Seminar including an excursion to parking garage Kempering in the Amsterdam Bijlmermeer

With Vyjayanthi Rao (director Terreform center for advanced urban research, New York City) and
May al-Ibrashi (Al Athar Lina director (the monument is ours), Cairo)
Murat Isik (author Wees onzichtbaar Libris Prize 2018)

Heritage is the ever temporary outcome of a continuous negotiation process. This always involves an array of contrasting interests. Emotion networking is a method in development to give as many different people a place at the negotiating table as possible and make the dynamic of everyone's feelings transparent - from heritage professionals to citizens. And then? In the grand finale of the Stadsgevoel seminar series Imagine IC and the Reinwardt Academy take the step from negotiation towards action. Our case is parking garage Kempering in the Bijlmer.

Kempering

Kempering is a concrete colossus from the early 70s. It is no longer in use as parking space. But it is not out of use or empty - with every new function it has gained multiple layers of meaning. Kempering is on the table in a negotiation process between the city, the district and citizens in favor of - and against demolition. Recently, the Amsterdam city council did not ratify the earlier district decree on demolition. The future of the garage is back in the hands of the district and several interest parties are being heard again.

An excellent opportunity to investigate how we can act on an object of heritage: how we can simultaneously act and continue to negotiate.

Program

This 19th of November, we look back on previous cases that we investigated in the development of the emotion network method, such as the monument to the history of slavery, the Bijlmer flight disaster or Zwart Beraad. Afterwards, two leading international speakers present their view on participative processes of heritage-making and monumentalising in the city. After lunch we go into the neighbourhood to get acquainted with Kempering and discuss the role of the garage in the nostalgia around the old Bijlmer with Libris literature prize winner Murat Isik. We seize the opportunity to discuss 'negotiating heritage' with managers of the district Zuidoost in community center De Bonte Kraai.

Schedule on the 19th of November

Location: Imagine IC

9:00 – 9:30 Walk in with breakfast

9:30 – 9:40 Welcome by Marlous Willemsen (director Imagine IC)

9:40 – 10:30 Hester Dibbits (Lector Reinwardt Academy) in conversation with:

Anita Blom, National Institute for Cultural Heritage (Stadsgevoel #1 Kempering)
Gloria Wekker, Prof. dr. Em. Utrecht University (Stadsgevoel #2 Slavery monument)
Erik van de Velde, the Museum Factory Enschede (Stadsgevoel #3 Bijlmer flight disaster)
Dyoñna Bennett, Knowledge Center for Intangible Heritage (Stadsgevoel #4 Zwart Beraad)

10:30 – 10:45 Coffee break

10:45 – 11:30 Vyjajanthi Rao (director Terreform center for advanced urban research director, New York City)

11:30 – 11:45 Coffee break / Kempering expo Imagine IC

11:45 – 12:30 May Al-Ibrashi (director Al Athar Lina/the monument is ours, Cairo)

12:30 – 13:00 Discussion, moderator: Stefanie van Gemert

13:00 – 14:00 Lunch and transport to Kempering garage by bus

14:00 – Instappen bus + vertrek (Bijlmerdreef 120)

14:15 – 15:00 Murat Isik (Author of award winning novel Be Invisible) in Garage Kempering

15:00 – 16:00 Plenary discussion. Moderated by Stefanie van Gemert at Buurthuis De Bonte Kraai