City Council Amsterdam wants to maintain cheap studios NDSM

Due to the popularity of the NDSM site, artists lose their cheap workplaces. The renovation of the X-helling, a former ship slope, has to be done cheaply so that artists can retreat their studios.

That is the wish of the city council, which supports a proposal from the SP. The NDSM site has been used by craftsmen and creators since the 1980s, who found space and peace. But they are no longer the only ones. Festivals are held and the headquarters of large companies are perched. As a result, much space was lost by artists. Festivals, restaurants and the monthly flea market now attract almost 2 million visitors a year.

The concrete Y-helling, where dozens of artists entered their workspace, are currently being rebuilt. For this, 33 more modern, but also smaller workplaces, are offered for a much higher rent.

Also, the X-helling, the little brother of the Y-helling, needs to be repaired. Here, especially, the artists are located that make great sculptures or spatial works. They feared the same fate as those of the Y-helling users, but there’s a stick to the board.

Dirty-handed artists
The renovation should not affect the “rainy and sparse character” of the X-helling, only the needy will be repaired. In this way, councilor Nelly Duijndam (SP) hopes that the artists can not retrieve their own space after the renovation. “This is the place of the dirty manners who work with stone, steel and wood and need a lot of square meters, and we need to protect them.”

It’s about ten studios, under a shipyard of 1900 square meters. The rent is now around 400 euros per workspace. A large majority of the council supports Duijndam.

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