Radical Space (2021)
Radical Space is an ongoing creation process, program line, exhibition, and research initiative where participants, artists, and thinkers from various disciplines, inspired by encounters with residents, devise futuristic ways to make defining material and immaterial heritage future-proof. It is a melting pot where the character of the neighborhood is preserved and revitalized through dialogue with the present, past, and future.
Through new rituals, ceremonies, and collaborations, participants critique the impending future and place local developments in an international context. Additionally, SHEBANG, through Radical Space, questions its own role as a creative development hub in the changing urban landscape. This initiative taps into the essence of the Black Atlantic, exploring the profound interconnections between people, cultures, and histories shaped by the tides of migration and diaspora.
Southeast
Part I of Radical Space (2021) links the culture, imagination, and activism of Southeast Amsterdam with developments in Brixton (London) and Harlem (New York). This builds an international tradition of ‘world-making’ by diaspora communities, who challenge imposed boundaries and radically rethink the function of public spaces through new forms of gathering. It becomes a nexus of international networks of solidarity, knowledge, and memory.
Families have an urban archive, each street a museum within people’s homes. Every square or alleyway holds the potential for significant meetings. While some might see chaos in such gatherings, we see the heart of the city. This vision, inspired by my mission to intertwine historical narratives, theoretical insights, and artistic expressions, reflects a deep commitment to imagining and realizing liberated futures.
Radical Space in theory
The name Radical Space is inspired by two books: Radical Space: Building the House of the People by Margaret Kohn and Radical Spaces by Christina Parolin. Kohn examines places where the working class mobilizes and defines the meaning of space, often against the original intentions of those in power. The working class repeatedly finds creative ways to reshape space as a playful form of systemic critique and resistance against control by the ruling class, the establishment, and the state.
Parolin focuses on the rise of popular radicalism in London from 1790 to 1845, where the most innovative social ideas were exchanged in prisons, cafés, and theaters. In her book, she even presents historical documents of secret services trying to suppress the ‘radical ideas of the plebs’ by censoring radical spaces. And of course, that never works out in their favour. How can our Radical Space remain a censorship-free safe haven?
This literature is one of many sources of inspirations for the activities I want to develop as a commentary on the development of Amsterdam Southeast and the role of the arts. Radical Space strives for art that questions, dissects, and decodes this complex legacy in the search for a more just and liberated future.
Participating artists
Radical Space is composed of artists such as Poernima Gobardhan and Djuwa Mroivili, Poetronic (Smita James and Chris Chi), Adama Delphine Fawundu, and Rohan Ayinde. Curated by Richard Kofi, this project is commissioned by the nomadic development platform SHEBANG in Amsterdam Southeast. Through this collective endeavor, we aim to create new artworks and public programming at the Rijksmuseum, bridging our past and future with innovative expressions of Black resilience and creativity.
– Richard Kofi, gastcurator Radicale Ruimte, Issue I
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