The days between 13 and 25 of February were full of activities and important events for SAMA's team, including workshops, tours, planning for participating in the first meeting of the EU project STAR, heritage projects and contributing to two master’s research.
Last week the team was busy making arrangements for the first meeting for the STAR - STreet ARt project, which is funded by the Europe for Citizens Programme of the European Union and will be developed in the course of 2020-2021. The first of the four international meetings of the project will happen in April 2020, in Arcugnano, Italy. The participation in this EU project will create visibility and positive impact for Amsterdam Nieuw-West.
The project, with partners from 14 countries, has as its main priority to foster intercultural dialogue and mutual understanding, fighting against the stigmatization of migrants and minority groups through the use of street art as a tool to increase local identity and solidarity. SAMA identifies completely with the goals of the project, as they are in line with the work we have developed in our neighbourhood for the last 7 years. We are thrilled for being the main partner in the project, hosting the final conference by the end of 2021.
Another important event of the week was the initial steps for the Memory Capsule we are developing together with Imagine IC. With the upcoming demolition of the Garage Kampering, located in Amsterdam Zuid-Oost, the Imagine IC, which works in the area documenting social relationships, took the responsibility to collect the memories and objects related to the garage that was shown to be relevant to the local community.
SAMA, as an expert on the use of Virtual Reality for the documentation of art in connection with architecture, was selected to record a 360° video of the building focusing on the graffiti pieces that are spread all around it and the context they are inserted in. During the week it was done a test filming, to give an idea to the residents of how this type of documentation works, and it was also developed the first draft of the script that will be used to produce the video. Everything was presented, discussed and approved by the Imagine IC team and local stakeholders in a meeting that happened on the 25 of February.
During this period we also hosted two students that were approaching street art as a topic of research. Ricarda Lassy, M.A. candidate on Arts and Society at the Utrecht University, chose to explore the collaboration between artists on the street art scene as the subject of her thesis. Furthermore, Ricarda works together with an urban art festival in Vienna called Calle Libre, and her passion for street art resulted in a very pleasant and productive conversation on the subject.
The other researcher, Louis, came to us for an interview about our general view on street art, recording the founder Anna Stolyarova answering questions about the art movement. The research Louis is working on is about art and its reflection on society, and is part of his Business degree. He is producing a series of videos around this subject, using Amsterdam as his case study, and if you speak french you should have a look on his Youtube Chanel. Watch below the great video he made about street art with SAMA's participation.
The programs for the Art Impulse Geuzenveld went on during the period, with two successful events happening, one AZC Willinklaan and the other at the Cordaan. On the 13 of February, one day before Valentine's Day, TeamBlazin was with SAMA's team at Willinklaan making cards for the kids and their loved ones. On the 18th we had the talented pianist, composer and performer Marynka Nicolai-Krylova bringing joy to the afternoon of the residents of the Cordaan. The next event, open and free for everyone, will happen at the AZC Willinklaan on the 20th of March. In the following weeks, we will also start a series of workshops at the Dock Geuzenveld, so follow our Facebook page to get the updates!
Marynka at the Cordaan
TeamBlazin at the AZC Willinklaan