Subjective mapping of Amsterdam
★ October 2021 → March 2023 ⚑
Developed on the initiative of Arcam, Amsterdam’s architecture centre, the Subjective Atlas of Amsterdam focuses on mapping underrepresented urban experiences. Residents from different neighbourhoods and communities mapped the Dutch capital through participatory workshops and individual contributions. In this way we deliberately embraced a multiplicity of perspectives that amplified voices often quietened in dominant narratives, revealing alternative ways of seeing and understanding the city. Together, these drawings, inventories, and visual reflections form a layered portrait of Amsterdam—foregrounding lived experience and showing the city as a constellation of many worlds within one urban space.
Process
This Subjective Atlas of Amsterdam is founded on the belief that designers, builders, developers, and policymakers have a responsibility to address and engage with social inequality. This is not something that happens naturally. This atlas shows that different knowledges emerge with different methods. It offers designers and policymakers a sample of starting points for making the city a better place for everyone, offering a method with which to search for nuanced realities in the future. The layered collection of experiences forms a plea for the presence of more voices; for polyphony in the spatial process.
This atlas is made possible with the commitment of seven diverse partners, each engaged with the city in a different way; either as members of a particular residential community, a social or cultural movement, an activist group, artists’ collective, student group, a queer archive, or as inclusive urbanists. They organised workshops hosted at familiar locations, where they invited people to map the city in their own unique way. Each participant did so as a subjective individual with personal feelings and experiences, rather than as a representative of a larger group or exemplary category.
We collaborated with seven partner organisations, who invited people from their own networks to contribute to the Atlas. The coordinators of these seven partner organisations assembled in a master workshop, developing the very first contributions, discussing the concept and methodology, and establishing the practicalities.(Photography: Sanne Couprie) Between November 2021 and August 2022, each partner organised a working session at their own location, inviting participants from their network. Radio Voorwaarts, Vrankrijk, 8 December, 2021. We Sell Reality, FramerFramed, 17 December, 2021. Disarming Design, Sandberg Instituut, Fabulous Future, 10 February, 2022. IHLIA, OBA (Amsterdam Public Library), 5 April, 2022. Kids Zuidoost, Arcam, 26 April, 2022. Bijlmer Believers 3.0, Zuidoost, April-May 2022. Verdedig Noord, Buurthuis de Rietwijker, 12 May, 2022. Startblok Elzenhagen, Startblok Elzenhagen, 10 July, 2022
Meet the makers
Anne Vera Veen (initiator, coordinator and editor)
Annelys de Vet (Editor in chief)
Wouter Stroet (fascilitator, editor, designer)
Meet the contributors
Vreer Verkerke
Ayman Hassan
Naira Nigrelli
Tefiri Mekonen
Timeline
Project pesentation, Pakhuis de Zwijger, 22 October 2021
Book launch, Pakhuis de Zwijger, 21 March 2023
Acknowledgements
This publication is a result of a collaboration between Subjective Editions and Arcam
Editor-in-Chief: Annelys de Vet (Subjective Editions) Research, Development, and Editing: Anne Vera Veen (Arcam), Wouter Stroet Introductions: Najah Aouaki, Indira van ’t Klooster, Anne Vera Veen, Annelys de Vet Graphic Design: Wouter Stroet, Annelys de Vet Workshop Coordinators: Robbie Doorman (Radio Voorwaarts), Elke Uitentuis (We Sell Reality), Dewi Vrenegoor (IHLIA), Julina Vanille Bezold, Anna Garcia Gomez, Saja Amro (Sandberg Instituut), Juha van ’t Zelfde (Verdedig Noord), Wouter Pocornie (Team Zuidoost), Adinda van Kranendonk (Startblok Elzenhagen) Production and Editorial Assistance: Finn van Tol, Emilie Tesh, Eeke Brussee (Arcam), Natalia Lopez Lopez, Omar Kashmiry (Subjective Editions)
Contributors: Deniz Aktaş, David Albilal, Lama Aloul, Qusai Alsaify, Saja Amro, Najah Aouaki, Maarten van Asbeck, Roumaisae Azoufri, Bador, Julina Bezold, Zjef van Bezouw, Ravi Blits, Eva Bollen, Isa van Bossé, Sam Broekman, Eeke Brussee, Nell Bucher, Anastasia Campbell, Piotr Chmielewski, Rasha Dakkak, Joséphine Dupuy d’Angeac, Moussa Dembele, Rosemarie van Dijk, Maria Dijkgraaf, Tatyana Dmitrieva, Robbie Doorman, Janfrans van der Eerden, Eid, Idris Elhassan, Farah Fayyad, Maxime Garcia Diaz, Layla Gijsen, Eric Groot Kormelink, Natascha Hagenbeek, Hamo, Ayman Hassan, Hayat, Nickisch Holger, Lucas Huikeshoven, Toon Jansen, Vincent van der Kaap, Chris Keulemans, Indira van ’t Klooster, Kees de Klein, Sadali Koralege, Siwar Kraitem, Adinda van Kranendonk, Darko Lagunas, Tara Lane, Tina Lenz, Sytse de Maat, Mahmoud, Matilda Médard, Yannesh Meijman, Stefan Meyer, Ott Metusala, Mohamed, Lou de Monchy, Geert Mol, Mathilde muPe, Nasra, Naira Nigrelli, Geke Oosterhof, Wouter Pocornie, Liesbeth van der Pol, Paandyar Pourseyf, Mars Remijn, Laura van Roemburg, Alexandra Rouppe van der Voort, Sarah Saleh, Sami, Nadia Sbai, Sieto van der Scheer, Rob Schröder, Hans Smit, Shadi Srewel, Gijs Stork, Robin Stark, Marco Stroet, Wouter Stroet, Peik Suyling, Jara van Teeffelen, Teferi, Roman Tkachenko, Anna Torres, Finn van Tol, Bence Török, Hans de Tweede, Elke, Yuri Veerman, Anne Vera Veen, Lisa Veenstra, vreer verkerke, Samira Vogel, Dewi Vrenegoor, Rufus de Vries, Raffaela Wang, Mateo Vega, Hannah Veldhoen, Annelys de Vet, Minhong Yu, Iriée Zamblé, Victor van Zanten, Juha van ’t Zelfde, Hans de Zwart and Bijlmer Believers 3.0 (Bijlm3r), Failed Architecture, Hotel Mokum, Verdedig Noord, We Sell Reality
Financial support: Amsterdams Fonds voor de Kunsten, Stimuleringfonds voor de Creatieve Industrie, Ymere
Publisher: Subjective Editions (Annelys de Vet, Kurt Vanbelleghem) Distribution: www.ideabooks.nl
