LOOK AT THE ART IN AMSTERDAM NETHERLANDS
We were not able to find a tour that just did street art/graffiti. It was a shame, because we saw so much art. The majority we saw was in an industrial area called N.D.S.M. The area is in an unused industrial area that has been revamped with unique hotels – one is a crane that has 3 hotel rental units and a bungee jump area and the other is an old style river boat that has been transformed into a stationary hotel. The area also hosts a handful of bars and restaurants. There was also a large area of container converted apartments for a unique living situation.
One big surprise was that we were able to visit a gallery with over 80 pieces of original Banksy pieces. The collection of art was pulled together from various collectors by Banksy’s former manager. Banksy did not give the blessing of this showing and I had second thoughts about going. Once I learned that the collection would be soon moving to Australia and then the pieces were to be returned to their owners, I felt I really wanted to go in order to see some art from the man who really helped bring street art to the public. Banksy’s documentary “Exit Through the Gift Shop” was one of the reasons for my interest in street art.
We actually saw little graffiti/street art in the main downtown area. We weren’t sure if this is due to a large effort to keep the area free of this random art or if it has to do to the content feeling of the youth. I have this theory that the more content the population is the less tagging there is to be found. The areas that we have been to that has a larger economic divide in the population there is noticeably more of the unartistic tagging of a disenfranchised population wanting to be heard. Writing your name on the wall seems to be a way to express that a person is here and should be heard. That is my theory from what I have seen and heard from previous tours. Possibly it could be just that more successful areas have more money to spend on cleaning up the tags?
Here are some examples of the art we saw. Beth
