Almost exactly one year ago, in November 2021, Mokum Kraakt organized the House Peace exhibition at Hotel Mokum with more than 90 contributors and spanning all 5 floors of the building. For a few nights, this dead building which had been empty for years was lit with life again. That fall, it really felt like something might change. But a little over 2 weeks later, the municipality of Amsterdam excercized its power and exorcized Hotel Mokum for vacancy – proving once again that for them, the right to own property outweighs the right to live.
One year, one energy- and one inflation crisis later, Hotel Mokum remains empty while the city seems about to collapse under its own weight, making all kinds of sounds in the process. People who were already struggling to afford sleep and eat can no longer afford to heat – coming winter will be a harsh one, indeed. And all this time, while these poor souls are cold and hungry, the speculators and patriarchs of the ruins like Peter Hagedoorn leave empty buildings to decay all over the city. This must stop; demand housing justice now!
This is why Mokum Kraakt has squatted the Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal 302 on 20.10.2022 and renamed it The Monument in an attempt to breathe new life into this abandoned house. In celebration of this resurrected ruin joining the realm of the living once again after years of neglect, Mokum Kraakt invites you to the exhibition Piep Knars Krijs Kraak.
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From Friday, 28.10.-Sunday, 30-10 at The Monument (Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal 302), Mokum Kraakt is organizing Piep Knars Krijs Kraak, an exhibition with 13 contributions by different artists and activists that are looking for ways in which (cheap!) art and culture can continue to exist in a city that’s cracking at the seems. The participants were chosen from over 120 applications to an open call the collective published in August of this year. The exhibition is funded by the Creative Industries Fund NL.
With contributions by Ben Maier, Dario di Paolantonio, Lina Selg, Daniel Dmyszewicz, Femke Dekker, Heleen Mineur, Lily Lanfermeijer, Smári Rúnar Róbertsson, Nína Harra, Lisette Olsthoorn, Nadezhda Bakhshieva, Nezhla Imanzadeh, Pablo Rezzonico, Paul Bille, Repelsteeltje, Victoria Hoogstoel, and We Sell Reality. Check @mokumkraakt on instagram or send an email to piepkraak@riseup.net for information on the public program.
Opening times:
Friday, 28.10.: 17-21h
Saturday, 29.10.: 14-21h
Sunday, 30.10.:14-21h
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Here are some pictures of the exhibit, taken by Geert:
