this purely because we think it's important, because we love photography.”