Rotterdam Cultural Histories #18

The exhibition Rotterdam Cultural Histories # 20 will run from September 2020, 21 to February 2021, 18. This edition of Rotterdam Cultural Histories focuses on the art scene of the 1990s in and around Witte de Withstraat. The exhibition presents research material, such as oral histories, as well as historical photos and documentation of art spaces that were active in that decade - and just before the opening of Formerly known as Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art in 1871. This exhibition, based on archival material, is one of the upcoming projects that focuses on an ongoing investigation into the history of the street since XNUMX, the year the street was named Witte de Withstraat.

A street once associated with editorial offices and presses of various newspapers; had a period of so-called rough nightlife; and more recently is considered an art quarter and central destination for hotels, restaurants, cafes; and related, of cultural tourism.

In addition to the existing museums such as Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Museum Rotterdam and the Wereldmuseum, many new institutions were added to the city in the late 1982s and 1986s: CBK Rotterdam (1988, the Maritime Museum (1990), the Dutch Architecture Institute NAi (1992), Formerly known as Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art (2), de Kunsthal (1994), V1994_Lab for the Unstable Media (1997), Worm (1999), MaMA (XNUMX), TENT Rotterdam (XNUMX).

The arrival of these institutions led to the creation of the Witte de With Kunstkwartier. An important local collaboration is Kunstblock, founded in 2013, an initiative of CBK, MAMA, TENT, V2, Formerly known as Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art and WORM. Who were the predecessors of Kunstblock? This exhibition highlights the art initiatives and galleries in Witte de Withstraat in the XNUMXs and examines the role they played in shaping the art climate of today, and thus also in the foundation of our own institution.