23 Jun 2023 - 21 Jan 2024
23 Jun 2023 - 21 Jan 2024
Amsterdam Museum on the AmstelCollecting the City #3: Operation Living
Collecting the City is an exhibition series in which the Amsterdam Museum, in collaboration with various communities and organizations, “collects” and presents the vibrant city of Amsterdam. Each edition consists of a few mini-expos that together form a single exhibition.
This third edition we extend the small exhibition Operation Living about the housing culture and crisis in Amsterdam.
Photographer: Henk Rougoor
Critical reflection on housing past and present
The exhibition looks back on a century of housing in Amsterdam from a contemporary perspective. The result is a critical reflection on housing past and present in the four districts where the local museums are located: the Van der Pekbuurt, De Baarsjes, Slotermeer, and the Oostelijk Havengebied. What problems are there now in the housing market and what are the solutions for them? The vision of experts provides us an insight.
Local residents also have their say about their neighbourhood. What attracted them to this neighbourhood in the first place and how is that now?
One of the most eye-catching exhibits in this richly varied section of the exhibition is the Wheel of (Mis)fortune, from the Amsterdam Museum’s own collection. This shows ten somewhat questionable ways in which young people can get housing in the capital in 2021. It paints a sad picture because, like it or not, everyone in Amsterdam is a winner or loser in the housing market lottery. The wheel was made by Hans de Tweede (b. 1997) and Tycho (b, 1994) for a huge protest in the Westerpark on 12 September 2021, in which over 10,000 people expressed their frustration at the city’s housing policies. Afterwards, the piece became part of the Amsterdam Museum’s collection.
Taking tram 7 past three Amsterdam city districts
Tramline 7 passes through three Amsterdam city districts: De Baarsjes, Slotermeer and Borneo-Sporenburg. All three neighborhoods conceived with the ambition of shaping a better living environment and all three characteristic of its own time: twenties (De Baarsjes), fifties (Slotermeer), and nineties (Borneo-Sporenburg). Together they paint a picture of the development of living in Amsterdam over the last 100 years.
Get off at the Weesperplein stop to see the exhibition Operation Living. The full route can be found in the flyer below (only in Dutch).
Exhibition Operation Living, 2023, photographer: Francoise Bolechowski.
Exhibition Operation Living, 2023, photographer: Francoise Bolechowski.
Exhibition Operation Living, 2023, photographer: Francoise Bolechowski.
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Collecting the City #3
Until 2025, this is where the Amsterdam Museum will “collect” and present our vibrant city, in collaboration with various parties and groups in the city. During this period, neighborhood museums, community networks, local artists, and passionate residents will share objects and stories about Amsterdam. Every half year, new contributors are invited to showcase their ideas—whether it’s a fresh perspective on the past, a beautiful or painful moment in the present, or a new vision of the city for the future. The Museum om de Hoek foundation, comprising 23 local museums throughout Amsterdam, is a permanent partner in this endeavor. They have a total of three rooms at their disposal.
The other small exhibitions of Collecting the City #3:
- Gay Games 1998
- Women of the city
- Toko Mokum
Made possible by
The exhibition is made possible in part by the VSBfonds, Gemeente Amsterdam, Vriendenloterij.