A yard that built ships

Ships were built on the north bank of the IJ from 1894. After the Second World War the shipbuilder merged with the Nederlandsche Dok Maatschappij, which repaired ships, and the combined company became NDSM. At the end of the 1970s shipbuilding stopped, the halls fell silent and squatters and artists moved in. In 1999 a group of artists and makers won a city competition to develop the wharf as a cultural free zone, and built Kunststad, a studio complex inside the enormous NDSM hall, where some 250 creatives still work.

Setting off by bike from behind Amsterdam Centraal

STRAAT

On 9 October 2020 STRAAT opened in one of the former shipyard halls: a museum for street art and graffiti, with more than 150 large works by artists from all over the world, most of them painted on site. The hall is industrial and unheated, which suits the work. It is reached by the free ferry from behind Centraal Station.

The STRAAT hall set with a long table for a private dinner, photo STRAAT

A large mural on the route

Amsterdam as a graffiti city

Amsterdam has a long graffiti history, from the tags and squatter slogans of the 1980s to the commissioned murals that now cover whole facades. The best way to see it is by bike, because the work is spread over neighbourhoods tourists rarely reach. Our street art tour follows a route with a local specialist who knows the artists and the stories behind the walls, and ends at STRAAT, where groups can meet an artist or try a graffiti workshop themselves.

Cycling along the IJ towards Amsterdam-Noord

The wharf also works as a base for the rest of the day: dinner in one of the restaurants on the water, or a boat back to the centre.

Stories behind the walls, told by a local specialist

Practical

• Group size: from about 10 to 300, in smaller groups with their own guide.

• Getting there: free ferry from behind Amsterdam Centraal, or by bike along the IJ.

• Add-ons: entrance and a guided visit at STRAAT, a meet and greet with an artist, a graffiti workshop, e-bikes or a salon boat.

• Dress warmly in winter: the STRAAT hall is not heated.

Sources

• Wikipedia, Nederlandsche Dok en Scheepsbouw Maatschappij; Lonely Planet, NDSM (shipbuilding years, closure, squatters).

• Art City NDSM and Hackers & Designers, on Kunststad and the 1999 competition.

• Travel guides to STRAAT museum (opening on 9 October 2020, number of works, free ferry, unheated hall).

• Endless Minds programme description Streetart Tour.