How Important Is the Night Culture For Cities?

Nightivism

A conversation between Ella Overkleeft (former member of the Amsterdam Night Mayor Foundation) and Sama Abdulhadi (Palestinian artist) about the role of night culture for cities and why it should be protected.

Written on December 11, 2020

In collaboration with Canal180

Ella is the co-founder of Night-Mayor foundation in Amsterdam, and she advocates for a diverse, creative and inclusive nightlife for all; and Sama Abdulhadi empowers Arabic music artists and was the first female DJ playing in Boiler Room in Palestine. In this short conversation movie shot during TodaysArt festival in 2018, they expressed the need of representativeness and participatory decisions from the citizens during the night.

Both are fighting to educate society through clubbing and they talked about how night can change the day life and help breaking stereotypes and everyday life conventions. They believe that the night has the power to make us think about new possibilities, since it’s the period when we are more susceptible to new stimuli and to recognize new forms of expression.

Breaking the Silence In the Polish Scene

Following a recent increase of sexual assaults reported in European clubs, bars and other party spaces, we looked at the social climate that fosters this phenomenon throughout Europe. In this interview, journalist and activist Magda Stanieszewska shares her perspective on the Polish scene.

Nightivism Matteria Collective © Jose Gómez

March 29, 2022

Against All Odds: How an Electronic Scene in a Small Colombian Town is Self-Managed

Promoters and selectors from non-central cities in Colombia, such as Mocoa, Pitalito and Pereira, tell us what it is like to organize a party and keep an electronic music collective alive, before and during the pandemic, in these territories. Despite having several factors against them, the imagination and collective work of a few helps to fulfill the same dream: to diversify the sound circuit they inhabit.

Nightivism Ediciones Eter @ We are Europe

March 25, 2022

Fragmenting Silence: Safe Spaces in our Electronic Music Communities

For several years now, the electronic scene in Colombia has started to think about the consequences of violence on and off the dancefloor. Three initiatives are redefining the notion of care and safety at night and, from different angles, resist the normality of complicit silence and violent spaces.

Nightivism Motivando a la gyal @ We are Europe

March 25, 2022

Colombia: A Social Outburst Rhythmed by Electronic Beats

During the massive 2021 Colombian protests, partying, dancing and electronic music were key tools to gather social fabric and resources in support of the mobilisations. Motivando a la Gyal, Génesis Sound System and Fuerzas Sónicas Unidas were three active collectives during those months, who found in electronic beats a form of activism.

Nightivism Girls To The Front @ We are Europe

February 14, 2022

Meet "Girls* To The Front", the Polish Collective Producing Fanzines and Parties

Communities in resistances need safe spaces to live, meet and organize in. They also need physical testaments of their ideas that can be shared, away from the scrutiny of unwelcoming web servers and platforms, transported safely under a mantle, and transmitted in closed circles. Fanzines are a fantastical tool able to do that just that, while at the same time creating a field for expression, experiments and liberating imaginaries. Girls* to the Front, the polish queer and feminist fanzines perfectly embodies that fonction. We were lucky to meet with Agata Wnuk for an in-depth interview around her zine project, which started as an event series in Warsaw.

Nightivism Kyiv Club @ We are Europe

January 17, 2022

In Kyiv, a Club "That Doesn't Exist" Shapes the Future of the Local Scene

In Kyiv, the mysterious club ∄ recently celebrated its second birthday. Over two years, this pioneer of local electronic music cultures has built a real community around its expansive project, which offers an artistic and educational platform for artists and audiences in the Ukrainian capital. We spoke to the actors of Kyiv's musical landscape to shed light on this club and its trailblazing scene, in a sometimes tense political and social climate.

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