The Mique Eggermont Foundation supports the idiosyncratic, critical and committed voices of visual artists. Every year we try to encourage a recent graduate of the Maastricht Institute of Arts to find their own way as young artists with the help of the ME Award.

The foundation is an initiative of art historian, curator and critic Mique Eggermont (1950–2019). She was a passionate, idealistic and critical motivator and initiator of countless art projects, and did this internationally, within the Netherlands and in Maastricht, her home base. She was co-founder and impassioned director of the Maastricht artists' initiative HEDAH, while also initiating collaborative projects between artists from the Netherlands and Senegal (stemming from her own work and projects there). She has held various administrative, advisory and curatorial positions, including for the Chief Government Architect of the Netherlands, as well as exhibition space Nieuw Dakota in Amsterdam. And not unimportantly, she engaged herself as a consultant and guest teacher with art education in Maastricht for many years.

Mique had a great knowledge of the field of art, yet her will to achieve things and go to the limit was even greater. She did not like to make concessions, especially when it came to what we expect of contemporary art and its potential, and therefore called on students and young artists to above all see this potential as an ultimate kind of freedom, and not wait for someone to have the idea to give you that freedom. Many felt strengthened by her approach, and her convincing independence—she spoke purely from the perspective of her own considerations and did not shy away from difficult discussions—made sure that her vision and position was always taken into account.

She ensured that this form of spirited support continued after her death, and kindly requested four kindred spirits to shape the Mique Eggermont Foundation as part of the legacy she could leave behind, in order to continue to build a future.