About EGBG
When in doubt about the world, give the world the benefit of the doubt.

Sometimes it might seem as if society is stuck in a rut. People have a habit of becoming stuck in cages they have created for themselves. This is a natural process. At the breaking point of such a process, creativity can open things up and bring about the much needed change. EGBG is a disordering process studio that aims to increase the social sustainability in the world. We try to help institutions, communities and imaginations that are lost on a beaten path. We create installations, organizations, companies, questionnaires, reports and procedures; all inspired by existing phenomena.

We try to change people’s perceptions of the habitual and the seemingly obvious.  From the calmness that comes with not knowing we try to create new movement. EGBG works from a universal spirituality, relaxed, joyful and with our hearts and minds opened.

EGBG is run by artists Martijn Engelbregt and Pavèl van Houten. Wherever needed they are complemented by a team of skilled freelancers.

[2014]
Is society in a rut? Are we stuck in self-created cages? Sometimes, perhaps. That’s how things go. Luckily there’s creativity to stir things up a little. If you find your society, community or your imagination lost on the beaten path, we might just be able to help you out. EGBG is a creative organization that aims to increase the social sustainability in the world. We create installations, organizations, companies, questionnaires, reports and procedures; all inspired by existing phenomena.

We try to change people’s perceptions of the habitual and the seemingly obvious.  From the calmness that comes with not knowing we try to create new movement. We work from a universal spirituality, relaxed, joyful and with our hearts and minds opened.

EGBG is run by artists Martijn Engelbregt and Pavèl van Houten. Wherever needed they are complemented by a team of skilled freelancers.

[2011]
Engelbregt founded his research office EGBG (Eens gegeven, blijft gegeven—the Dutch double entendre for ‘once given, always given / once a fact, always a fact’) immediately upon graduation from the Utrecht School of the Arts in 1996. His obsessive interest in forms, questionnaires and statistics are the inspiration for a body of work that is as playful in language as it is confrontational and humorous. His works touch upon art, design, research and politics and have earned the ire and admiration of the subjects themselves; including, the Dutch government and telemarketers.

[2010]
The work of Martijn Engelbregt is provocative and eyes opening. "As founder of EGBG – Engelbregt Gegevens Beheer Groep (Engelbregt Data Management Group) – he designs institutes, forms, surveys, and procedures. His absurdist projects offer an ironic perspective on a sometimes Kafkaesque world."
He studied graphic design at the Utrecht School of the Arts and graduated in 1996 (cum laude). His main interest during his studies was collecting forms, initially because he was intrigued by their graphic appearance. However later he became even more interested in the question as to why and how people fill in these forms.
“When I began experimenting with forms, my main aim was to post a warning: beware to whom you give information!” 
 “But now I too am keen to collect data, although I handle it differently than the outside world.”
After he graduated he made a name for himself by publishing a counterscript against unsolicited calls from telemarketers. Furthermore,  EGBG caused agitation by sending out official looking forms to 200.608 households in Amsterdam, asking tenants to register any illegal immigrants they might know.  His aim was just to explore the reactions of the people.
“It’s art in the form of a research”

[2008]
Dhr. A.M.F. Engelbregt (aka the Martian) is founder and executive managing director of the prominent Dutch data control group EGBG (www.egbg.nl). EGBG is the centre of a wide range of unique services and industries like: Neighbourshop, The Rest., de Dienst, Regoned, Praktijklokaal, Ondertussen, Zijnernogvragen and Metseldorp. His organizations excel in rare, unique and bright combinations of research on the role of the group in the individual and vice versa.

Martijn Engelbregt has been described as a procedural artist. As founder of EGBG – Engelbregt Gegevens Beheer Groep (Engelbregt Data Management Group) – he designs institutes, forms, surveys, and procedures. His absurdist projects offer an ironic perspective on a sometimes Kafkaesque world.
Engelbregt studied graphic design at the Utrecht School of the Arts, graduating cum laude in 1996. During his first year, he began collecting forms, initially because he was intrigued by their graphic appearance. But soon he became even more interested in the question as to why and how people fill in these forms.
“When I began experimenting with forms, my main aim was to post a warning: beware to whom you give information!” he told a newspaper. “But now I too am keen to collect data, although I handle it differently than the outside world.”
Soon after his graduation, Engelbregt made a name for himself by publishing a Counterscript against unsolicited calls from telemarketers. Some years later, EGBG caused commotion by sending out official looking forms to 200.608 households in Amsterdam, asking tenants to register any illegal immigrants they might know. The main aim of the project was to discover how people would react. “It’s art in the form of a research,” says Engelbregt.
In 2002, he established The Service, located in an office in the Dutch Parliament, to research the possibilities of combining art and democracy. The findings were published in the hilarious “Sevice Catalogue - This is the Netherlands.”

Martijn Engelbregt is artist and designer and develops his projects from interactive processes that directly involve the public. He has worked on commissions including projects for the Dutch Lower House and De Balie in Amsterdam. Engelbregt lectures at the Sandberg Institute in Amsterdam.

 

EGBG Bergen
Schapenlaan 7a
1862 PW Bergen
The Netherlands

EGBG Amsterdam
Nieuwe Uilenburgerstraat 5
1011 LM Amsterdam
The Netherlands

Office
Linda Koene
linda@circusengelbregt.nl

Creative director 
Martijn Engelbregt
martijn@circusengelbregt.nl
phone: 0031-6-26082709

Creative
Pavèl van Houten
pavel@circusengelbregt.nl
phone: 0031-6-38386011

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