Neighbourhood heroes

Community art project in collaboration with Reinier Bosch and Bram Geenen | 2011

commissioned by municipality of Amsterdam in collaboration with Alliantie

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About the project

      Neighbourhood heroes is a project with, for and about residents of the Staalmanbuurt (Amsterdam West), with the goal to strengthen the social cohesion in the culturally diverse neighbourhood. 

      During a photography course for the neighbourhood, the residents got into contact while learning about portrait photography. 
      The resulting portraits were shown in the local coffeebar where all residents got the chance to vote for their portrait they liked best.

      The most popular portraits were engraved in large wooden panels that were displayed around the central parc of the neighbourhood. 
      Some of the portraits were printed on sailcloth and installed on the side of a building in renovation. 

      The Neighbourhood heroes project got a permanent place in the Staalman-neighbourhood when housing corporation Alliantie used several of the portraits as facades in their newly built appartment- complex down the street.