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Two years ago, the first steps were taken in what turned out to be the run up to the biggest museum for street art and urban contemporary art in the world. The initiators aim to fill the 7000m² and 24 meter high former welding hangar with artworks and all kinds of street art installations, workshops and more. Producer Ilja de Leeuw is working on this project along with Peter Coolen, and I met her at Street Art Today to learn how this idea was born and is growing.
Building decoration becomes a museum
“In 2015 Peter was asked to organize a street art event during the annual NDSM Vrijhaven festival on King’s Day. The tenant of the Welding Hangar found out about the event and approached Peter to help him decorate the hangar with street art. During the event, they made several works of 15m2. After a day of hard work hanging the paintings, they were nowhere to be seen in the immense 7000 m2 floor and 24 meter high space. And so they scaled up the paintings to mural-size and invited more artists, that is how it all started.”
Street Art Today started as an online platform to promote street art and is now developing into an urban art agency. They work on street art projects, organize workshops, lectures and organize the annual Kings Spray Street Art Festival. They have worked with various artists from all over the world. “Street art is the most relevant art form of this time.”
The place hasn’t been chosen by chance: “It’s been transformed since the last 15 years, but it’s one of the oldest places where graffiti writers would come. It has a lot history when it comes to street art.” The most impressive thing is that the shipyard building which is becoming the museum is a part of the exhibition as well: “It breeds a lot of what it used to be (an industrial park) and it’s the only place at the wharf that hasn’t been renovated. It’s the last warehouse in its original state from when it was a shipyard; When the museum opens, we still want people to come and paint on the outside walls and be part of the museum.”.
The way this project is developing is such an organic process. Of course we have a plan but we are still flexible. We can act immediately when something amazing crosses our path
Such a project is hard to realize, especially without asking for funds, which has two reasons: “There’ve been too many critics towards the cultural sector so we said we can do it ourselves. We do a lot with sponsorship. We can do things way more quickly than when you get funding because you have to make a plan and stick to this.” They just received authorization to renovate the place and many ideas are still boiling in their mind. “The way this project is developing is such an organic process. Of course we have a plan but we are still flexible. We can act immediately when something amazing crosses our path.”
Full street art
The museum will provide you with a complete experience. They currently have 100 artworks and are still creating: large canvasses, but also installations, projections, 3D, and sculptures. Beside the permanent collection there’ll be galleries, live artworks and workshops. Street Art Today creates a bridge between artists and visitors. “It’s very special to see an artwork being brought into existence. Usually you don’t see the process of creation because artists mainly create in the darkness of the night.”
Not everything in the street is street art; when a statue is placed I don’t call it street art, but art in the street.
The museum will be entirely devoted to street art, but what does it mean exactly? “It’s an intervention in public space. The definition is personal, some people would say it’s painting on the streets, some others that it’s using Spray Cans. Not everything in the street is street art; when a statue is placed I don’t call it street art, but art in the street.”
You can become an artist by painting outside, on the future museum’s walls: “people can be a part of the museum as well as artists who are starting. That’s one of the things that makes this big project unique.” From summer 2018, join the creative experience at the biggest street art museum of the world.
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