#amsterdamalternative

Facade of OT301, a multimedia alternative cultural center located in the Oud-West neighborhood in Amsterdam. Photo by venusinorbit (c) 2015.

With the recent eviction of Dutch squatters, Tabakspanden, the unfortunate demolition of 5 Pointz, in Queens, NYC, and the recent closure of Million Fishes Art Collective in The Mission District in San Francisco, to name a few, one can’t help but wonder whether collective action by artists is a realistic possibility, particularly in the current corporate climate. 

In this edition of Venus Orbits for Justice, we hear from Ivo Schmetz, one of OT301′s founding members (via email interview), about the group’s evolution from being squatters to owners of a building that is home to alternative art, lifestyle and expression and the power of collective action.

Can you tell us briefly about OT301 and how you got involved in the organization? The OT301 is the old Film Academy of Amsterdam. We squatted the building in November 1999 after we were evicted from the hospital building in Amsterdam east that we squatted a year before. We were a group of young artists needing space to create and show art and music. In the hospital we created a foundation called the EHBK, this is short for Eerste Hulp Bij Kunst, meaning First Aid For Art. 

When we squatted the Film academy we weren’t sure what was going to happen because it wasn’t a squat by the rules. In that time when squatting was still legal, a building had to be empty for at least a year to make it a legal squat but it wasn’t. Because we had done good work in the hospital building and already lobbied quite a bit in politics we were given a chance in the Film Academy. Normally we would have been thrown out after two years but we managed to make a deal and sign a contract that we could stay five years longer if we would pay some rent. We agreed because we didn’t want to lose this great building. It was so great because it already had a cinema, recording studios for film and music and lots of class rooms, perfect for all the things we wanted to do. 

OT301 is also involved with organizations such as Urban Art Now and Power vs. Power, proving that collective action make art movements sustainable. Click here to find out more about the Urban Art Festival in Amsterdam, an annual art festival featuring the work of international urban artists.

After these five years of rental they wanted to sell the building. We stepped up and said we want to buy it. It was a long shot but somehow we pulled it off with a loan from the Triodos bank (cultural funds). Since 2006 we owned the building and are out of danger of losing the building. That doesn’t mean that everything is ok now, we still have loads of struggles and issues but we always manage to discuss everything and solve all issues.

I am involved since the beginning. I have done loads of different things in the building and been a board member for about seven years. I stepped out in January 2015 to make space for new people. At the moment I am still the music programmer of the big concert space and I do most of the communication and PR things.

The building, which was originally slated for demolition to give way to a bike path, is now used in a range of ways, including as a venue for music and films, a non-profit print shop, artists workspace and an 'organic cultural kitchen' (a vegan restaurant) called De Peper. Art by Help, Zone56, Mr. Zero. Photo by venusinorbit (c) 2015.

What was the group’s primary motivation when they squatted the building in 1999? Why was this important for the organization? As I said we were out of a building but had a big group of motivated people. And at the time squatting was still actively going on in Amsterdam so it was just a matter of time till we found a new building.

Watch video of the recent eviction of another Dutch squat, Tabakspanden.

How has government support helped your grassroots organizing efforts? We have had some incidental subsidies over the last 10 years. Nothing structural but it helped us a lot fixing up the building. The Netherlands always has been a country with lots of art/cultural subsidy options so we have tried a couple and luckily they happened. The last ones we had were for a research project called the Overhaal that we’ve done in 2011-2013. From this project we made the book ‘Autonomy By Dissent.’ It is bilingual, so all texts are in Dutch and English, and contains a lot of information about the work that we have done. You can have a look at it here: http://www.abnormaldataprocessing.com The last subsidy we had was to realise a green roof, the city government paid half of the costs for that because they want to stimulate people to get green roofs.

Green is in at OT301, a place where artists could live and work together and could work on a public programming that offers a stage to ‘experimental’, ‘new’, ‘alternative’ art, music, film, dance, theatre, workshops and other sorts of performances. Art by Ben. Photo by venusinorbit (c) 2015.

What did the transition from being squatters to legal renters mean for the organization? To the city? To the urban renewal movement? The change caused loads of discussions. Of course some people didn’t want to become renters but the case was really simple: we start paying a little or we are out. If we had chosen to not do it we would have been out and the OT301 would have been something else now. Maybe we would have found another building at the time but I can’t say. To the city and our visitors our change didn’t matter so much, lots of people visiting the OT301 nowadays still think its a squat. Of course there is some hard core squatters that don’t like us anymore, they think we’ve gone commercial but that is far from the truth as we are still a non profit collective.

What was the effect of achieving recognition through the Amsterdam Cultural Prize in 2007? The funny thing was that from that point on we were taken more serious by some people. The mayor for example, was in earlier days busy trying to evict buildings like ours but when we won the prize he was the one that handed it to us and said we were an example for the city. Nowadays a lot of people don’t remember that we ever won that prize so it hasn’t got a lot of effect anymore. I sometimes use it in an argument with the city government to remember them of our importance to the city.

Watch clip from “Graffiti is Legal” video documentary about graffiti-mecca, 5 Pointz.

Art by Karma, ParizOne, Mr. Dheo. Photo by venusinorbit (c) 2015.

Can you comment on issues such as the relative lack of success of other social movements in resisting gentrification in their areas? I am specifically referring to the tragic demolishing of 5 Pointz in NYC.  Do you have any suggestions on how such tragedies can be avoided in the future? It is very hard to prevent these things from happening because as you know money rules the world. In Amsterdam, lots of great places have been demolished as well to make space for luxury apartments or shops. At the moment two of the last big squats, the ADM and Villa Friekens are under the threat of being evicted soon and I wonder if there is a way to stop it. We might be able to delay it but in the long term they’ll win.

I think the only option at this moment is ownership. In our book we also talk a lot about collective ownership. If for example 10.000 people in a city would chip in 100 dollar you would have an amount of 1.000.000 dollar. You could buy a building and make it into some sort of free zone. Of course you would have to make sure the organisation structure is set up to resist people from thinking that they can sell their part but it is possible. If you as a collective own a building there is no way you can be thrown out to make apartments.

What lessons can you share with other NGOs and art/cultural organizations regarding your journey so far as an organization? It is hard work with lots of battles and difficult issues. The most important thing is to keep a clear vision of what you are doing, for who and how. Don’t lose sight of your vision and mission and never get blinded by money or other generous offers. I am not saying that we should stick in the past and talk about the good old days of squatting. No, we should be innovative and active to think of new ways to create what is needed in a world dominated by profits.

Read about Amsterdam Alternative, a collaboration among Amsterdam’s artistic and cultural venues, where words like social, tolerance, autonomy, collective and creative are an ideology and not a marketing slogan. Support OT301 and other organizations in their crowdfunding efforts.

Art by RichArt Pintura. Photo by venusinorbit (c) 2015.

Anything else you would like to share? At the moment I am very busy setting up a collective called Amsterdam Alternative. This will be a free monthly newspaper and website from and for the underground of Amsterdam. All alternative venues/building of Amsterdam are welcome to join as long as they are non-profit, program music, film, dance, theatre or other forms of art and besides public programming have cheap spaces for people to live or work. At the moment the OT301, OCCII, Plantage Dok, Ruigoord, Vondelbunker, Cinetol and ADM are already involved but I am sure some more will follow.

The first issue of the newspaper will be released in June and besides all the programming also hold articles about squatting, subculture and other relevant stuff. At the moment we are still in a crowd funding project to raise a little budget to start up but it is going to happen thats for sure. The nice thing about this is that we’ll get visibility and a voice back into the city to spread the word.

See more about it here:

Crowd funding: https://voordekunst.nl/projecten/3062-amsterdam-alternative