Amsterdam Alternative just launched a new video department called Fragmenta.
Check out the Fragmenta page for more info about this project and how to join as a video maker.
The first two videos are now online. Episode one is an interview with David Bollier, episode two an interview with Katie Duck.
Together with Jeffrey Babcock, founder of Jeffrey’s Underground Cinema, the Rad-ish podcast reflects on cinema as a community-based experience, its relation to cultural activism, and the importance of diverse audiences.
Listen on:
AA website // Soundcloud // Spotify // Youtube
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Amsterdam Alternative publishes articles about free spaces, gentrification, politics, climate, music, art, housing and other urgent topics. We publish in our bi-monthly free newspaper as well as online.
See all articlesOver the past two years, we have seen numerous student protests and encampments – from solidarity with Palestine to opposition to university budget cuts. Far from being spontaneous outbursts of “angry” or “too radical” students, these actions are rooted in years of organized effort and institutional pressure from student groups to democratize the university itself. The Activistenpartij UvA, a leftist progressive student party of the University of Amsterdam, are one
Wat betekent het voor je om met Steelhenge op Het Stenen Hoofd te staan, zo vlak naast de Silo waar jouw verhaal zo’n 30 jaar geleden begon? Het roept een dubbel gevoel op. Aan de ene kant voel ik dankbaarheid. De vrijheid die ik in de jaren ’90 in de Silo ervoer, heeft mij gevormd. Ik leerde er vrij denken en handelen, in een tijd waarin vrije ruimte nog echt vrij was – zonder politieke kaders of institutionele controle. Alles ontstond organisch, in zelfbeheer. We bouwden onz
Music discovery has always been at the centre of my life. From browsing through my Dad’s CD collection, to talking to my bandmates in high school, to attending local gigs in my first year of university. Although the ways I discover new music are evolving, one thing has stayed the same: it is still the main drive of my existence. I discovered early on that the experience of music was my favourite thing about being alive: from listening to it live or recorded, playing it alone or with others
Vrijwel iedereen met een activistische antenne in Amsterdam heeft inmiddels van de Lutkemeerpolder gehoord. Misschien liep je mee met een actie, doneerde je aan de crowdfunding (dank daarvoor), tekende je een petitie of zag je er iets over in de media. De strijd om de Lutkemeerpolder is uitgegroeid tot één van de meest sprekende voorbeelden van de vraag waar Amsterdam voor staat en waar de gemeentepolitiek toe in staat is. Voor wie later aanschoof: de Lutkemeerpolder ligt aan de
Amsterdam Alternative has initiated a wide variety of projects since 2015. Some were temporary but most are still running. Check some of the most current projects below or visit the projects page to see a full overview.
See all projectsFrom the 1st of February 2023 Amsterdam Alternative is running the cinema + bar on the second floor of the OT301. The spaces are being used for film & documentary screenings, discussion nights, comedy, music, dance performances, workshops, book launches, podcast recordings and more.
Sometimes, you sense it. A gesture, a sound, something pulses quietly beneath the surface of the city. A story waiting to be heard. Rad-Ish is a podcast about the silent dreamers, everyday radicals and hidden dissenters who keep the city alive. We seek out the voices of the underground, the pillars of movements that often go unseen yet build the foundation for collective spaces and a desirable future for the many, not the few. On a regular basis we release a short episode where we pull that little red thread that runs through Amsterdam, from the people directly shaping alternative culture to those nurturing it in the background. We're here to pay attention to those who resist the obvious, and talk to those who quietly practice other ways of being.
This modular web documentary is intended as an inspirational document, a guide and an archive. It is a compilation of stories about and quests for other ways in which we can shape society. We (and many others with us) are convinced that things really can be done differently and that a different view of ownership can play a major role in this.
In a media landscape dominated by shallow content, fear, distrust, anger, violence and toxic polarization, Fragmenta will offer an alternative. We don't simply focus on problems or on generic or popular topics but rather connect to individuals and their stories. We seek passion, hope, optimism and inspiration in order to help create a better, more fair, equal and healthy world for the many and not the few.
Thanks to all the talented photographers in the Amsterdam Alternative collective we always have great images in our newspaper and lots of nice photo reports online.
See all photographyReclaim the Seeds Amsterdam organizes an annual, donation-based festival that combines the exchange of seeds with talks centered on political and social context, practical workshops, and lectures on topics related to seeds, sovereign growing practices, and biodiversity.
Photo report Reclaim the seeds - 15 March - Fruittuinen van West.
Photography: Jeanne Beyssac
On Sunday 8th of March (International Women's Rights Day) thousands of people joined the feminist march in Amsterdam to protest for equality, freedom and solidarity. The crowd walked from from Dam Square to Museumplein and raised their voices against oppression, inequality, femicide and discrimination of women and girls worldwide.
Photography © Jeanne Beyssac
On Sunday 15th of February we hosted another edition of the Noodle Show. A laid-back Sunday afternoon for electronic music makers and curious listeners. For this edition, the guest speaker was Tripping Jaguar — a Dutch electronic artist known for deep, psychedelic journeys across downtempo and related emphasized “storytelling” sound worlds. After the talk the floor was opened for a collaborative live jam, where people can plug in their own hardware and “noodle” together—drum machines, synths, samplers, modular, grooveboxes… anything that makes sound.
Photography © Jeanne Beyssac
Amsterdam Alternative started as a network of solidarity and free newspaper but we’ve alwys had the ambition to create inspiring videos as well. In 2024 we created and published about 50 hrs of video about collective ownership, in 2025 we started a new video department called Fragmenta.
See all videoEen film over en door de mensen van Het Groene Veld.
Help ons mee in strijd voor het behoud van Het Groene Veld! Teken de petitie, hang een poster of kom langs!
Kijk op: https://hetgroeneveld.amsterdam
Camera/edit: Elffin van Baars
Camera: Niels Douma, Tibbe van Diemen, Denys Parchenko, Isa van Lier
Productie/Regie: Isa van Lier, Oscar Zeegers
Met dank aan: Sara, KJ, Hay, Femke, Wybe, Inez, Ollie, Anouk, Isobel
Camera: Pablo van Wetten
Audio/music: Peter Rutten
Edit/animation: Ivo Schmetz
Met dank aan/Thanks to:
People: Ad Vlems, Diny
Funding: AFK, Stimuleringsfonds Creatieve Industrie
Camera: Pablo van Wetten
Audio/music: Peter Rutten
Edit/animation: Ivo Schmetz
Met dank aan/Thanks to:
People: Melissa Koutouzis & Cody Hochstenbach
Funding: AFK, Stimuleringsfonds Creatieve Industrie
In the Amsterdam Alternative agenda you’ll find the public programming from our participating venues.
See the complete agendaDe Ceuvel is een duurzame broedplaats voor creatieve en sociale ondernemers op een voormalige scheepswerf aan het Van Hasseltkanaal in Amsterdam-Noord. In 2012 diende een groep architecten het winnende plan in voor een prijsvraag van de gemeente Amsterdam. Ze kregen het terrein voor 10 jaar te
GROND, a new art space and collective at the Nieuwe Bajesdorp, centered around collectivity, sustainability, cross-pollination and process-based work. Bajesdorp 20 jaar geleden (2003) werden de leegstaande cipierswoningen van de Bijlmerbajes gekraakt. Toen in 2010 het kraakverbod inging, startte
Steelhenge is a migrating spiritual space that builds on the legacy of Robodock. It offers room for diverse art forms and disciplines, and calls on all of us to reflect on the times we inhabit and the many crises and disruptions that shape them. Steelhenge is a place for ritual, celebration, lea
In mei 2022 openden theatercollectief De Warme Winkel en BOG. de eerste Amsterdamse theaterbroedplaats achter station Amsterdam Sloterdijk: De Sloot. De Sloot is een werkplaats voor theatermakers met een volwaardige vlakkevloertheater-zaal, een kleinere zaal, 4 grote repetitieruimtes en 20 werkateli
De Ruimte is a cultural space in Amsterdam-Noord. De Ruimte offers its stage to many art forms, ranging from (but not limited to) jazz/improvisationisation, storytelling, scientific lectures, short film and poetry. At the moment we are located at Sexyland World, Noordwal 1, Amsterdam.
Podium voor Ongehoord Geluid Zaal 100 is er voor van alles, maar niet voor alles: geen privéfeesten, partijpolitieke of religieuze bijeenkomsten, hersenloze disco of andere rituelen, maar wel voor tenenkrommend amateurtheater, merkwaardige concerten, bizarre dansvoorstellingen, dichtkunst va
Since 1998, EHBK has united a diverse, international community that runs the alternative, not-for-profit platform OT301 as a collective, in which housing, work and public functions are combined to contribute to the arts, politics and subculture. EHBK shares knowledge and organizational duties in a
De (roze) Tanker, een voormalig pompstation in Amsterdam-Noord, is een podium en vitrine waar kennis en cultuur wordt aangeboden in de vorm van voorstellingen, concerten, exposities, workshops, debatten enzovoorts. De Tanker, a former gas station in Amsterdam-Noord, is a stage for music, theatre,
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