Female Voices in Art: Charlotte Rulkens, Assistant Curator at the Mauritshuis, The Hague
“There still is a lot of implicit gender bias, and I think that it is very important for everyone to become aware of this and act upon it in order to achieve gender equality. Naturally, this is a society-wide issue, not limited to the art world."
Charlotte C. S. Rulkens (b. 1991, Leiden, The Netherlands) is Assistant Curator at the Mauritshuis in The Hague. She earned her B.A. in Art History from the University of Amsterdam and her M.A. Curating Art and Cultures from the University of Amsterdam and the VU University, with a specialization in Dutch seventeenth-century flower painting and the relationship between art and science. Before joining the Mauritshuis in 2016, she worked as Curatorial Trainee at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and as Ayesha Bulchandani-Mathrani Research Intern at The Frick Collection in New York. At the Mauritshuis, she contributed to the exhibitions Slow Food: Still lifes of the Golden Age and National Trust - Dutch Masters from British Country Houses and was curator of the exhibition Rembrandt and the Mauritshuis that was organized on occasion of the Rembrandt Year 2019. Currently she works as curator and project manager on the renewal of the Prince William V Gallery, a second location of the Mauritshuis in The Hague .
Could you tell us something about your role in the art world?
I am Assistant Curator at the Mauritshuis in The Hague.
What did you enjoy about being a part of this project?
I very much enjoyed the fact that I was asked spontaneously by Carla, and her making the photo at an improvised studio at the hotel in Maastricht where she was staying during TEFAF in 2020. I admire the kind of freedom you have as photographer to be able to work anywhere, as long as you have your camera with you.
Do you have a favourite artist?
I do not have one favourite. It very much depends on the context, my mood and in which capacity I am looking at art – professionally or from a private point of view. I feel like I can enjoy art from outside my own specialism more unrestrained and spontaneous, like contemporary art, film and literature for example. It is a disadvantageous form of deformation by the job. But that does not take away my love for seventeenth century Dutch painting, and Rembrandt in particular.
What is your earliest memory involving art?
I remember being blown away by my first visit to the Guggenheim in New York as a child. I was fascinated by architecture, made drawings of buildings I liked and created my own designs.
Do you have any special thoughts about the position of women in the art world?
There still is a lot of implicit gender bias, and I think that it is very important for everyone to become aware of this and act upon it in order to achieve gender equality. Naturally, this is a society-wide issue, not limited to the art world.
What are you wearing, and is there a story behind it?
I am wearing a silk dress, that has no particular story behind it. Since the shoot was planned spontaneously, I did not choose it specifically for the Artfully Dressed project.
What impact has the current health crisis had on your daily practice?
Other than the consequences of the lockdowns everyone experienced, the crisis and the abrupt change in circumstances made me reflect even more on the role and significance of the museum in society, but also on my own ambitions in this regard.
Has it changed your views on Art?
It has not changed my views on art, but did evoke a lot of creativity to transform the ways of reaching our audiences as a museum.
Are you creating new initiatives and ways of working?
One of the issues in which I am creating initiatives, is the question how to involve young professionals in decision-making committees, institutions and boards to make sure their fresh views and creative ideas are heard and implemented. Bringing about this cross-generational influence takes courage from both fully accomplished professionals as well as those early in their careers.
