You, the petitioner
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Keep W139 in the heart of Amsterdam

4,824 signatures

This is a call from poverty street... because that's what it will be if W139 has to leave here. The city center becomes sour under monoculture. Authentic Amsterdam places disappear or have to move to the periphery. The continued existence of W139 is also threatened and with it the artistic freedom of the city center.

Petition

We

Amsterdammers, residents of the Red Light District and inner city, artists, art lovers, expats, etc

 

establish that:

  • 'The W' has existed since 1979 and, like large museums, is open 7 days a week and admission is free.
  • There is no other place in the Netherlands that attracts such a diverse audience.
  • Being a conscious advocate of risk and experiment is a unique quality.
  • Little imagination is needed to think about what will happen to the building if W139 has to be closed, sandwiched between the Beurs, Bijenkorf and Dam and the world of sex, drugs & shopping.

 

and request

  • Don't let the city slide down any further. Is that the direction we want to take? partly prompted by covid? Save this stage for hundreds of artists (for example: Melanie Bonajo, Rob Scholte, Ulay, Barbara Visser, Fiona Tan, Kati Heck, Ruangrupa, Remy Jungerman, Carlos Amorales, Michael Tedja, etc) and keep the jobs of the W139 staff.

  • Preliminary support of ? 200,000 is needed. Not much for a metropolis where the imagination once really had a foothold.

Sign this petition

 
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Details

Addressed to:
Amsterdam 
Petition desk:
Closing date:
2021-01-13 
Lead petitioner:
Su Tomesen, Serge Onnen, Nadia Benchagra, Jowon van der Peet 
Organisation:
Kunstenaars van Amsterdam 
Website:

History

Signatures

Updates

Een greep uit de talenten die in een vroeg stadium bij W139 een solo- of groepstentoonstelling hadden, niet zelden hun debuut:

  • Rob Scholte/ Sandra Derks, 1982 (Rom 87 gelijk aan Stedelijk Museum verkocht)
  • Ulay, 1992 (zat er in isolement met tien studenten)
  • Barbara Visser, 1993
  • Fiona Tan, 1993
  • Jeroen Eijsinga, 1995
  • Aernout Mik, 1995
  • Mike Nelson, 1996 (Turner Prize genomineerd 2001 en 2007, Biënnale van Venetië 2011)
  • Jodi, 1996
  • Jeremy Deller, 1997 (i.s.m. Winston Kingdom en Carlos Amorales)
  • Viviane Sassen, 1998
  • Thomas Hirschhorn, 1999 (allereerste monument Spinoza monument op de Wallen in opdracht van W139, op de Achterzijds Voorburgwal)
  • Meschac Gaba, 1999 (het inmiddels wereldberoemde ‘Fourth Space of African Contemporary Art Museum’ aangekocht door Tate Modern)
  • Erwin Wurm, 1999
  • Remy Jungerman, 2001 (vertegenwoordigde NL met Iris Kensmil op de Biënnale van Venetië in 2019) 
  • Philippe Parreno 2005 (nu in collectie van onder andere MoMA) van we quoten hem:  ‘A project is more important than the object’
  • Melanie Bonajo 2006 (gaat in 2021 NL vertegenwoordigen op de Biënnale van Venetië) 
  • Ruangrupa in 2006 (curatoren Sonsbeek 2016, nu Documenta 15)
  • Constant Dullaart 2006
  • Iris Kensmil 2007 (vertegenwoordigde NL met Remy Jungerman op de Biënnale van Venetië in 2019)  en nu bestuurslid
  • Zoro Feigl  2008
  • Oscar peters 2014
  • Farida Sedoc 2016 (nu in Stedelijk Museum)
  • Shertise Solano 2020
  • & Directeur Ann Demeester (2003-2006 directeur van W139, daarna de Appel en nu Frans Halsmuseum Haarlem).
2020-10-15