Free Spaces

Free spaces are undefinable but essential

Free spaces come in many different formats and forms. Some have more space for public functions and others more for working or living. Some free spaces have a strong political approach, while others are more culturally or socially oriented. You can find them everywhere – both in the Netherlands and abroad – and nowhere, because there are not that many free spaces left. Some of the remaining free spaces have been bought and converted into collective ownership. Others have been squatted. A free space that is rented is also possible, of course. My preference is probably obvious. However, a free space is not defined by the ownership structure, nor by whether or not the term free space is used. Indeed, there are plenty of places that I would label as free spaces but which do not refer to themselves as such. The reverse is also possible: places that call themselves free spaces but certainly are not, in my opinion, because of their commercial orientation. The term free space is difficult to define, but no less important for that.

Shaped by free spaces
For years I have worked, lived, talked, danced, flirted and laughed in free spaces. Free spaces taught me to live life apart from the stimulus of constant economic value creation. The communal, non-hierarchical nature of a free space encourages you to listen to each other, work together and put your ego aside from time to time. This takes time and energy, but yields just as much or even more satisfaction. The unpredictable results of emerging collective forces are particularly interesting. Those are the moments when you realize that as a collective you are capable of so much more than on your own, and that free spaces are needed to engage in joint – not money-driven – experiments. I dare say without a doubt that free spaces are essential for an exciting, diverse city and have largely shaped me into who I am today.

Free spaces are, in my opinion, about the freedom to design a place communally, according to one’s own opinions and ideas.

Free spaces cannot be defined
Despite all my experiences and time spent in various free spaces, I have never heard (or read) a definition that exactly covers the meaning. Perhaps the fact that free spaces (like art) cannot be defined is precisely their strength and what makes them special. They differ in size, colour, composition, vision, organizational structure and interpretation. They are diverse, experimental, social, societal and liberated, but all have their own identity. Free spaces (the name actually says it all) are, in my opinion, about the freedom to design a place communally, according to one’s own opinions and ideas. No frameworks, criteria and preferably no fixed functions either, but the freedom to be oneself, define oneself and challenge the established order.

Place for experimentation
Free spaces create a bridge between the conscious and the subconscious, as well as the fusion of mind and intuition. They are fields of energy. A new horizon. A collaborative work of art and practice that emerges organically, from below. Horizontally organized, for and by local, small-scale, autonomous communities.
Experimenting together with the potential of different perspectives and function dynamics. Preferably for the long term in collective ownership, because the shared responsibility and self-management that come with it create individual commitment and collective will.

Non-commercial
As far as I am concerned, free spaces are never commercially oriented; rather, they move away from the market. Open, welcoming, accessible and affordable for all. Through their public programming (art, music, film, food, education, etc.) they connect with the neighbourhood, city and other interested parties. This allows the inside and the outside to blend. Social, societal, cultural, pleasurable and adventurous – but without the need or compulsion to consume.

On the move
The perfect free space does not exist. There are endless magical moments and just as many disagreements and tears. An interesting free space is always in motion and a continuous collective process with peaks and troughs. Constantly reinventing and redefining yourself. Daring to make mistakes and start again. Free spaces mean a lot of deliberation, striving for consensus, taking radical decisions and risks, but above all space for chance, doubt and new ideas.

Gentrification
In recent years, many beautiful free spaces have been cleared and disappeared. As a result, the city has become less adventurous and less diverse. Space is under pressure as the market has taken over everything. Artists and creatives are regularly used – without realizing it themselves – as tools for gentrification processes and urban development. Everything and everyone is willingly or unwillingly in the service of big money.
In Amsterdam anno 2023, everything exists and functions in a state of permanent temporariness: flex contracts for working and living, anti-squat living without rights, temporary incubators awaiting redevelopment, Airbnb’s and so on. Collective ownership can help break that spiral by converting temporariness to long-term. Permanent, not-for-profit and without market pressure. Places like the OT301, OCCII, the Plantage Dok, the Domijn, Nieuw en Meer, Zaal100 and Vrankrijk are fortunately already in collective ownership and will therefore not disappear any time soon. But as far as I’m concerned, that’s not enough. We need more and new free spaces to keep the city liveable, interesting, diverse and exciting. Temporary incubators are not enough. I am of course in favour of affordable space for artists, but due to the temporariness and non-collective organizational structure of most incubators, they are gentrification accelerators rather than evidence of long-term vision.

Expedition Free Space
After clearing almost all potentially vacant free spaces, the Amsterdam municipality came to the conclusion in 2019 that free spaces are important and valuable for the city. Actually too late, as pretty much all of the city’s free spaces had been razed to the ground already. Or was it just in time, because there is still a group of people who are hugely committed to free spaces in the city? Late or on time doesn’t matter anymore. What matters most is that free spaces have been put on the agenda and that a team from the municipality is working to develop them. Yes, I hear you thinking: ‘How do you develop free spaces with municipal policy?’ This is indeed somewhat paradoxical. On the one hand, I am a firm believer that free spaces cannot arise from municipal policy, but only from our own initiative: bottom-up and self-organized. On the other hand, I am glad that the municipality is finally valuing free spaces and thinking along. After all, we need everything and everyone in the fight to preserve and realize new free spaces.

Free spaces are non-profit and, on the basis of principle and vision, aim to create value other than financial value.

It is clear that there is no room in the market for them. They are not profitable in the way the market wants. Free spaces are non-profit and, on the basis of principle and vision, aim to create value other than financial value. It is positive to note that the municipality is helping to find spaces that can be used as free spaces. The fact that this has so far resulted in only a few temporary spaces, that there is a cost-covering rent attached to it, and that no housing is allowed, is less positive. I do not want to say that free spaces should always be available for free to those who work or live there. However, it is virtually impossible to run a free space if a commercial rent is charged for it. Then you cannot realize affordable space for experimentation, (sub)culture and social initiatives. If the price is too high, as a user you are forced to focus on making money instead of the non-commercial goals you have set as a free space. A free space weighed down by the compulsion to make a lot of money is not a free space but a business.

Indispensable
As far as I am concerned, free spaces can play a role in the transition to a more regenerative society, or one as proposed by the degrowth movement. Without knowing it or being aware of it themselves, free spaces already naturally have a regenerative approach, so they overlap with degrowth ideas. This is partly due to their horizontal organizational structure and collective, non-commercial nature. But it also comes from the extent to which recycled materials are used, from the vokus (people’s kitchens) that save edible food from the dustbin, from repairing rather than buying new stuff, from managing a lot themselves, and certainly from providing space for social or activist organizations that can’t find a place anywhere else in the city.
In addition, free spaces are part of the city’s breeding ground for art and culture. The places where young designers, musicians, dancers, writers and other artists find or create a stage to share their work and develop further. Without free spaces there is no new recruitment for the so-called creative industry.
It is unfortunate that few people realize how valuable free places (and the squatting scene) are to the city. That these very places are oriented towards building up and restoring rather than towards tearing down, polluting and depriving. Free spaces do not exist just for yourself. You share them, nurture them, cherish them. Free spaces cannot be defined but, as far as I am concerned, are living proof that things can be different and therefore one hundred per cent essential!