Good Praxis Amsterdam
How do you organise a club night? What does a climate just club scene look like? And what new forms of collective expression are needed for solidarity, community and revolution?
Good Praxis - To Dance is to be Free
Mutual Aid workshop with Juha van ‘t Zelfde and Manique Hendricks
Saturday 16 March 2024
Location: Bar Bario, Bilderdijkstraat 186 Amsterdam
Time: 4 - 7 PM
"Survival work, when done alongside social movement demands for transformative change, is called mutual aid." Dean Spade
The exhibition 'To Dance is to Be Free: club culture in Amsterdam from 1980 to now' in the Amsterdam City Archives explores the history of club culture in Amsterdam based on values such as collective creativity, experiment, innovation and emancipation. An essential role is assigned to queer communities that shape and have shaped the Amsterdam night. To conclude the exhibition, Good Praxis organises a mutual aid workshop in Bar Bario.
Because not everyone can participate in blockades, strikes or blowing up pipelines, mutual aid as a political tactic is an accessible alternative to direct action. Mutual aid gives people the opportunity to organise themselves to meet needs that are not met by the state, municipality or commercial parties.
How do you organise a club night? What does a climate just club scene look like? And what new forms of collective expression are needed for solidarity, community and revolution? In this workshop we will answer these questions and more together. By applying the method of mutual aid, everyone can contribute according to their needs and abilities. Through the principle of "nothing about us without us", we as a scene take control of our own future.
Before the workshop, Manique Hendricks gives an insight into the making of the exhibition and the importance of collective creativity in nightlife. Participating artist Juha van 't Zelfde then explains the principles of mutual aid using international examples. During the workshop everyone answers three questions: What do you want? What do you have? And what do you need? Good Praxis' experience shows that participants leave the workshop with new energy, new plans and sometimes even new friends.
Link to the event
