BijlmAIR, Heesterveld, Amsterdam Southeast, Netherlands

Creating a symphony in the mix of different music styles.
CBK Zuidoost in Amsterdam selected my proposal Bijlmersymfonie for realisation during a BijlmAIR residency at Heesterveld. I was artist-in-residence in Februari-March 2024 and prepared performance Bijlmersymfonie as a public event, and video installation Living Building leading from the event. Both works feature the monumental highrise apartment building Geldershoofd in Amsterdam Southeast, its residents with diverse cultural backgrounds and the lush garden.

In the event Bijlmersymfonie on Sunday July 7, 2024 Dutch hiphop, jazz, Afrobeats, bubbling, Afghan and Surinamese music etc - suggested by participating residents - were heard from four speakers on four balconies. I composed where and when which song was played by the participants on the balconies. During the performance, I was in front of the flat in the garden assisting conductor Humphrey Howard.

Bijlmersymfonie has been filmed. Since the audience walked by, came closer or distanced themselves from the building during the performance, the perception of the work varied continuously. Camera recordings from different places will result in a video installation which aims to approximate the same subjective experience. The installation Living Building is part of BijlmAIR in Zuidoost 2024, a group show with the harvest of all residencies at CBK Zuidoost in Amsterdam Southeast in 2024. The show, curated by Renske de Jong, takes place from December 12, 2024 until February 2025.

Next to CBK Amarte Fonds, Cultuurfonds, Stadsdeel Zuidoost, Stichting Niemeijer Fonds, Mondriaan Fonds and Rochdale support the project.

Press about performance at Geldershoofd:
- Amsterdam newspaper Het Parool announced Bijlmersymfonie on July 7 with Een monument voor en door bewoners van de Bijlmer, an article by Frederike Bentsen
- National NPO Radio 1 Journaal sent reporter Vincent van Rijn who realised Bijlmersymfonie vanaf balkons van flat Geldershoofd 
- Housing association Rochdale published a series of interviews at Ons Verhaal 
- Local podcast by Neumine Marshall, interview on YouTube: De Stem zonder Filter