Work With Me
There are several ways to work with me. I give lectures and teach, present and host, play records, lend my voice, write on commission, curate programmes, work with people on their dreams, and advise artists and organisations. Below is what I can be asked for; if what you have in mind is not on the list, write to me anyway.
Ways of working together
Lectures, workshops & guest teaching
On dreaming, imagination, philosophy and the history of ideas, and on creative entrepreneurship: for universities, academies, museums and festivals.
Speaking →Presenting & hosting
Stage presenting, moderating panels, interviews and public conversations.
Speaking →DJ sets & radio
DJ sets for festivals, venues, museums and private evenings; radio programmes and guest mixes.
Music →Voice
Voice-over, narration and spoken word for film, audio and installations.
Writing
Essays and other written pieces on commission: for magazines, catalogues, exhibitions and programmes.
Writing →Curation & programming
Cultural programmes, concert series and evenings, curated for venues, festivals, museums and magazines.
Creative Entrepreneurship →Performances & commissions
Site-responsive work in sound, voice and story, made for a museum, an exhibition or an evening.
Art →Dreamwork
I work regularly with people on their dreams: creative dreaming, recurring nightmares, or a deeper relationship with your own dream life. Especially with artists and other creatives.
Philosophy →Creative mentorship & consultancy
One-to-one advice for artists, makers, entrepreneurs and organisations in every discipline.
More below →
Would you like to play at Strandhuis hito? Requests for the hito programme go to a separate address: email me at hito →
In their words
Marieke McKenna has a beautiful voice and a unique, spiritual view of the musical landscape. In the years she made programmes and podcasts for NPO Soul & Jazz, I came to know her as a passionate maker of great integrity, with an enormous knowledge of and love for music. She weaves art, society, spirituality and history together, with music as the thread running through her work. She can work very independently and is at the same time a wonderfully collegial and committed colleague. She is a joy to work with!
Marieke McKenna has done many different kinds of work at Crossing Border. She is one of those people who is very good both creatively and organisationally. We are delighted with her.
Since the start of our collaboration Marieke has been a great companion in carrying out Orisun Studio’s music projects. She is a multitalented and trustworthy partner to grow with.
Working with Marieke brings reality to lucidity and mystery to mundanity. She is one of our time’s greatest thinkers and artists and has infused a multitude of inspiration within my own life and the lives of my community.
Working towards music releases with Marieke has always been a very soulful and magical process. Since day one, every move or decision has seemed to be in perfect alignment. Her contribution to our work has been her unwavering emphasis on listening to intuition and always following the vision.
Marieke is exactly who you want in your corner: someone who really knows her business, with the true heart of a creative.
As I was shaping the concept of my mini-orchestra, Marieke helped me to connect my intuitive feelings with words and vision. She brings a rich understanding of the arts and the world, sees the sensitivity in people and knows how to empower it.
Working with Marieke is a real breath of fresh air. She is clear, gentle and brings a sense of calm, while also being sharp, direct and concrete. Incredibly valuable for both the artists and the organisations we work with.
Creative mentorship & consultancy50+ artists, entrepreneurs & organisations
I started out as an entrepreneur myself, and then spent more than eight years teaching creative entrepreneurship at Abbey Road Institute Amsterdam. Along the way people began asking for my advice on their own projects. I said yes, found I loved the work, and it grew into a practice. For ten years now I have helped artists, entrepreneurs and organisations turn ideas into things that exist.
I come to this as an artist and a philosopher as much as an entrepreneur. I make work myself, so I know the creative process from the inside.
My training in philosophy and the history of ideas means I start with what the work is about: what it is trying to say, and why it matters now. I like to draw connections across disciplines, between music, visual art, science and literature.
From there I work on the larger questions: what you are building, where it should go, and what it needs to get there. My approach is DIY and creative, with solid business sense behind it.
For museums and other cultural and educational institutions, one of my specialities is reaching new audiences: young people and young adults, and audiences that are diverse in cultural and economic background.
What we can work on
- Direction
- Shaping an idea into a plan · artistic & creative direction · framing your work and finding the words for it
- Business
- Business model & creative entrepreneurship · business development & strategy · funding applications & financing
- Audience
- Positioning & PR · reaching young and diverse audiences · finding partners and growing your network
- Organisation
- Production & organisation · launching a school, course or programme · mediation within a team or collective
Experience
I have advised more than fifty people and organisations across disciplines: visual artists, sculptors, poets and writers, musicians, cultural institutions, festivals, and founders of new schools, practices and initiatives.
I have also spent more than a decade building things in culture myself: a record label and a publishing company, Subterra Studios (for which my team and I raised €2.2 million), cultural programmes for De Groene Amsterdammer and Strandhuis hito, and an online course on dreaming for Advaya. Besides Abbey Road Institute, I have taught at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, Codarts and ArtEZ.
Clients and partners include De Groene Amsterdammer · Gemeente Den Haag · NPO · NTR · Crossing Border · Super Sonic Jazz · Combo Magazine, Paris.
Get in touchfor any of the above
Tell me what you have in mind, whether it is a lecture, an evening to host, a set, a voice, a text, a programme, a dream or a plan. I read every message myself. For mentorship and consultancy I offer a free ten-minute introductory call, in which I’ll tell you how I work.
From my cabinet of curiosities
A turning sphere of images I collect: sky discs, star charts, spirals, shells and suns.