Author: Communication Intern

We are very excited to present Para-siting, a new programme that runs parallel to our exhibition programme. Para-siting is our response to the tremendous urgency we saw during W139 hosts… to create space for experimentation, try-outs, and work in progress.

In a political climate that has created an environment of scarcity and competition within the Dutch cultural sector, W139 wants to keep supporting Amsterdam’s artistic ecosystem. This is why, starting from the end of February, we will share our upper floor with makers, collectives, and initiatives from all over the city.

In his book The Parasite, Michel Serres describes how small groups of pests can become important players in public dialogue through the creation of diversity and complexity, vital to human life and thought. During Para-siting, W139 will allow other organisms to take over, providing space for encounters and the exchange of ideas, allowing for a more flexible and rapid response to current or urgent developments.

We are happy to announce the Parasites until June 2025: Remove the Dot, Bring Your Own Book, Espacio Estamos Bien, Absent Academy, and Tempodesert.

We are extremely happy and proud to announce that Farida Sedoc has won the 2024 Amsterdam Art Prize for Work of the Year for People’s Forum at W139!

“People’s Forum  is a symphony of historical and contemporary voices of resistance, community and solidarity. Even in the collective, Sedoc managed to maintain her own voice within the greater whole. When asked whether this work has a ‘direct influence on the development and reach of art in Amsterdam’, as the criterion states, the jury’s answer was a resounding yes. In times of existential uncertainty and unequal distribution of power and resources, People’s Forum shows what the art world can look like.” – Statement from the jury of the Amsterdam Art Prize 

People’s Forum explored the conditions for art as a livelihood and as a vehicle for change. Sedoc started from her own precarious experience as an artist to address new forms of collectivity. Amplifying past and present voices of diasporic and transnational communities, the exhibition brought resistance and civil disobedience to the forefront, and suggested tools for emancipation.

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who contributed to People’s Forum at W139—including the art market contributors, workshop facilitators, participants, and visitors. Special appreciation goes to Platform BK and Erik de Hart (Heavy Bones). We are also deeply grateful to those who supported the exhibition: Amsterdam Fund for the Arts, Cultuurfonds, Mondriaan Fund, Pictoright Fund, Gieskes-Strijbis Fund, and Oedipus Brewing.

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An exhibition by Farida Sedoc

Curated by Claudio Ritfeld

W139 Team: Fai Aldhukair, Tomas Adolfs, Nadia Benchagra, Dana Claasen, Levi van Gelder, Dil Ghale, Sam Geer van der Klugt, Margarita Osipian, Claudio Ritfeld, Suze van der Tang, Annette Wolfsberger

Platform BK Team: Harriet Rose Morley, Jeannette Slütter

Support Team: Andre Avelas, Michiel Terpelle (Jizz Taco)

Graphic Design & Spatial Design: Erik de Hart (Heavy Bones)

Our supporters Amsterdam Fund for the Arts, Cultuurfonds, Mondriaan Fund, Pictoright Fund, Gieskes-Strijbis Fund, and Oedipus Brewing