My name is Eva Olthof and I am a Dutch visual artist, educator and organiser based in Glasgow, with fifteen years of experience in the creative industries. From 2011 to 2022 I was based in Rotterdam in the Netherlands. My image‑ and text‑based practice is cross‑ and interdisciplinary, and socially engaged.
Keywords: democratisation of art participation; practice of everyday life; the power of transformative learning and engaged pedagogy; valuing lived experience; self‑publishing; self‑organisation; hidden stories and histories; do‑it‑yourself; photography; documentary; writing; the library and the archive.
Since 2017, much of my work has centred on public and self‑organised libraries in the broadest sense. Projects developed in this context are documented on the website publiclibraryof.net. I am currently developing several projects and workshops at the intersection of visual art, engaged pedagogy and literacy, in collaboration with cultural and educational partners across Glasgow. Please stay informed by checking this website regularly or by getting in touch.
I have participated in artist‑in‑residence programmes at KUNCI Study Forum & Collective and Cemeti Art House in Yogyakarta (ID), Künstlerhaus Bethanien in Berlin (DE), CRAC Valparaíso (CL), Schloss Ringenberg (DE) and Opekta in Cologne. I have undertaken two month‑long research trips to public and self‑organised libraries in the United States. My work has been exhibited at the Van Abbemuseum Library in Eindhoven (NL), Savvy Contemporary in Berlin (DE), KIOSK in Ghent (BE), TENT. Rotterdam and Showroom MAMA in Rotterdam, among others.
Between 2012 and 2018 I was a member of the artist‑run space Het Wilde Weten in Rotterdam, a studio building with a project space and artist‑in‑residence programme. I served on the residency committee from 2012 to 2016 and was Chair from 2016 to 2018.
I obtained a BFA in Fine Art from ArtEZ University of the Arts in 2008 and an MFA in Artistic Research from the Dutch Art Institute/ArtEZ University of the Arts in 2011, both in Arnhem (NL). In June 2024 I completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Education with teaching qualification, graduating with distinction from the University of Stirling (SCO).
To support my work, I have received multiple grants in the Netherlands from organisations including the Mondriaan Fund (Artist Basic, Artist Project, Artist Start twice, and two AIR grants), CBK Rotterdam (five Development & Research Grants), Stichting Droom & Daad, and several smaller funds.
I have been a lecturer and symposium organiser at the Willem de Kooning Academy for Art and Design in Rotterdam (2017–2020), and an invited guest lecturer at the University of Stirling, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Jakarta Institute of the Arts, the Dutch Art Institute in Arnhem, and the Bachelor of Fine Art at ArtEZ University of the Arts.
Graphic designers I have collaborated with on a regular basis include Bas Reijnen, Stefano Faoro & NM Studio
January 2026
