Biography

  • Their maker mentality and shared interest in philosophy brought Erin Tjin A Ton (NL, 1985) and Gosia Kaczmarek (PL, 1981) together. Since 2015, they have been working together as artist duo BetweenTwoHands, making object-based, performative installations at the intersection of theatre and visual arts.

    The works of BetweenTwoHands are meticulously built with a love for technique and craftsmanship. During their intuitive creation process, Erin and Gosia confront the resistance of materials such as ceramics, paper and wood. With their hands, they bring objects to life that interact with the audience. In a poetic manner, they create space for reflection on recognizable human experiences and societal themes, such as loneliness, climate change and technological developments. With imagination and hope, there is always a way out.

    Their work has been exhibited in the Netherlands at Over het IJ Festival, Pop Arts Festival, CODA Museum, Museum Belvédère, and various interdisciplinary festivals in Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Norway, France, China, and Russia. For their performances ‘The Journal’ and ‘Duodenum’ they won the Ruth van der Steenhoven Prize, and for ‘Paperwork’ they received the Canadian Arlyn Award for outstanding design in puppet theater.

  • Erin Tjin A Ton (NL, 1985)

    Erin studied Jewelry Design at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy and became fascinated by the mutual relationship between objects and the body. What influences what? She continued her exploration with a master's degree in Artistic Research at the University of Amsterdam. From 2011 to 2015, she participated in various residencies abroad, such as in China and Lithuania. In 2013, she created a theatre production in collaboration with Anna Verduin. It was during this time that she first experienced the value of the passage of time, which allows you to take the audience on a journey. She incorporated this into her work, which has since existed at the intersection of theatre and visual arts.


    Gosia Kaczmarek (PL, 1981)

    Gosia grew up in Poland and pursued classical, traditional art education, specialising in painting. During her exchange programme in Sweden, she worked on three-dimensional sculptures made from canvas paintings. After completing her education, she worked at puppet animation studio Se-Ma-For. She later moved to Amsterdam and studied Interactive Design/Unstable Media at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy. There she discovered the conceptual dimension of art. Her fascination with making remained, and was complemented by an interest in how the audience perceives the objects she creates.

Curriculum Vitae

  • Education

    Erin Tjin A Ton (NL, 1985)

    2009 - 2011
    MFA Artistic Research, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, NL. Cum laude.

    2006 - 2009
    BFA Jewellery design, Gerrit Rietveld Academy, Amsterdam, NL.


    Gosia Kaczmarek (PL, 1981)

    2008 - 2013
    BFA Interaction Design and Unstable Media, Gerrit Rietveld Academy, Amsterdam, NL. 

    2001 - 2007
    MFA Fine arts, Academy of Fine Arts Lodz, Lodz, PL. 


    Awards and nominations

    2018
    Winner Arlyn Award
    Nomination long list Laguna Art Prize

    2017
    Winner Ruth van der Steenhoven award

    Grants

    2023–2024
    Over de Drempel, Project participation and subsidy, Leeuwarden, NL.
    2-year development budget, Amsterdams Fonds voor de Kunsten, NL.

    2023
    Het Cultuurfonds, Theater, Project subsidy, NL.
    Het Cultuurfonds, individual artist, Project subsidy, NL.
    Werktuig PPO, Development budget, NL.
    Norma Fonds, Project subsidy, NL.

    2022
    Prins Bernhard Culture Fund, Tijlfonds, Website funding, NL.
    Amarte Fund, Research subsidy, NL.

    2021
    Municipality of Amsterdam, Art and Culture subsidy, NL.
    Werktuig PPO, Development budget , NL.
    Mondriaan Fund, Individual corona support funds, NL.


    2020
    Norma Corona Fund, NL.
    Prins Bernhard Culture Fund, Tijl Fonds, NL.
    Creative Industries Fund, Project subsidy, NL.
    Prins Bernhard Culture Fund, Horizon, NL.
    Amsterdam Fund for the Arts, Subsidy Corona Projects, NL.
    Amsterdam Fund for the Arts, Project subsidy, NL.
    Municipality of Amsterdam, Art and Culture subsidy, NL.

    2019
    Stokroos, Project subsidy, NL.
    Creative Industries Fund, Start subsidy, NL
    Performing Arts Fund, Grant for Dutch presentations abroad, NL.
    Prins Bernhard Culture Fund, Tijl Fonds, NL.

    2018
    Amsterdam Fund for the Arts, Development grant, NL.

    2016
    Amsterdam fund for the Arts, Project subsidy, NL.


    Residencies

    2020
    Framer Framed, Werkplaats Molenwijk, Amsterdam, NL.

    2019
    Over het IJ Festival LAB, Amsterdam, NL.

    2018
    European Ceramic Work Centre, Oisterwijk, NL.


    Exhibitions (selection)

    2023
    Poppentheater Damiet, Internationaal Microfestival, Ecognosis & Mechanical Garden, Dordrecht, NL.
    Museum Belvédère, REGENERATE: Noorderlicht Internationaal Fotofestival, Ecognosis, Heerenveen, NL. 

    2022
    Marionnettes Festival International, Ecognosis, Neuchâtel, CH.
    Festival of Animation Berlin, Ecognosis, Berlin, DE. 
    Limburg Festival, Theater op locatie, Ecognosis, Midden-Limburg, NL. 
    CODA, Inside the outside, Ecognosis, Apeldoorn, NL. 
    Plein Theater, Queering puppets festival, Paperwork, Amsterdam, NL.

    2021–2022
    Zone2Source, Ecognosis, Amsterdam, DE.

    2021
    Schaubüde Berlin, Theater der Dinge, Ecognosis, Berlin, DE.
    Plein Theater, Ecognosis, Amsterdam, NL.

    2020–2022
    ARCAM, Ecognosis, Amsterdam, NL.

    2020
    Over het IJ Festival LAB, Amsterdam, NL.
    ARCAM, Amsterdam, NL.
    Werkplaats Molenwijk, Framer Framed, Amsterdam, NL.

    2019
    European Ceramic Work Centre, Heusden, NL.


  • Performances (selection)

    2023
    Arti Et Amicitiae, Arti Shuffle Night, The Journal, Amsterdam, NL.

    2021
    Plein theater, Oceanus, Amsterdam, NL.
    Over het IJ Festival, Oceanus, Amsterdam, NL.

    2019
    De Roode Bioscoop, Snowapple, The Journal, Amsterdam, NL.
    BTK-Fest, Paperwork, Saint Petersburg, RU.
    Wuzhen International Theatre Festival, Paperwork, Wuzhen, CN.
    Over het IJ Festival LAB, Oceanus, Amsterdam, NL.
    Boze Wolf Festival, Paperwork, Aarschot, BE.

    2018
    Markttheater De Gloed, The Journal, Amsterdam, NL.
    Het Van Eesteren Museum, Paperwork, Amsterdam, NL.
    Festival De Oversteek, Paperwork, Nijmegen, NL.
    Festival Scènes ouvertes à l’insolite, Paperwork, Paris, FR.
    Pop Arts Festival, Puppet Playground, Paperwork, Amsterdam, NL.
    Boze Wolf Festival, The Journal, Aarschot, BE.
    Boze Wolf Festival, Duodenum, Aarschot, BE.

    2017
    Wonderstroom, The Journal, Amsterdam, NL.
    CODA Paper Art Festival, Paperwork, Apeldoorn, NL.
    Figur I Fossekleiva, The Journal, Berger, NO.
    Culture Club, Paperwork, Amsterdam, NL.
    Microfestival, The Journal, Dordrecht, NL.
    Over het IJ Festival, Paperwork, Amsterdam, NL.
    Pop Arts Festival, The Journal, Amsterdam, NL.
    Pop Arts Festival, Duodenum, Amsterdam, NL.

    2016
    Winterwelvaart, The Journal, Groningen, NL.
    Atelier Néerlandais, The Journal, Paris, FR.
    ADM, 19th anniversary, The Journal, Amsterdam, NL.
    Cinetol, Duodenum, Amsterdam, NL.
    JW 365 Festival Marionettes, Charleville-Mézièries, FR.
    Pop Arts Festival, Duodenum, Amsterdam, NL.
    Pop Arts Festival, The Journal, Amsterdam, NL.

    2015
    Winters Binnen, The Journal, Amsterdam, NL.
    Performance Art Bergen, The Journal, Bergen, NO.
    Noorderzon, The Journal, NL.

    Presentations

    2023
    Plein Theater, Queering Puppets Festival, Mechanical Garden, work in progress, Amsterdam, NL.

    2021
    Drawing Centre Diepenheim, lecture development Ecognosis, online, NL.
    Plein Theater, lecture development Ecognosis, online, NL.

    2019
    Pop Arts Festival, Puppet Playground, Oceanus, work in process, Amsterdam, NL.
    Radion, ACTA, Oceanus, work in process, Amsterdam, NL.
    De Mus, Oceanus, work in process, Amsterdam, NL.

    Guest teaching

    2023
    Academy of Theatre and Dance, Interdisciplinary stage design, Amsterdam, NL. (Erin)
    FIER & Over de Drempel, workshop pop-ups, Leeuwarden, NL.

    2022
    Zone2Source, workshop stop motion animation, Amsterdam, NL.
    Drawing Centre Diepenheim, workshop stop motion animation, online, NL.
    Destelheide, workshop paper pop-ups, Dworp, BE.

    2018
    Le Mouffetard, workshop paper pop-ups, FR.
    Gerrit Rietveld Academy, workshop paper pop-ups, Amsterdam, NL.

    Advisory Committee

    2023 - present
    CAWA, Commissie voor Ateliers en (Woon)Werkpanden in Amsterdam, Gemeente Amsterdam, NL. (Erin)



    In the media

    2023
    'BetweenTwoHands op Internationaal Microfestival'     by Fokko van der Sraaten, RTV Dordrecht

    2022
    ‘De natuur neemt het over’ by Jan Pieter Ekker in Parool

    2021
    'Feeërieke stadsjungle zonder mensen’ by Annette Embrechts in Theaterkrant

    2018
    ‘Onderzoekend werk van BetweenTwoHands’ interview by  M. van Ditzhuyzen in Wereld van het poppenspel
    ‘Canadese poppentheaterprijs voor BetweenTwoHands’ by J. Beeckmans in Theaterkrant
    ‘Een magische papieren kantoorwereld tijdens Pop Arts Festival’ by B. Cnossen in Theaterkrant

    2017
    ‘Ruth van der Steenoven award voor BetweenTwoHands’ by J.Beeckmans in Theaterkrant

    2016
    ‘BetweenTwoHands makes theatre per square centimeter’ by L. Loorbach for WeArePublic

    2015
    ‘Klein maar fijn en best zielig’ by E. Nederkoorn in Dagblad van het Noorden
    ‘Theatrale kijkdoos van vakknutselaars’ by B.Cnossen in Theaterkrant