In North, I wanted to work in the context of Amsterdam’s anniversary. Next year it’s the 750’s birthday of the city. North is one of its oldest districts, which is evolving from an industrial area to a rapidly growing and most attractive district of Amsterdam.

My idea was to explore and present this transformation with оur young participants. However, the group I worked with took the project in a different direction.

I worked with local students who came two times per week to Kofschip Youth Centre. They were relatively younger (9-12 years old) and this had an impact on the overall work process.
Together with Andrea Palm, we facilitated 6 workshops with a total of 16 youths giving them the creative freedom they needed.

 

The content that the children created were rather about their surroundings and everyday life than the historical development of the North.

It appeared with beautiful foto and sound narratives about graffiti, sports, the neighbourhood’s parks in autumn and the architecture of the shopping centre appeared.

The exhibition itself became a real event in an otherwise little boring part of North. Families, friends, and the youth themselves viewed the expo with interest and pride

 

See more here about my exciting future project related to Amsterdam’s 750 universities.