Opening Soon: Turkish Snack Bar

Laurence Aëgerter has been living and working in Amsterdam for 15 years. Her contribution to the Red A.I.R Artists in Residency project has been an ongoing exhibition that has been featuring installments that have been undergoing changes in the theme of “Opening Soon/Opening Now,” which is the title of her exhibition space.

With this exhibition, the artist invites the public into the space that she has been given for the duration of the project. Concurrently, she uses this space as the framing for diverse performances and public events that she has and will continue to hold sporadically over the next few months, directing her focus towards attracting different groups of the public, who she welcomes into this exploratory productive and constructive interaction and reflection with her artistic space.

The first event that Laurence organised for her venue, the former brothel that she was allocated by the city of Amsterdam and the housing corporation De Key, was a public performance that exhibited the element of “Opening Soon” for the public. A cleaning of the space was displayed in the form of a public performance that the artist had arranged with professional cleaners, who became the actors on the stage. While the artist herself explained that the event was staged with incomplete awareness of her own intentions for organising this first event for the space, she was fully cognisant of the fact that this performance would stir diverse emotions from those who witnessed the professional cleaning team in action on her performance space as well as along the streets, the large window and building façade.

As I entered the second installment of the project, Opening Soon/Opening Now, I found that this exhibition was a component of the “Opening Now” part of her program. In the public library, I had the opportunity to witness Laurence transform the former brothel into a public space that would serve the public in another way, and I had the chance to see and hear her reflect on the use of the space.

Laurence spoke about how the individuals who entered this space responded to her project, and I gained insight into the nature of project and how it had the potential to benefit both residents and other individuals who experienced this area. Her work also shed light on the contextual values that were accounted for in the broader picture of the transitions that were taking place in the red light district.

Opening Soon: Turkish Snack Bar...