Art City NDSM

What is Art City NDSM?

Firstly, it is the Art City - the Kunststad - the complex of self-designed, self-built and co-owned studios and workspaces which together form the original 'breeding ground' (broedplaats) in the NDSM Loods at the NDSM shipyard on the shores of the IJ in the north of Amsterdam.

Secondly, Art City is a artists and makers initiative arising out of this community.

Art City NDSM defends and develops the ideals and ideas of the NDSM breeding ground and builds on the collective memory of this space and community of artists and makers. Art City NDSM works to honor and maintain the public function of the breeding ground as a hospitable, open and inspiring sanctuary, and to help it grow and flourish. We do this by opening our doors, by enabling new work and offering existing work a home, and by creating space - physical and mental - so that we can consciously position ourselves in the present and together shape our shared future.

We endeavor to be consciously in relation to each other and to the city around us – residents old and new, visitors from far and near. Relationship demands that you see the other - you make an effort, you take it into account. It's an active, not a passive stance, it can be complex and uncomfortable. What would it mean for you to relate to the NDSM, its spaces, its arts and makers, its history, its community? How do we relate to you? Visit us and let us discover this, together.

Scroll down to read more about the goals and organisatie of Art City NDSM.

Photo above: the exhibition The Makers Gaze (De Blik van de Maker), June - October 2021, in the main hall of the NDSM Loods.

NDSM OPEN

Save the Date in 2023: Zaterdag 7 Oktober !

Een keer per jaar doen de kunstenaars en makers hun deuren open voor NDSM OPEN. In 2022 was NDSM OPEN op zaterdag 1 oktober.

NDSM OPEN is meer dan een dag. NDSM OPEN is een state of mind, een uitnodiging, een voorstel en een belofte. NDSM OPEN staat voor een open geest, voor vrijheid en gastvrijheid, voor open deuren en een open blik.

NDSM OPEN is de jaarlijks open studio dag op de NDSM-werf. De normaliter gesloten ateliers en werkplaatsen stellen dan hun deuren open voor een dag vol kunst, ambacht, mode, architectuur, performance, design en alles wat je niet verwacht.

Volg NDSM OPEN op Facebook, Instagram en op www.ndsmopen.nl

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NDSM OPEN is more than one day. NDSM OPEN is a state of mind, an invitation, a proposal, and a promise. NDSM OPEN stands for an open mind, for freedom and hospitality, for open doors and an open mind.

NDSM OPEN is the annual open day at the NDSM wharf. The normally closed studios and workshops open their doors for a day full of art, craft, fashion, architecture, performances, design and everything you might not expect.

Follow NDSM OPEN on Facebook, Instagram and at www.ndsmopen.nl

NDSM OPEN is produced by Art City NDSM together with the artists and makers of the NDSM broedplaats.

NDSM OPEN 2022 was made possible with support from Stichting Kinetisch Noord, Tenants Association the Toekomst and the Amsterdam North City Council.

Photo above: artist Catarina Rabanada (Studio Rabanada) talks with guests during NDSM OPEN.

Lookback

ASCENDING - common space for reflection, solace and wonder

ASCENDING is a large, temporay architectural installation assembled of living plants and natural materials: jute, wood and steel, created by Balthasar Prinsen, Sarah Payton and Thomas Akerboom. In 2022 ASCENDING was free to visit seven days a week from June to October in the NDSM Loods. The 15 meter high construction hung from the steel beams in the rear of the NDSM Loods, in the unbuilt section known as the "Northstrip" (Noordstrook). In the space of ASCENDING, Art CIty invited guest artists and performers, among them Bas Kosters, Nirman Cain, Patricia de Ruijter, Thomas Kwakermaat, Klaas Kuitenbrouwer, Valerie van Leersum and Pieter Post.

Makers statement:

"The large empty space at the back of the NDSM Loods is often seen as a cathedral. The pioneers of the artists community saw the intrinsic value of this 'empty' space in which the layered history of the former shipyard is still tangible. In this industrial cathedral, ASCENDING takes the place of the choir, the most sacred space and the location of the altar.. Despite this, ASCENDING is not affiliated with any specific religion; instead, ASCENDING investigates the relationship between physical and metaphysical space and explores the extent to which art and architecture can contain transcendent functions. The installation touches on current issues that we see as urgent: the need for togetherness and community in a time of far-reaching individualization; the link between past, present and future; the desire for meaning and the need for awe, beauty and admiration"

The presentation of ASCENDING in the NDSM Loods in 2022 was made possible with support from the Amsterdam Fund for the Arts, Stichting Kinetisch Noord., Amsterdam North City Council and the Stichting NDSM. Produced by Art City NDSM.

We are currently investigating the possibility of travelling with ASCENDING in 2023. You can still follow ASCENDING on instagram and facebook

NOW ON VIEW IN THE NDSM LOODS

Wander through the NDSM Loods and you will find artworks large and small. Some of these are (semi) permanent artworks which Art City NDSM has produced or brought to the building. Others are hidden treasures placed,. often anonymousely and without fanfare, around the building. Below some of the works now on view.

While exploring the loods please be respectful of the artists and makers working in their studios!

Fluxes

Francesco Zorzi / no-rocket

Painted on two sides of the pre-existing wooden letters of the word “NOORD” (‘North’), the artwork Fluxes is a visual representation of invisible energy of the NDSM. The colored tubes or channels literally cross empty space to link the wooden letters, just as the invisible fluxes which daily shape the area are constantly reforming to bond together diverse individuals, groups and situations in ever shifting constellations and interconnections. Fluxes is created by No-Rocket, an interdisciplinary studio based in the Art City, that finds inspiration on the borders between painting, installation and design.

An Art City NDSM initiative. Made possible thanks to support from the Amsterdam Fund for the Arts, Stichting Kinetisch Noord and Stichting NDSM-werf.

cargocollective.com/no-rocket

C-CHAIN CARPET

C-chain Carpet is a (semi) permanent installation for public space by artists collective WE MAKE CARPETS. Made of 55,000 plastic C-chain links in four different colors the artwork emphasizes the function of the Art City in which artists, designers and other creative professions work together 24/7.

An Art City NDSM initiative. Made possible thanks to support from the Amsterdam Fund for the Arts, Stichting Kinetisch Noord and Stichting NDSM-werf.

www.wemakecarpets.nl

Focus Red Eye

Jeroen Bisscheroux and Nanny Kok

The color red symbolizes danger, threat and unrest. The color refers to blood, fire, perhaps boiling lava. It is the color that makes you vigilant and keeps you away. But it is also the metaphor for warmth, for energy and new life ... the heart that beats. And the eye that sees. Focus: Red Eye responds to everything that a year of corona and corona measures has brought us: sleepless nights, worries, loss, grief, panic, illness, death, distance, cancellations, not being able to see each other , to embrace one another. Focus: Red Eye sits on the roof of the NDSM Loods, the breeding ground. Just as every 'free thinker place' is under pressure from urban expansion, project developers, the housing shortage and urban manageability, the NDSM too is a constant plaything in this urban power game. The NDSM is the largest and perhaps most important ‘free space’ in the city; a place that offers breathing room and mental space. Focus: Red Eyes brings these two extremes together: the idea of breeding ground, the new life vs. the constant threat of economic assertion.

An Art City NDSM initiative. Made possible thanks to support from Stichting Kinetisch Noord and Stichting NDSM-werf.

www.bisscheroux.eu

niets/iets (nothing/something)

Henk Schut

High up among the old steel beams hangs a small white neon light work which flashes a changing missive: one moment it reads ‘iets' ('nothing’), the next moment 'iets' ('something'). The contradictory message raises questions about the vast empty space where the work is displayed. What is the meaning precisely: just what is “nothing” and what “something”? Does it refer to a emptiness waiting to be filled, a completion which would make it something? Or might the emptiness in itself have value? These questions about the meaning and value of empty space are not only applicable to the recently renovated and still empty northern section of the Scheepsbouwloods. They apply equally to the other not yet filled spaces within the warehouse, and also to the vast outdoor grounds of the former shipyard. In the current building frenzy in which it seems all remaining gaps in the city are rapidly filled in, the artwork asks you to pause and to reflect on the significance of empty space.

An Art City NDSM initiative. Made possible thanks to support from Stichting Kinetisch Noord and Stichting NDSM-werf.

www.henkschut.nl

NDSM Playground

Marc Faasse

Photographer Marc Faasse photographed the NDSM shipyard from above for seven years. He did this with his signature rod camera, a camera mounted on a long pole. During seven years Marc could regularly be found with his striking camera at many events that took place at the NDSM. He edited the photos into one photographic map of the area. With a scroll function you can zoom in deeply. This makes NDSM Playground a unique time document that offers a surprising and revealing insight into a number of unforgettable NDSM moments.

NDSM Playground was made with support from the Amsterdam Fund for the Arts. The presentation in the NDSM Loods is an Art City initiative: in 2014 for NDSM OPEN the entire work was reproduced on extra large floor tiles, which formed a giant puzzle that visitors could play with freely. After NDSM OPEN Marc reassembled the puzzel onto an exterior studio wall for all to see.

www.marcfaasse.nl

Hidden Treasures

Below some of the hidden treasures. See if you can find them!

Photo: Untitled, Octant Objects / Kjell van Norel

and don't forget to visit NDSM Fuse

Floating above the floor of the NDSM Loods is the space originally built for the Skatepark is now the exhibition space NDSM Fuse. At NDSM Fuse, which is open to the public Thursdays through Sundays from 12.00 to 18.00 pm, you will find group shows by artists and makers from the Art City, elsewhere at the NDSM and further afield.

At the foot of the stairs leading to Fuse you will find the Wunderkamer. These repurposed sea-containers showcase NDSM artists and makers in solo and group presentations. Currently in the Wunderkamer through January 2023 is an exhibition about the past: NDSM Toen (NDSM Then). The Wunderkamer is open daily seven days a week from 8.00 am to 18.00 pm.

For the full program see www.ndsm-fuse.eu.

FIND OUT MORE

For recent news follow us on Facebook To receive our bi-monthly, bi-lingual newsletter send an email to info@artcityndsm.nl. Check our out artists newspaper NDSM OPEN online in English and Dutch. Or pick up a copy when you visit the Art City!

Want to know more about the breeding ground and the artists and makers? See ndsmloods.nl. Interested in how this artists community got started? The plans from the early years are on the website of the community's co-founder and longtime Art City resident Eva de Klerk.. More about the NDSM shipyard and everything else to see and do can be found at ndsm.nl.  Interested in the history of shipbuilding at the NDSM? Visit NDSM Herleeft.

Meer over Art City NDSM

Art City bewaakt en ontwikkeld de idealen en gedachtengoed van de NDSM broedplaats, de gemeenschap van kunstenaars en makers, en bouwt voort op het collectieve geheugen. Dit doen wij door ons deuren open te zetten, door nieuw werk mogelijk te maken en bestaand werk een thuis te bieden, en door ruimte - fysiek en mentale - te creëren en te bespreken, zodat wij ons kunnen bewust positioneren en samen vorm geven aan een gedeelde toekomst.

Wij willen ons bewust verhouden, tot elkaar en tot de stad om ons heen – bewoners oud en nieuw, bezoekers van ver en van de buurt. Verhouden vraagt dat je de ander ziet - je doet er moeite voor, je houdt er rekening mee. Het is een actieve, geen passieve houding, het kan complex zijn en ongemakkelijk. Wat zou het betekenen voor jou om je te verhouden tot de NDSM, haar ruimtes, haar kunsten en makers, haar geschiedenis, haar gemeenschap? Hoe verhouden wij ons tot jou?

Art City NDSM (Stichting Open NDSM) is een kunstenaars- en makers-initiatief ontstaan als zelforganisatie vanuit de broedplaats op de NDSM-werf in Amsterdam Noord. Art City NDSM zet zich in om de professionele, artistieke en creatieve kwaliteiten van de kunstenaars en makers op de kaart te zetten, en de gedachtengoed van de broedplaats te bewaken en verder ontwikkelen. Daarnaast streeft Art City NDSM er naar om de publieke functie van de broedplaats als een gastvrije, open en inspirirende vrijplaats in ere te houden en te laten bloeien.

De stichting Art City NDSM heeft ten doel:

De NDSM broedplaats, de daar gevestigde kunstenaars, ambachtslieden en creatieve ondernemers, en wat zij produceren, onder de aandacht te brengen van een breed publiek.

De stichting tracht dit doel onder meer te bereiken door: a) Het initiëren, organiseren, ondersteunen, beheren en promoten van culturele activiteiten, o.a. tentoonstellingen, voorstellingen, kunstprojecten, presentaties, workshops, debatten, interventies, uitgaven en dergelijke; b) Het bevorderen van samenwerking, onderling in de broedplaats gemeenschap, en met alle relevante partijen binnen en buiten de NDSM-werf; c) Het verwerven van ideële steun voor de doelen en activiteiten van de stichting zowel bij particulieren als publieke instellingen; d) Het verkrijgen van financiële middelen door schenkingen, subsidies, inkomsten en andere bijdragen ten behoeve van activiteiten gericht op het bereiken van de doelen van de stichting; e) Al hetgeen te verrichten hetgeen tot de verwezenlijking van het doel van de stichting nodig, nuttig of dienstbaar kan zijn.

Art City NDSM is verbonden aan Huurders en Ondernemersvereniging de Toekomst.