A conversation on autonomous buildings, past and present
In 1993, a group of people squatted a former school building on the Derde Kostverlorenkade in Amsterdam and named it Kostgewonnen. They opened the doors for community facilities, a chess-club, a kindergarten and crafts-workshops. For the neighborhood, by the neighborhood. Through their efforts, Kostgewonnen still persists as a legalized building owned by its own community. Thirty years after the squat, the world both inside and outside of its walls has changed. It is time to celebrate this anniversary and reflect on Kostgewonnen’s activist legacy, past and present.
The panel-conversation Without Landlords reflects on the social position, responsibilities and possibilities that exist within autonomous buildings. What have they come to mean in the context of a housing-crises and squatting ban? How can they adapt to a changing world? How is community maintained whilst allowing it to evolve? How does a squatting-past influence the present and future of a community? Without Landlords is about buildings and their communities as living archives. Where do we go from here?
In conversation: artist Philippa Driest (Kiosk Rotterdam, Poortgebouw), artist Layla Gijsen (Kinderen van Mokum), architect Marieke van Ouwerkerk (Kostgewonnen), Werker Collective, more to be announced.
Moderator: activist, artist, researcher, educator Shailoh Phillips (Kostgewonnen)
