How a Street Art Museum Builds Community
A dive into Amsterdam's Nieuw-Ouest neighborhood through the lens of street art
A morning yoga class followed by breakfast at Baker Lab was the perfect way to start an action-packed day in Amsterdam. We set out from the hotel promptly at 10 am to an unusual museum in Amsterdam's Nieuw-Ouest.
After two train rides, we arrived not at a grand building, but a humble bus stop. Here, we were greeted by the intense and spirited Anna Stolyarova, a Ukrainian immigrant and the managing director of the Street Art Museum of Amsterdam (SAMA). Calling it a museum is a bit of a paradox; it doesn’t exist within the four walls of a building but sprawls across the city's streets in vibrant bursts of color and emotion.
Anna likened street art to a sport, highlighting five factors she considers when recruiting artists:
Do it Yourself
Location
Style
Speed
No one pays you for it.
The ethos of street art embodies a spirit of independence, a quest for self-expression, and a persona that is not bound by the constraints of traditional art.
Street art, in many ways, can feel more authentic, as it is grounded in real-world experiences and the raw emotions of the community as it’s represented in real-time. The fact that Anna took special care to involve the community in its creation process reflects a sense of belonging and unity that few traditional museums can replicate. Anna described this process as participatory design, where numerous meetings are held with community members until a consensus can be reached. It's not just about the artist's vision, but how that vision resonates with the community that will interact with the art daily.
Spending the day with Anna and experiencing the street art museum was eye-opening. Far from the pristine, curated collections within traditional museum walls, street art features stories and voices that often go unheard.
Anna's consideration for the community in creating art left an impression on me. It reminded me that art is not just a solitary pursuit but a dialogue, a conversation that can unite people and reflect shared experiences and emotions.
In a world where we are often confined to our individual bubbles, art, especially street art, serves as a bridge, a silent conversation that breaks barriers and fosters connections. It made me reflect on the art we encounter in our daily lives - not just in museums or galleries but in the places we’re least likely to look.
‘Till Next Time,
Max