Artistic work and urban space

Separation as a resistance strategy in the OT301 collective

Abstract

Not only is artistic labour already undervalued and underpaid, but also gentrification processes taking place across the globe are contributing to further obstacles for the artistic community in finding affordable places where to live and work. In this article we analyse separation as a resistance strategy regarding the artist’s position within contemporary capitalism. As a case study, we discuss OT301’s project in Amsterdam, a collective which squatted a former film school in 1999 in order to fight against the shortage of affordable spaces for artists in the city and combining housing, art studios and public space. It intends to be an alternative space for arts and politics, focusing on subculture and stating a distance from the state and hegemonic institutions. The OT301 has established itself as a cornerstone of artists’ self-organization and resistance and ensured its future through collective ownership. By discussing what steps were taken and what outcomes were achieved, we aim to learn from this experience and identify some actions that could also be applied to other contexts.