Wie danst is vrij - Clubcultuur in Amsterdam van 1980 tot nu

Wie danst is vrij - Club culture in Amsterdam from 1980 to the present

Oct 14 2023 - Feb 18 2024 - Amsterdam City Archives

This autumn, the Amsterdam City Archives is celebrating the night. Club culture is a mirror of the spirit of the times. Clubs are of great cultural and social value to the city and society, but the club experience is mainly intangible. The exhibition 'Wie danst is vrij' explores the most important aspects of club culture in Amsterdam from 1980 to the present through photographs, personal stories, flyers, video, music, visual arts, documents and unique objects. Memories from RoXY, iT, Mazzo, Club11 and Trouw, among others, are combined with the stories behind contemporary clubs and organizations such as Paradiso, Spielraum, 3X and Garage Noord. A large part of this comes from the collection of the Amsterdam City Archives, which stores the archives of the RoXY, Trouw and Club11. 

The exhibition is not a chronological, historical overview of Amsterdam club culture, but highlights various facets that make the night important. Innovation, emancipation, experiment and creativity are central. The whole is a tribute to high-profile clubs from the past and present.

Several generations of clubgoers have developed their identity, made friendships and found love in Amsterdam's nightlife. In the club, shame can be shaken off and the rules of the day do not count. Here young and old celebrate their simultaneous existence. Thanks to an interplay of music, dance, light, decor and other sensory stimuli, space is created for total ecstasy and euphoria. In the dark and close together, the issues of the day can be forgotten for a while. Wie danst is vrij.

Picture by Ronald Schmets (1991)