amsterdam, feb. 25 - part one

On a field trip with our European Cities professor, my classmates and I learned about "breeding places." I know, it's an unusual title for something that has nothing to do with the reproduction cycle. It's the name used for spaces that artists are able to occupy temporarily because of these things: the building is empty, the owner would rather received reduced rent than nothing at all, and the artist can afford said rent thanks to the help of Amsterdam's government. 

Our first stop was the Bureau Broedplaatsen, the section of the municipality that organizes the relationship between artists (or a group of creative people) and the landlords. Their guidelines limit the participants to college graduates who produce some sort of creative product and can't afford another work space. They've done a lot of great things in the past decade. I didn't snap any pictures of the meeting, but here's one of the view from their office - 

Just a picture of apartments and a giant wall painting. 























After the Bureau, we trekked to an actual breeding place. The building was beautiful, the artists were pleasant and the "anti-system" mentality presented was an interesting contrast to our first meeting. In 2001, the building which was an ancient and empty "girls' school" was presented to the public as a space available for whoever had the best idea for its use. A group of artists proposed an art house, were granted the space, and spent the summer sweating during the renovations. The top floor had a few apartments for families, while the others included a range of small studios to larger spaces for dance companies and theatre groups. 

Waiting for the meeting to start in the "teachers' lounge" that had secret cabinets hidden in the walls

 Cormac's arm, a hole in the wall, Teresa's inquisitive face

Two artists and our guides who repeatedly reminded us that their system worked better than the government's plan

One of the original artists whose work is mainly book cover designs. She also teaches children.

Studio details

 "All is well" ... upside down. 

Studio details 

Cormac and Tayler listening to our artist guide



























After the indie exploration, we hopped on a train to Amsterdam's central station. After grabbing lunch (and scarfing it down; I had smoked salmon and cream cheese on a crusty baguette) we waited for a ferry to take us to an island where Amsterdam's culture scene is really growing. Many of the empty ship warehouses have been converted into artists' studios. There's even a building that Viacom has inhabited; Comedy Central and MTV have offices there.  

Travis on the ferry 

Illegible directions in front of a giant warehouse

An alley between studios that have been constructed in the warehouse

A giant sign; note Aiden in the left of the frame for size reference

A street between studios

Teresa and Emmi snapping some photos




























After our island exploration, we hopped back on the ferry and promptly lost our professor. Actually, we're all pretty sure he ditched us, but we couldn't find him once back on the mainland. (Another actually - Amsterdam's train station is build on man-made islands right outside of the city.) We opted to explore the city since the weather was nice enough. This is where "Part Two" begins; stay tuned.

xoxo//hc