Board of Directors

Konstantin Koukias was the Artistic Director and CEO of IHOS Music Theatre & Opera for 23 years in Australia.

His avant-garde approach to the presentation of opera has resulted in hybrid productions such as Days and Nights with Christ, To Traverse Water, MIKROVION, The Divine Kiss, and Tesla – Lightning in His Hand.

His most recent large-scale work, The Barbarians, was inspired by Constantine Cavafy’s famous poem “Waiting for the Barbarians” and commissioned by the Museum of Old and New Art.

Since 2018, Koukias has produced two short films: A Day in June (2018; dir. Peter Sieben). He is currently in the planning and pre-production stages for ‘The Pain of Others’ (2024; dir. Drobnjaković) and ‘Shaped by Trees’.

From 2024–2027, he will be producing a series of documentaries and performances for the new work ‘Primordial’.

Shariva Koops is a dedicated bookkeeper and tax consultant with a Business degree from Amsterdam, specializing in serving the creative industry.

Alongside her consultancy, she also works in sales for a local boat company and takes part in diverse ventures in marketing, women’s empowerment, and spirituality.

Beyond the business realm, she finds solace in crafting, showcasing her knitting and crocheting skills, and nurturing her garden as a serene counterbalance to her professional life.

Committed to financial freedom, she guides clients toward success with a holistic approach, blending resilience and creativity while navigating the complexities of both her professional and personal life with a balanced perspective.

Joke Schulkes-van de Pol is a retired doctor who resides in Amsterdam. She completed her medical studies in Nijmegen. She established herself as a general practitioner in Amsterdam and managed a practice with her associate for 36 years.

She combined her practice with the position of Pain Management Coordinator at the Antonie van Leeuwenhoek Hospital. Schulkes-van de Pol was a member of the board of the Dutch College of General Practitioners (NHG) and later of the National Association of General Practitioners (LHV). She was also a member of the Supervisory Board of the NHG. Additionally, she was part of the Advisory Board of Medisch Contact, the weekly magazine of the Royal Dutch Medical Association (KNMG).

In her free time, she enjoys reading, playing the piano, walking, gardening, and spending time with her grandchildren.

Wijnand has worked in public broadcasting for more than 25 years as an editor, editor-in-chief, and editor-in-chief. His field of work is art & culture and he has a great love for music, from pop music to jazz and from world music to classical music.

He was involved in programs such as the North Sea Jazz Festival, Pinkpop, the Amsterdam Uitmarkt, documentary series, and countless concert registrations. In addition to TV, he has always been committed to radio and worked with all radio stations of the public broadcaster, including ‘NPO Klassiek’.

Since 2023, he has opted for an independent life as editor-in-chief within the media and as a creative project leader within the cultural world.

After working in the medical field, I studied fashion at the Vrije Academie and became Head of the Atelier for various designers. In 1984, I established my own company, collaborating with entities in the art sector, including the musical Cats, Dance Company Krisztina de Châtel, Leine en Roebana, and Theater Company Art & Pro.

Concurrently, I taught courses in costume design, pattern drawing, and sewing in my studio. In my leisure time, I organized cultural events in unique heritage locations, which in the end grew into the Westergasfabriek. Together with colleagues, we transformed it into what it is today.

In 2002, I joined Stadsherstel Amsterdam, where I established the Exploitation of Special Locations department and served as its Head until my retirement. Over the years, the department has grown significantly, now encompassing 8 permanent employees, 25 freelance employees, and 16 special monuments, which are programmed both culturally and commercially.

Thanks my cultural background, I facilitated the connection of cultural programs to Stadsherstel through the Stadsherstel Cultural Foundation. Additionally, I am a board member of the Foundation For Women By Women.

Diane Elshout (born 1963) is a dance theater producer and theater scholar. She also studied business administration. In her international dance career she was associated with several companies as a freelance dancer.

As a choreographer, she led her own dance company together with Frank Händeler for several years. They performed in The Netherlands and abroad. For her, the work with Moving Arts Project revolves around the question, “What can art tell us about society and how can art itself help shape and give meaning to that coexistence?

She strives to use local knowledge to build democracy on the square inch. She does this by questioning the everyday reality of the neighborhood with diverse people and all those visions and voices, by rubbing against it and by dabbling together. In doing so, she prefers to be in public space, the place where you can meet anyone. She feeds on the knowledge and expertise of others. This expertise inspires her to co-create the city together.

Anton Molenaar studied musicology – western and non-western music – at the University of Amsterdam. Specialization: Jewish music and history.

Graduation project: ‘The Music of the Amsterdam Sephardim’ (publication in ‘Shofar’, Purdue University / University of Nebraska Press, USA). Anton did research and published articles on Jewish music.

Post-university courses: Project consultancy, management, organization, fundraising and result-oriented networking.

Experience: Guidance and advice to musicians and composers with their music projects.