“The way the work reflect the spirit of the community is a powerful vehicle for social inclusion and adds so much richness to the city of Amsterdam.” - Sotheby’s Institute of Art, London
The Street Art Museum Amsterdam (SAMA) opens its new exhibition CAPITAL CRISIS: Mokum Meets Paris. The exhibition presents a unique angle on street art and shows its origin out of the Dada movement, which started in Paris. The exhibition is a homage to Dadaism, to the occupy culture and to subcultures of all kinds like punk and autonomy movements that lead to the birth of Graffiti - political and artistic. SAMA aims to share an alternative view on Amsterdam and its current policy while negotiating the city’s future in times of local elections. The exhibition features artworks of internationally acclaimed artists such as Btoy, Pez and Orticanoodles - all of whom worked with Banksy, as well as upcoming talents such as OakOak, Nafir, Exit/Enter. The exhibition opens on March 16, at 4 p.m. at the HQ of the Street Art Museum Amsterdam.
Identity crisis of Amsterdam
“Amsterdam is mooier dan Paris” - SAMA puts this quote into question. Both cities have a shared history of being a symbol for social and personal freedom. This call of freedom originate in their vibrant history of occupy culture, punk movements which took over the city from bottom up. In the last decades both cities went their own way. While Pairs declared itself secular, Amsterdam got wrapped into a multicultural policy blanket. The identity of Amsterdam “Lieve Stad” is put into question during the election time, when political parties negotiate the future of the city while keeping bottom up initiatives of its citizens on a low level. The local policy of the last years, guided by a neoliberal mindset, decided to follow the interests of international companies instead of its own citizens. The city authority tried to regulate the last autonomous places and removed squatters from occupied houses, what affected an enclosure of the last free spaces in the city. As a result they destroy the identity of the city - the freedom. This is a crisis! This is Amsterdam's identity crisis.
SAMA mission is to preserve the spirit of the street art movement and to use street art as an tool to create dialogue between different urban stakeholders. Because of this unique approach SAMA got invited to the last years 13 Art Fair, which was located in the Paris’ famed District 13. Besides galeries SAMA was the only invited Street Art Museum at the fair. The installation, which was presented to the public, was inspired by the origins of the movement and culminated in an anarchist interaction of the visitors and symbolized the real spirit of street art. Through SAMA’s visit in Paris, it linked the subcultural histories of both cities while using street art as a connecting tool. With SAMA’s interactive installation it got the attention of top-class personalities of the art and street art scene.
In the time when Paris, Agnès B, Paloma Picasso and the New York Times recognize and praise SAMA, its native city fails to see SAMA as a benefit for the city and the area of Nieuw-West. Because of SAMA the area Nieuw-West is in a international focus, but the municipality of Amsterdam is still not able to give SAMA a proper funding or to put Nieuw-West on the city maps neither for locals nor for tourists.
The new exhibition CAPITAL CRISIS: Mokum meets Paris is a SAMA’s next try to change the perception of street art and the area Nieuw-West. Visitors of the exhibition can gain a total new view on the city and its identity. The installation which will be presented is a collage of different perceptions of Amsterdam.
The concept of the installation was created by the artistic director of SAMA - the mexican street artist MOSTE. His idea was to create an interactive installation, where visitors were allowed to adding marks or items to the installation to create in a collective action an outside view of Amsterdam. Now this installation return to Amsterdam and got presented to the public. Part love letter, part thought provoker, the exhibition CAPITAL CRISIS: Mokum meets Paris is an expression of pure emotion.
“We realized that the story of freedom is equally important to Amsterdam as it was to Paris. We study our culture in order to emancipate ourselves so we can deal with the uncertainties of the future in an informed way. We want Amsterdammers to read what we brought from Paris, and for them interact with that “ says museum founder Anna Stolyarova.
Like in Paris, the visitors to CAPITAL CRISIS: Mokum meets Paris are invited to bring posters, stickers or items to add to the collage. The visitors can give a reaction on Paris’ view on Amsterdam and leave a mark of their own perspective on Amsterdam. Together they create a dialogue between Amsterdam and Paris.
The opening is on Friday, March 16, at 4 p.m. at the HQ of the Street Art Museum Amsterdam. We provide free drinks and give-away presents. Live music, and an introduction to the exhibition given by the museum founder and managing director Anna Stolyarova frame the event.
DETAILS
March 16, 2018 - May 25, 2018 // Monday - Friday from 10 a.m to 5 p.m.
Street Art Museum Amsterdam // Immanuel Kanthof // 1064 VR Amsterdam
The entrance of the exhibition is free.
SAMA
Founded in 2010, SAMA’s mission is to explore, document and preserve the growing democratic movement of street and popular art. SAMA examines the role of community influence on city development through the use of street art, and works in partnership with street artists from around the globe.
Further information about SAMA: https://www.streetartmuseumamsterdam.com/about