STRAATWIJS

Together with residents, policymakers and community organisations in Amsterdam Nieuw-West, we explored which societal challenges matter most in the neighbourhood. Three key themes emerged: (1) housing (in)security; (2) livelihood and financial insecurity; and (3) safety and youth wellbeing. These themes form the foundation for the co-creative activities within STRAATWIJS. The findings have been documented by the Stadsreporters, and interview insights for each stakeholder group are available on Open Research Amsterdam.

During the second phase of STRAATWIJS, residents, researchers, artists and local stakeholders co-created a series of street art posters together with the Street Art Museum Amsterdam (SAMA). The posters are based on conversations about financial (in)security, housing (in)security and youth wellbeing. They bring together residents' experiences, concerns and aspirations with the knowledge, perspectives and expertise of researchers and municipal professionals. The resulting artworks not only make local societal challenges visible but also create space for new perspectives and possible ways forward. More information about the co-creation sessions, the artworks and the key insights for each theme can be found on Open Research Amsterdam.

In the third phase of STRAATWIJS, we use interactive image theatre to explore local societal challenges together with residents, researchers and theatre makers. By stepping into living images inspired by the conversations and artworks from the previous phases, participants are invited to experience each other's perspectives. On 29 June, we will host a public festival where visitors are encouraged to actively engage with the performances, reflect on different perspectives and explore possible ways forward together. The insights and outcomes from these sessions will be shared on this page afterwards.

The fourth and final phase of STRAATWIJS focuses on learning and reflection. Together with our project partners, we reflect on the value of our approach. Since the start of the project, documentary filmmaker Luca Lange has followed our journey, capturing not only the public activities but also the conversations behind the scenes. His documentary records not only the co-creative sessions, but also the discussions, dilemmas and decisions of the project team. We use the documentary as a mirror to critically reflect on our way of working and the outcomes of STRAATWIJS.

Researchers at the Athena Institute also analyse the insights generated throughout the project to better understand how the co-creation of street art can contribute to the practice of science communication, citizen science, and the collective exploration of complex local societal challenges. The results will be shared on this page once the project has been completed.

The Athena project team consists of:

• Dr. Geertje Tijsma (researcher)
• Dr. Tessa Roedema (researcher)
• Dr. Michiel Oudheusden (researcher)

Additional project team members include:

• Mirna Ligthart (Stadsreporters)
• Andrea Knight-Zwaan (Stadsreporters)
• Anna Stolyarova (SAMA)
• Dr. Frank Kupper (Mens in de Maak)
• Luca Lange (Documentary maker)

This project has received funding from the Dutch National Research Council NWO under grant No. 1397.25.209.