Resistance and Instigation: The Dubious Role of Squatters and Culture in the Gentrification of Amsterdam

Abstract

This essay focuses on the question of whether artists necessarily contribute to government-driven gentrification or if they can also resist local government policies. It describes the development of Amsterdam, characterized by government-driven gentrification and examines the paradoxical role that artists play within this process, as they can both resist and contribute to this urban transformation. While the government uses creativity and culture to make neighborhoods attractive to the middle class, squatters, for instance, oppose this by creating alternative, autonomous art projects in squatted buildings. The essay also historicizes the complex relationships between squatters, artists and gentrification processes by referencing newspaper articles from the 1990s. The essay concludes by stating that through combining art with squatting, artists can resist the neoliberal strategies employed by the government to promote gentrification