Fotomomuseum housed in two monumental 17th century canal houses. 

Under the city, the extraordinary Gesamtkunstwerk by Louis van Gasteren, Jan Sierhuis and others is located in Nieuwmarkt underground. This is one of the public artworks of the Seventies and early Eighties endangered due to station renovation on the Underground Eastline. At present there is a notice hanging at different spots on the wall: ‘‘This artwork has been temporally removed due to renovations”.

At the Damrak on the daily journey between home and studio, my eye is continually drawn to the emblem that has functioned as a façade ornament on the corner of the Beurs van Berlage for more than a hundred years. In combination with the past function of the building - trade centre - and in relation to the present financial crisis, the timeless maxim gains extra significance: ‘Dis-pe-reert niet’ (‘Do not des-pair’).

A few years ago I had a conversation with a staff member from Uytenhaak Architects about concealed texts in Amsterdam, relating to my own work ‘stoned forever’, which is integrated in brickwork in the Olympic Quarter. He said that there is a text in Morse code incorporated into the Droogbak (1989), a residential building by Uytenhaak: ‘Deze muur staat er niet’ (‘This wall isn’t here’). It is located close to the railway line. Rudy Uytenhaak later told me that this was his last opportunity to protest against the acoustic fence that had to be constructed for bureaucratic reasons.

A few years ago, the Volkskrant (one of the countries biggest newspaper) moved office to a new location. Their old headquarter now houses hundreds of artists and musician; along with dance studios, a bar/club with panorama over the city, a dreadlock 'doctor', a Russian cultural centre, a cyberpunk gallery and my photo studio on the 4th floor. It was a conscious choice by the founders to create a total melting pot. In the basement for example, 3 doors away from our music studio, you will find some cheerful weed smoking hiphop producers from the Bijlmer (the 'ghetto' of Amsterdam); an ex-yougoslavian hardcore drummer with a full analogue recording studio and a ballet school run by an obese woman in her 70's. Ok, it might seem artificial, but it really is quite magical!