Protest in the City
A three-week education studio, looking at public space as a place for protest, with Loom - practice for cultural transformation. Taking place on Mondays till Thursdays between 02 & 19 June 2025. More info soon.
Picture: CC Flickr / Sandra Fauconnier
Tickets for this thematic block are available for 400 euro. This workshop is part of our This is Tomorrow programme, but also offered as a stand-alone workshop. Availability depends on the amount of participants in the full programme.
Protest in the City
Protest has always been an inherent part of democratic processes and urban life, unfolding on the streets, squares, and walls of our cities. From the strikes of the harbour workers to the #MeToo movement, and from resident demonstrations against increasing rents or climate marches, to Black Lives Matter campaigns - people find ways to be heard in public space. But the possibilities for protest are increasingly under pressure. Repression, surveillance, security measures, gentrification and the increasing smoothening of public space are making it harder for people to freely gather, express dissent, and advocate for change.
For this last thematic block we will team up with Rene Boer, Mark Minkjan and Katía Truijen of Loom - practice for cultural transformation to look at the public space of the city as a place for protest. We will regard activism as a discipline that involves revealing facts, building narratives and creating real-world impact. Whether it is the fossil fuelled industry or the bankrupt housing system, Rotterdam has plenty of battles to be fought that resonate over the globe. In these weeks we will identify urgent issues, create counter positions, and design strategies to challenge it while proposing alternative solutions.
Drawing inspiration from past and present generations of activists, we will explore how to design the communication of non-conventional narratives and the conditions for disobedient assemblies. This could include blockades, barricades, banners, choreographies, legal tactics, social media memes, squatting operations, consumer strikes or other, more subtle forms of expressing dissent with regard to the status quo - using whatever tools are necessary to drive change.
This workshop is part of our This is Tomorrow programme, but also offered as a stand-alone workshop. More info soon.
Preliminary Programme
Protest week #1
Monday 02 June 2025
10:00 - 12:30 Welcome and Introduction lectures
12:30 - 13:30 Lunch Break
13:30 - 17:00 Excursion exploring the potential for protest in the smooth city (tbc)
Tuesday 03 June 2025
10:00 - 11:30 Lecture on protest from a historical perspective.
11:30 - 12:30 conversation
12:30 - 13:30 Lunch Break
13:30 - 17:00 Research time
Wednesday 04 June 2025
10:00 - 12:30 Presentations and conversations
12:30 - 13:30 Lunch Break
13:30 - 17:00 Research time
Thursday 05 June 2025
10:00 - 12:30 Research time
12:30 - 13:30 Lunch Break
13:30 - 17:00 Presentations of research
Protest Week #2
Monday 09 June 2025
Pentecost - no collective programme
Tuesday 10 June 2025
10:00 - 11:30 Lecture on expanding horizons of protest (to be confirmed)
11:30 - 12:30 Input session with Loom
12:30 - 13:30 Lunch Break
13:30 - 17:00 Concept development
Wednesday 11 June 2025
10:00 - 11:30 Conversation about the limitations of protest.
11:30 - 12:30 Input session with Loom
12:30 - 13:30 Lunch Break
13:30 - 17:00 Concept development
Thursday 12 June 2025
10:00 - 11:00 Concept development
11:00 - 12:30 Presentations of concept
12:30 - 13:30 Lunch Break
13:30 - 17:00 Optional: Riso workshop
Protest Week #3
Monday 16 - Wednesday 18 June 2025
Participants work on output and a campaign
Thursday 19 June 2025
10:00 - 13:30 Prepare for presentation
13:30 - 17:00 Public Presentation, invite guests
About Loom - practice for cultural transformation
Powered by dialogue and imagination, Loom provides reflections, propositions, rehearsals, and real-world alternatives that bring people together around urgent issues. Building on years of experience and a wide-ranging expertise, Loom creates unexpected ties between independent initiatives and institutions, weaving together people and practices with roots in different worlds. Loom facilitates conversations, conducts research, curates exhibitions and public programmes, publishes books, consults organisations and develops shared learning experiences. Loom is grounded in Amsterdam and Rotterdam, and links with an international network in the arts, culture, design, public policy, media and heritage, bringing together local situations and global issues. Loom is Katía Truijen, Mark Minkjan, Michiel van Iersel, Radna Rumping and René Boer working in close collaboration with an evolving ecosystem of talented and established practitioners.
Testimonials of previous participants