Stadscuratorium Amsterdam wants to stimulate commitment and support among residents, users and financiers by organizing innovative programmes and public debates, and by making information about works of art in the public space more accessible both online and on location. In a series of short online videos, the members of the Stadscuratorium will discuss art in the public space of Amsterdam with creators and stakeholders.
Participation, representation and inclusiveness are the themes of the first series: Amsterdam for all Amsterdam locals. The short videos address ways in which meeting places in new districts can become the common spaces of the future; the fact that a transitioning urban district needs heroes, narratives and a commonality that emphasize the value of authenticity; and that the perception of encounters in public space sometimes differ from reality and how people can be stimulated to claim their space in the street. These examples show that art is a diverse and broad notion and emphasize the fact that the public space is owned by all of Amsterdam’s inhabitants; they present the city as a habitat and the street as an extension of our individual homes, a city in which we can come together, remember together and be together.