A few days ago I made a banner;
To explain for international readers ; “bouwt” means “builds”, though in Dutch, at the end of a sentence it could also be read as a order; “build!”. I made this impulsively in the then freshly squatted Asta (a former cinema, now a unused dance club here in The Hague, lately squatted,in protest, by a group of local cultural organisations). I’d like to talk for a moment about the process of making it.
Two days ago I was taking a mid-night walk with my friend Dusk. In returning home we walked along a canal as it had interesting public art that he hadn’t seen yet and a petting zoo (closed for the winter still,it turned out. This also happened to be one of the poorer neighbourhoods around here.
Yesterday there was a demonstration against the proposed anti-squatting law here. To summarise for the non-Dutch; currently squatting is legal here, provided the building has been unused for over a year. This is meant to address housing shortages and prevent artificial price inflation. Aside from people living in squats this has led to a lively culture where larger squats fill roles like performance space, exhibition space, vegan restaurant, artist work-space, “give away shops” etc. Much of The Hague’s alternative culture takes place in these places. The new law would change this, so that led to protests.
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