COMMON FUTURE
For the last few decades, we have been taught to "take care of ourselves", to think individually, to strive for individual greatness. It is about getting ahead, winning the rat-race. But, this can't be everything. It really isn't. We forget that our future is a common endeavor. Not because the human race is at an existential crossroad, but because it always has been. Instead of focusing on individual accomplishment, this is about a Common Future.
In 2017 we introduced a project called Lokaal Internationaal. In essence this was to be a way to connect local creative and cultural networks into an international network of likewise idealistic makers. It wouldn’t matter if the disciplines were different, or their world views were diametrically opposed. What mattered was that people wanted to create a more unified, collaborative, and experiment driven creative and cultural sector. This was launched with support from the Dutch Embassies in Beijing, Seoul and Tokyo.
By 2019, various different events and exchanges had taken place, but there was still something missing. By connecting unofficial communities and networks to each other, a great deal was possible, but it needed something extra to bind those intentions into deeds. So that fall we proposed VRIJHAVEN / COMMON FUTURE, a series of conferences, discussions, parties, exhibitions, and collaborations in Tokyo and Amsterdam. It would be the 1/3 of the cultural program for Dutch contribution to the Olympic Year (2020). Vrijhaven would be the Dutch element that would continue for 2020, and set the groundwork for a longer and more inclusive program COMMON FUTURE.
Then the world went into lock down, everything was canceled or postponed. So were the Olympics, and so was the Vrijhaven program. As the world saw no end in the lockdowns, ad hoc and unofficial / informal creative networks and communities for the most part went into hibernation or (politically and/or with whatever new belief was trending on instagram or TikTok) polarized to an extent that conversation became too loaded.
In 2021 we decided to turn the program on its head, and instead of live programming, we decided to shift the focus to online and offline media as a means to connect people. This became the new COMMON FUTURE, and VRIJHAVEN became the launching theme.
Vrijhaven was made up of a series of interviews with Japan and Dutch based makers, about their practice, approach and context, as well as essays. The COMMON FUTURE zine series, which is ongoing, would introduce 1 Netherlands and 1 internationally based maker. The COMMON FUTURE ‘zine gave each maker 31 pages to introduce themselves in whichever way they felt like. The only limitations were: its printed on RISO black and white, and the format.
All zines are available in our store.
