A Turn of Voice – a conversation with Isabelle Sully, the new artistic director of A Tale of A Tub

Earlier this year, Isabelle Sully took over the artistic direction of A Tale of a Tub in Rotterdam, succeeding Julia Geerlings. Danai Giannoglou asks her about her attitude to leadership and her plans for the next few years. “I don’t want to be one of those directors who comes in and forgets all the stories so far.”

“I’m a first-time director and I really want to learn this job, to get proper training and not just take the role, as often happens.” This is one of the thoughts Isabelle Sully gives me as we talk about future goals. Although she comes towards the end of our conversation, the quiet courage, confidence and rarity that this statement exudes prompts me to start this interview with her.

Sully, who took over the artistic direction of A Tale of A Tub from Julia Geerlings in January 2024, may be a first-time director, but she is certainly no stranger to the Dutch art scene. Her curatorial platform, Theatre programfounded together with Martha Jager, regularly performs on the small stage of the Torpedo Theater in Amsterdam and puts language and text-based artistic works in the spotlight. Her label, Uninvited tonguesfocuses on publishing “works by cultural creators that deal with issues of decency and civic life – especially in relation to language and its administration.” Most recently, she was also co-initiator of Tangents with Becket Flannery and Annie Goodner, an English-language art criticism platform that focuses on events on the Dutch scene.

Daniel Giannoglou
Your practice spans writing, editing and art-making, with a particular focus on the materiality and language of administration. However, you have also held curatorial and administrative positions in art institutions. Between these different roles, would you consider directing A Tale of A Tub an art project?

Isabelle Sully
“That’s a good question, as I constantly vacillate which of these roles I can identify with the most. For me, the response depends on the invitation; that sets the tone. My employment at A Tale of A Tub certainly doesn’t feel like an art project, but I do want to bring certain artistic techniques to the role. Compared to other positions I’ve held in the past, such as my role as deputy director and curator at the Art Association in Amsterdam, this definitely feels more like an artist-curator role. On the one hand, I have a lot more responsibility, but the distribution of my tasks is also a lot more creative overall. In addition, as a small institution within a residential complex in the west of Rotterdam, A Tale of A Tub has a very context-specific framework, and I enjoy working and tend to work in context often.”