THE QUICK + THE BRAVE Platform for change:
IN CONVERSATION WITH RAY FUEGO AND FLORENCE LAMY Origins:
THE STORY BEHIND TQTB
Mini Maatje:
PUTTING BLACK BUSINESSES ON THE MAP Shapes and Sounds:
THE FUTURE OF THE ELECTRONIC MUSIC SCENE
NEW GROUND CULTURE. INCLUSIVITY. SUSTAINABILITY. SELF-CARE. A publication by The Study Group Foundation.
ISSUE 001 WINTER 2020/2021 FREE
NEW GROUND
About TQTB The Quick + The Brave is an independent print created in Amsterdam that represents, inspires and celebrates community. You can call us TQTB for short. We share perspectives on culture, inclusivity, sustainability and self-care. Our mission is to bridge cultural gaps and create fertile ground for creative minds and lives to take root. TQTB is produced by The Study Group Foundation.
A note We believe it’s important to ensure that everyone in our ISSSUE 001
community feels seen and heard. To normalise gender fluidity, we’ve included the preferred pronouns of all our contributors.
thequickandthebrave.com tqtb.radio @thequickandthebrave
Credits
Editor in Chief: Marie-Anne Leuty Art Director: Colinda Bijsterveld
Thank you to the following
Ghamte Schmidt
Patricia Boakye
people for being part of the
Gigi Leuty
Pepijn van Vugt
process with this issue:
Gwen Linger
Randy Romero
Haroun Busby
Rashif Oehlers
Design assistant: Jack PJ Summers Creatives: Jill Mathon, Kirwin Lonwijk,
Adebayo Bolaji
Ignasi Tudela
Renee Yearwood
Marly Pierre-Louis, Sharon Jane D
Alexander Dahms
Izzy Wu Ramos
Revenna Belfor
Mini Maatje Editor: Lily Heaton
Alma Langeveld
Jamie Watson
Roos Pollmann
Alok Vashista
Jerrausama
Sabrina Guinness
Anouk Allemand
Jon Madge
Seretse Fulani
April Edgar
Jonathan Joseph
Sharri Morris
Ariana Rose
John Linger
Soraya Hadjar
Armina Stepan
Julia Veldman C
Stella Lombaers
Brennen Buckner
Julie Mgbado
Stella Militello-Belgrave
Callum Aan
Kade Amoo
Stephanie Potts
Camille Tanoh
Kenneth Aidoo
Steve McQueen
Carmen Guillen
Levi Gijsbertha
Sumibu
Carista Eendragt
Leonie Conroy
Tessel Brühl
Celine Talens
Loredana Cacciotti
Xiu Yun Yu
Cerise Jackson
Lorren Grant-Hortin
Yoeri Wegman
Charlotte van Beusekom
Lwangu Matovu
Chris Adams
Lisa Wang
Concrete Matter
Malique Mohamud
Constantia Belleza Paat
Maartje Schroder
Cuba Finni Rebelde
Maron Zewdie
Deborah Stevenson
Michael Leuty
DrillMinister
Mounir Raji
Sustainability matters
DRKNIGHTS Collective
Nekeia Boone
Rodi Rotatiedruk uses a waterless printing
Enrico Forin
Nicholas O’Connor
process with mineral-free inks, blending recycled
Flavia Faas
Nura Jama
paper with new fibres from sustainable sources.
Femi Edmund Adeyemi
Omar Rosalina
FSC Blue Angel and ISO 14001 certified.
Ferry Elbaghdadi
Olivier Ngoumou
Executive Producers: Ikenna Igboaka, Neil Henry
Cover image: Ray Fuego shot by Obi Mgbado
Director of Culture: Obi Mgbado
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CONTENTS 004 Manifesto 005 Editor’s letter 006 Sharon Jane D: New Ground 008 Back cover story: My Own Shade of Black 012 Robbedoes Today 015 Carmen Guillen: The Ballerina and the Shipbuilder 016 Kirwin Lonwijk: Process 019 The Proper Label: Sustainable Threads 020 Stella Vomb: Flea the most 021 Kiriko Mechanicus: Welcome to Amsterdam 024 In conversation with Ray Fuego and Florence Lamy 029 Steven Elbers: Dam Square 030 Protest poster: Zwart Lives Matter by Ray Fuego 031 Mini Maatje: Black owned businesses 038 Ersem Ercil: The Legal Burqa 040 Akoh: S.E.L.F. 041 Marly Pierre-Louis: A call to disorder 042 Kenneth Aidoo: Displacement 044 Jon Madge: Krakers
THE QUICK + THE BRAVE
045 Karlijn Marchildon: Say Their Names 046 Origins: Retrace Your Steps 050 Plantmom: Monstera 051 Coach Hernsy: Health Comes First 056 Shapes and Sounds: Electronic evolution 058 Atticus Oak: Taking Up Space 060 Yoeri Wegman: A real man? 062 Horoscopes with Mystic Madge 062 Idan Grady: The Era of Fluid Pluralism
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Words: Jill Mathon, Marie-Anne Leuty
EDITOR''S LETTER
Welcome to the inaugural issue of The Quick + The Brave’s print, themed around ‘New Ground’. A seed was planted in our minds many moons ago to create a print, and we hoped to put this out well before the world changed. Then along came a pandemic and the start of a new fervour in the Black Lives Matter movement. We found ourselves at odds with our own timeline so, ultimately, we’re glad we waited. Collectively, we’re stepping into a different world. At TQTB, we aspire to a future where culture, inclusivity, sustainability and self-care are baked into every aspect of life. ‘New Ground’ is about hope, seeing small green shoots take root and anchor themselves. Knowing you’re on a journey and the process of getting there is the main event. While some of these stories pre-date COVID, we still wanted to share the vibrancy of the people who’ve ridden with us since we embarked on our journey, and share a flavour of the many stories that go unheard in the city we call home – Amsterdam – and beyond. Demonstrate talents that don’t get the shine they deserve. Give underrepresented people a space to craft their own narrative, without minimising their experience. I want to give a heartfelt thank you, and corona elbow bump, to every person who contributed to make this possible. I hope you enjoy this issue and, yes, you can rip out the map and protest poster in the middle. Yours,
MUA: Xiu Yun Yu
Wardrobe: Concrete Matter
Photography: Obi Mgbado
THE QUICK + THE BRAVE
Marie-Anne Leuty (she/her) Editor in Chief
A dedication: This print honours victims of police brutality. You deserved better. We pledge to do better by you.
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NEW GROUND ISSSUE 001
New Ground Our inner world is reflected in our environment and the people we’re surrounded by. It’s more relevant than ever to make wise choices for ourselves, the planet, all the beings we’re surrounded by. – Sharon Jane D (she/her) @sharonjaned
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THE QUICK + THE BRAVE
8
ISSSUE 001
NEW GROUND
BACK COVER STORY:
MY OWN SHADE OF BLACK Representation matters. In a time of intense change, we celebrate identity and culture through the eyes of our model, Trish Boakye (she/her).
artistic and creative direction of a shoot, much less tell their own story. For Black women, in particular, their aesthetic is used by brands to evoke ‘urban’ cool, the sassy friend, the
TQTB: What story did you want to tell through this shoot, and why?
our Blackness. You are you first and
cover before reading this interview, you’d
foremost – before you identify yourself
probably just think ‘OK, these are cool
with anything else. If something resonates
pictures’. Combined with the story though,
Trish Boakye: I feel my story is one that’s
with you as a person, that's all that
how you look at the pictures the next time
shared by a lot of Black people. Now, we
matters.
will change. That’s important – the subject comes more to life and feels way more
see a lot of Black people on the front line, but usually restricted to certain fields,
no-holes-in-her-armour strength
and there are limits to the level of success
synonymous with being Black...
we can reach.
TQTB: How was it to be directly involved in the creative process?
authentic. Wearing my natural hair out was a very
TB: It was really cool – to sit with you guys
important element for me. I’ve been
Personally this lack of representation
and hear why you wanted to do it. It links
natural for about six years now – it seems
has affected the way I identify as a Black
with my story too, because Black faces and
like something so small but for Black
person because it's so easy to put yourself
bodies are actual human beings, not props.
women it’s a huge statement. I normally
in the box that’s created for you. When
We’re not just storylines, we’re not always
hate my hair because it takes up so much
and created moodboards to enable
you only see people like you in certain
sad and depressed because of racism.
space. But I also think that’s why I love
Trish to tell her story, because no
situations and places, you can feel like
We have our own stories and experiences
her. I think for women in general, and
one should tell it but her.
you don’t belong. But that’s the complete
to tell, and it’s beautiful to combine it with
Black women as well, we’re being told to
opposite of my story and I want to show
a creative process because it immediately
take up more space. We should stop
other Black people that it’s OK to not
makes the entire process unique, relatable
fighting it and take up that space because
conform to what society wants you to do.
and authentic.
we’re amazing human beings. I hope that
multifaceted stories are there to be
I grew up in a white neighborhood, while
More people should do this – you’d see
being channelled. Confidence is
heard – if you take the time to listen.
at home my Ghanaian culture was all I
much more variety and creativity in shoots
something everyone should feel.
knew. I fell in love with Asian cultures,
because there’s a different energy and
especially Japanese culture, because the
outcome as a result. For me, it was really
way of life resonates strongly with me.
dope to have control over that.
That’s why we collaborated with Trish on the creative and art direction of our back cover. We workshopped
This shoot celebrates Trish, and Black women everywhere, whose
people feel that connection and confidence
I discovered that culture isn’t fixed – it’s not a box set of rules, rather it’s something capable of taking many forms that suit you. As a Black person, I don’t have to abandon my heritage to find my true self. I appreciate my roots because they show
TQTB: Owning your image comes from growth and self acceptance – you describe this as finding your own shade of black. What elements of this shoot exemplify this for you?
TB: To be honest, when I started my whole self-discovery journey, I really didn't know that I was on a journey until I was already deep into it. For a long time, I lacked freedom to just be my complete self.
me where I’m from, but I know that they don’t define what I want to become.
TQTB: Freedom, vulnerability and acceptance were important themes for you to include. Why?
TB: For me, it was really about letting people into my vibe. I wanted it to be very
I code switch all the time. Some of it
Culture isn’t fixed. If we treat it respectfully,
simplistic and raw, with a strong sense of
is down to me growing up in a white
it enriches us and broadens how we define
vulnerability and ease. If you see the back
neighbourhood.
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THE QUICK + THE BRAVE
Models rarely get to influence the
NEW GROUND ISSSUE 001
I was the only Black girl in my year at high
Everyone can appreciate that touch of
school – I look back now and wonder how
realness, that vulnerability to show
it was so normal for me then to have no
someone who’s open and comfortable
other Black kids around. I’d assess a room
enough to share a delicate and intimate
and format myself to fit the situation,
part of their life. That vulnerability
or end up being too loud or whatever…
connects us all in the end.
Freedom is definitely important because it allows me to be a hundred percent myself,
TQTB: Finally, what affirmation sums up this
all the time. If you don’t fuck with it,
experience for you?
that's a "you" issue, not a "me" problem. TB: Normally I really hate affirmations, Accepting certain things about myself
I find them so fucking corny lol! But in
comes from a combination of internal
some situations, you need to give yourself
and external factors. My family, say, has
a pep talk so I’ll think of it that way. My
a certain vision of how they want me to
main affirmation is not only for me but for
grow up based on our traditions. Then
everyone reading this.
“IT'S SO EASY TO PUT
YOURSELF IN THE BOX THAT’S CREATED FOR YOU.”
the outside world, which is mainly white, introduces you to other things, ways
It doesn't matter if you're Black, white,
of thinking and behaviour, everything
whatever your background, whatever
from music to work. You shouldn’t blame
you're going through – you are so much
yourself for liking anything just because
more than people could ever see.
others say you’re not supposed to or it's not very common.
There's only so much that people can see, and there's only so much that you allow
Photography: Obi Mgbado
Finding acceptance and showing
them to see. Even if they think they know
Retouching: Omar Rosalina
vulnerability are important because it's
you, you are always so much more. There’s
Lighting: Obi Mgbado
a touch of realness and humanity that
no need to conform to the format that
Art direction: Trish Boakye,
everyone can relate to, whatever your
people place on you.
Colinda Bijsterveld
background. The journey to get there requires that you spend a lot of time by
Creative direction: Trish Boakye Periodt pooh.
Styling: Trish Boakye
yourself, to get to know yourself on a
Wardrobe: G-Star, Advance Denim, UNIQLO
deeper level. It makes you more open to
Hair and make-up: Charlotte van Beusekom
the people around you, more aware of the
Production manager: Marie-Anne Leuty
environment you put yourself in – and
Location: The Brouwersgracht Studio
that’s really a direct reflection of who you are.
@heytrishhey
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“HOW WAS IT TO
THE QUICK + THE BRAVE
BE DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN THE CREATIVE PROCESS?”
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NEW GROUND ISSSUE 001
ROBBEDOES TODAY Sinds 1986 is John Linger (hij/hem) eigenaar van Robbedoes Hairdesign in de Amsterdamse Pijp. Zijn dochter Gwen (zij/haar), die net als haar oudere broer en zus in de zaak werkt, nam voor de gelegenheid de rol van interviewer op zich. Zij vroeg haar vader naar zijn drijfveer, de kracht van zijn kapsalon en wat hij mee zou willen geven aan jonge, zwarte ondernemers. Het werd een gesprek over het kiezen van je eigen pad, gentrificatie en het belang van vakbonden.
Gwen: Hoe ben jij nou eigenlijk in dit vak gerold?
Welke toekomst had je dan wel voor ogen?
En stak je daar nog wat van op?
John: Als kleine jongen kwam ik vaak
Ik was van plan om elektricien te worden.
ik Europees haar moest knippen. Dit, omdat
in een kapperszaak waar mijn moeder
Ik kwam dus naar Nederland om de opleid-
de leerkrachten op school geen raad wisten
en oma als ‘bedienden’ werkten voor
ing daarvoor te volgen. Toen ik eenmaal
met Black hair. Afro haarstijlen stonden
het gezin dat die zaak beheerde. Dit was
hier was, kwam ik erachter dat een baan
binnen de opleiding slechts één keer per
in Suriname. Om een klein centje bij te
als elektricien niets voor mij was. Ik knipte
drie maanden op het programma. Dit was
verdienen, hielp ook ik mee met opruimen.
liever mijn vrienden. In Suriname is het
dan een aparte workshop. Die workshops
Zo vouwde ik handdoeken en hield ik de
heel normaal om de schaar van je moeder
inspireerden mij echter zo erg dat ik meer
werkplek schoon. Ik had toen nooit kunnen
te pakken en je vrienden te knippen. Daar
wilde ervaren van en meer wilde leren
bedenken dat ik vandaag de dag een eigen
ging ik in Nederland dus mee verder en
over Black hair. Om me hier verder in te
kapperszaak zou hebben.
dankzij mond-op-mondreclame werd mijn
verdiepen, ging ik destijds ook naar speciale
klantenkring steeds groter. Van het een
Black hair conventies in Engeland. Op die
kwam het ander en uiteindelijk schreef ik
manier heb ik me kunnen specialiseren.
Nou, ik leerde daar eigenlijk alleen maar hoe
me in voor de kappersopleiding.
Heeft de specialisatie ook vandaag de dag nog invloed op je klantenkring? Het leuke van mijn zaak vind ik dat iedereen zich hier welkom voelt. Zwart, wit, jong, oud – alles loopt hier door elkaar. Als je het mij vraagt is dat echt de kracht van de zaak. Dat iedereen hier binnen kan komen. Het komt nooit voor dat er iemand binnenkomt met een andere huidskleur en dat ik moet zeggen dat ik het haar van diegene niet weet te knippen. Het is ook altijd mijn drijfveer geweest om eenieder te kunnen helpen in de zaak. Wat mij echter wel altijd opvalt, is dat er veel mensen met een Afrikaanse achtergrond langskomen. Dit komt denk ik omdat ik zelf een zwarte man ben. Als je jezelf kunt herkennen in iemand, weet je beter wat je kunt verwachten en voel je je sneller veilig. Mensen willen meestal geknipt worden door mensen die op hen lijken.
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Mensen weten je nog steeds te vinden, hewel De Pijp flink is veranderd de afgelopen jaren…
Heb je nog meer tips voor jonge mensen? Zorg ervoor dat je je vak zo goed mogelijk uitoefent, wat je ook betaald krijgt. Ga
VERDIEPEN, GING IK DESTIJDS OOK NAAR SPECIALE BLACK HAIR CONVENTIES IN ENGELAND. OP DIE MANIER HEB IK ME KUNNEN SPECIALISEREN.”
eerlijk met jezelf en je klanten om en blijf
dichtbij meegemaakt. Toen ik hier in 1987
leren en investeren in jezelf. Hoewel ik
kwam, was het volledig verpauperd. Alles
heel tevreden ben en dat ook was toen ik als
wat God verboden had, gebeurde hier. Er
jonge lasser in Suriname 90 eurocent per
waren illegale gokhuizen, er werd flink in
uur verdiende, ben ik blij dat ik naar school
drugs gedeald en ik herinner me ook als de
ben gegaan. Je kan het je misschien niet
dag van gisteren dat twee mannen elkaar
voorstellen, maar dat was in mijn tijd niet
met een pistool achterna renden op de
vanzelfsprekend. Sterker nog: mijn moeder
Albert Cuyp. Die gekke sfeer zorgde ervoor
vond dat ik maar zo snel mogelijk moest
dat mensen hun spullen pakten en ergens
gaan werken. Ik ben blij dat ik niet altijd
anders heen verhuisden.
naar haar geluisterd heb, want het kappersvak is fantastisch. Dagelijks ontmoet ik de
En hoe zie jij De Pijp vandaag de dag?
leukste mensen die allemaal anders naar buiten gaan dan dat ze binnen kwamen. Een
Om de buurt aantrekkelijker te maken,
nieuw kapsel kan wonderen doen.”
renoveerde de gemeente vervallen panden en werd er nieuwbouw uit de grond gestampt. Dit heeft ertoe geleid dat De Pijp
Tenslotte, hoe ziet de toekomst eruit voor Robbedoes Hairdesign?
vandaag de dag een yuppen- en toeristenbuurt is. Als ik nu zeg dat ik
Stoelen verhuren aan kappers.
een zaak op de Albert Cuyp heb, zeggen
Met werknemers draag je een grote
mensen: ‘‘wat een goede locatie.
verantwoordelijkheid. Als zij bijvoorbeeld ziek worden, moet jij nog steeds de
Heeft dat gevolgen gehad voor jou?
salarissen uitbetalen. Als iemand
Ja, als resultaat van de veranderingen heb ik gedoe gehad met mijn huurbaas. Hij wilde de huur steeds maar verhogen, omdat de huurprijzen in de rest van de buurt ook explosief stegen. Gelukkig ben ik aangesloten bij de kappersvakbond en kon ik daar terecht voor juridische hulp. Je betaalt ieder jaar een bedrag als contributie en in ruil daarvoor helpen zij jou met het regelen van je zaken. Van problemen met je huisbaas tot regels van
Scan the QR code for an English version of
de overheid, ze zijn er voor alles. Met de
this interview.
huidige corona crisis heb ik bijvoorbeeld veel informatie van de vakbond gekregen
Photography: Kristen Dania, Mikki Rao
over mijn mogelijkheden. Je bent een
Hackett, Obi Mgbado, Sharon Jane D
kapper en je weet niet alles. Ik raad
Words: Jill Mathon, Soraya Hadjar
dan ook iedere beginnende kapper aan hetzelfde te doen.
@robbedoestoday
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THE QUICK + THE BRAVE
“OM ME HIER VERDER IN TE
Ik heb de ontwikkeling van de Pijp van
NEW GROUND ISSSUE 001
CM AD
Amsterdam
Haarlem
Gasthuismolensteeg 12
Warmoesstraat 24
1016 AN, Amsterdam
2011 HP, Haarlem
@concrete_matter concrete-matter.com
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THE BALLERINA AND THE SHIP BUILDER Arriving in a new city means growing into a community. Carmen Guillen (she/her) recounts her nascent Dutch life at a mooring spot in Noorderpark.
Several months on, when the doors of the
the park, by the pot-smoking bachelors,
As summer drew to a close on my second
lock clicked open and we passed from a
who immediately took us under their wing.
year in the park, the city of Amsterdam
lake into the first canal of Amsterdam, the
The first thing that struck me was how
decided to remove the last remaining
hairs on my arms danced in excitement.
different these boats looked compared to
public space in the city and began to tape
For Amsterdam, a city that never existed
the unblemished pleasure boats owned by
eviction letters to the boaters’ doors.
until it was constructed on water, was
rich retirees in the marinas, or the middle-
People made plans, trying not to travel in
surely a utopia for boaters. But that was
class floating homes found in the city
groups larger than two or three for fear of
not the case – at least not at the beginning.
centre. Makeshift gardens and outdoor
being harassed by authorities, and there
living spaces had sprung up on the banks
was talk of trying to create a similar space
The first few days in Amsterdam often
made from old tires, abandoned sofas,
somewhere along the river. As far as I
started by being abruptly awoken by a
repurposed bicycles and a medley of other
know, when winter fell, all the boaters
rap on the door from the authorities, and
found objects. Plants spilled off decks and
were forced out of the city, as a suitable
searching for somewhere to live was the
kissed the water, coloured flags searched
space was never found, and the community
proverbial needle in the haystack brought
for wind, holes in the hulls and decks were
was torn apart.
to life by full waterways and an absence of
fixed with a patchwork of scrap wood.
London’s canals are crowded, but the
public mooring spots. But a rumour began
community is diverse. Longstanding
to surface of a park in the north which was
Necessity being the mother of invention,
liberalism, there is an emblematic irony in
boaters who’ve lived on the waterways
the last public mooring spot in the city
every one of my neighbours had
the fact that in the context of boats, one of
for generations. Ideological boaters who
and it was here, in the green expanse of
become a boater because of their own
the Netherlands’ most famous historical
want to live sustainably and stick it to the
Noorderpark, that I found a home.
marginalisation. There were those who
exports, there is no space for people
were once homeless, those who struggled
within the city limits who want to explore
man. Moneyed boaters who luxuriate on
Despite Amsterdam’s relative legislative
barges complete with pianos and jacuzzis.
By the time we arrived in the park most of
with addiction and those who were simply
alternative forms of living and community
Immigrant communities with their
the boaters had already been there for a
deemed too eccentric to live within the
building. Instead they are pushed further
own ingenious cultural take on boating
month or two; old friends from summers
confines of normal society. But it was
to the margins, past the city boundaries,
practices. People who simply can’t afford
past were reunited and new alliances were
here, in this group of misfits, that I first
and out of sight.
rising rents in London and turn to the
formed. We nestled in right at the end of
found the community that I had long
canals and rivers for survival. Despite the differences in circumstance,
searched for since leaving London. The
I remember my last day in the park. I sat
kindnesses were so many I cannot recount
with a neighbour, a good-natured ship
them all.
builder who was built like an oak, who had
a strong community exists, one whose
patiently sat with us the whole summer
actuality is necessary to sustain itself. Boats
Who were these people I shared the water
as we replaced our rotten deck plank by
now moor four-a-side due to a deficit in
with? There was the former ballerina, who
plank. We sat on the grass drinking tea
space and a two-week limit in each mooring
sustained a terrible injury that made her
and speculating about the future. The
spiral into addiction, who still found time
small leaves from the trees blew down in
to bring me vegetables she grew from her
gusts, like flakes of gold, and I wore my
garden. Then there was the professional
shark costume, for old times’ sake.
spot, so it was in everyone’s best interest to cooperate. More than that, it felt good. Having always lived in flats not knowing my neighbours, when I first witnessed the sharing economy in this community, I was both delighted and humbled. Spare food and bits of timber was often shared, power tools lent, invites for dinner quickly
“EVERY ONE OF
MY NEIGHBOURS HAD BECOME A BOATER BECAUSE OF THEIR OWN MARGINALISATION.”
captain who had been hired by the bin Laden family (the notable business magnates rather than the notorious familial ‘black sheep’) and kidnapped for ransom four times with his crew, leading him to speak perfect Arabic. There was the
extended. It was not unusual to find a gift
former casino worker who surrendered to
waiting for you outside your front door
his spiritual calling and spent half of the
from a new neighbour. It was with this
year living in an Ashram. I could go on,
communal frame of reference that I spent
but most of the stories in this rich tapestry
my first night as a boater in Belgium.
of experience are not mine to tell.
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@carmenpuzzle
THE QUICK + THE BRAVE
When I crossed the English channel on my rickety house boat headed (unknowingly) for Amsterdam, I was dressed as a shark. It felt like a strong move. That is until its metal bodice caused me to trip over a rope and nearly meet my watery grave in the North Sea. This was one of a series of lessons in the steep learning curve of a novice boater.
NEW GROUND ISSSUE 001
PROCESS Kirwin Lonwijk (he/him) @kirwinlonwijk
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Being aware and keeping up with your process is important because it gives you a form of reflection. It makes you discover what your work ethic is and creates an overview of the choices you made. Process means discovery and experimenting. Only through experimentation can you find new ways to improve your craft. Being in love with the process means being in love in what you do. Thank you to Polaroid Hi-Print for being a part of the process.
THE QUICK + THE BRAVE
Likenesses: Daraya Koedjoe
Doru Loboka
Jonathan Joseph
Kirwin Lonwijk
Obi Mgbado
Ra'iesa Kasimbeg
Seretse Fulani
Shariefa Kasimbeg
Terrance Hiatepe
Tyrone Isselt
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ISSSUE 001
NEW GROUND
SUSTAINABLE THREADS
Demand for sustainable fashion options is changing the industry, with a growing portion of shoppers seeking out brands that source, produce and recycle products responsibly. TQTB asks Camille Tanoh (he/him), CEO of New York-based The Proper Label™ about how he set up the ethical cornerstones of his brand.
Hey Camille, thanks for speaking with us. Tell us, when did you start The Proper Label™?
The range focuses on high quality basics – why did you opt for everyday wear?
The typical take-make-use-waste cycle is the opposite of our mindset. At The Proper Label™, we believe in using existing
The goal is to speak to the masses.
resources sustainably, manufacturing from
The Proper Label™ is the organic
The reach of a white tee and everyday
recycled clothes. We actively encourage
evolution of The Proper Sneaker™.
wear clothing is larger than any expensive
our customers to think about the next use of
We launched The Proper Sneaker™
designer item.
their items and ask them to dispose of them
6th June 2014 – our everyday wear range The Proper Label™ followed on 16th July 2019.
You’ve been in the fashion industry for a minute. How has your background in the industry influenced your decision to start your brand?
properly with us. We then recycle or repur-
Your company is founded on a rigorous Supplier Code of Conduct. How did you create this?
pose the items so nothing goes to waste. The recycling element is an extra piece of the production cycle that, as consumers,
We created and trademarked our code of
we often don’t realise can have such
conduct after two years of research with an
an immediate impact on the production of
independent organisation modelled with
new items.
similar principles as the Dutch Fairtrade
What kind of uses do these recycled materials go into?
foundation, Max Havelaar.
for Balenciaga, and several fashion houses, I noticed the lack of inclusivity
We developed The Proper Way™ – the
and transparency in the fashion industry.
idea is to design clothes using sustainable
Simply put, recycling is a necessity. The
I felt that a company that would listen
practices and results in a fair price
materials go into a range of uses – for
to customers and create more dialogue,
composition between the consumer, the
example with our sneakers, we reuse the
accessibility and conversations, with a
manufacturer and the business owner.
upper part to create new sneakers while
focus on product integrity, would have
“IF SUSTAINABILITY
IS A SOCIAL CLASS ISSUE, THEN OUR MISSION IS TO DEMOCRATISE IT.”
the rubber soles are repurposed into
more chance of longevity than a company
It also implies chasing ‘good profit’ and
that solely focused on making non-
a certain ‘principled entrepreneurship’.
highway roads in Germany.
essential clothes sold with the help of
It helps to improve people's lives while
We’re seeing a growing number of
celebrity endorsements.
improving people's lives.
brands adopt more sustainable practices,
As an African man born in Paris, it
So, what’s the process from sourcing through to production for items in your ranges?
for example, recycled plastics being has always been difficult for me to witness the extravaganza of fashion weeks throughout the year. In addition,
repurposed into yarns.
Are there any new innovations in sustainable production methods that you’re excited to see evolve?
the success of fast fashion in Western
Instead of starting with new materials,
countries in general, and the associated
we design based on current waste. Our
problems with landfill, air and water
responsibility in the design studio is to
Yes, all the alternatives to plastic are
pollution in West Africa... all played a
develop designs that last, anticipating the
extremely interesting, but the issue again
part in finding a solution.
next use-cycle of each item.
is not the material itself, but how we
The Proper Label™ was born of my
We work with recycled materials provided
act to encourage consumers towards a
frustration with the excessive use of the
by our sorting facility partners. If we’re
more sustainable lifestyle.
world's natural resources and the amount
not able to use recycled materials, we
of waste produced by industrialised
source the most sustainable materials pos-
countries. We want to be an answer to
sible. Our denim collection – soon to be
the problem. If sustainability is a
released – is made from pre- and post-con-
Photography (portrait): Neil F. Dawson
social class issue, then our mission is
sumer recycled cotton, and recycled poly-
@theproperlabel
to democratise sustainability.
ester from PET bottles.
@theproperkid_
dispose of it. I hope that more brands will
19
THE QUICK + THE BRAVE
After spending several years working
NEW GROUND
FLEA THE MOST
ISSSUE 001
The thrifting world is a wonder. Not only does it allow the patient shopper to build up a unique wardrobe on a budget, it taps into a more conscientious lifestyle by recycling clothes to give them a new lease of life. We caught up with Stella Vomb (she/her) of Vomb Vintage to get her top tips for thrifting at Europe’s largest flea market, IJhallen.
1. Wear covering and compressing
6. Barter. If an item is €10 or more, push
workout clothes – I always go for a gym
to cut it in half because the vendor may
bra and leggings. If it’s hot, I wear a slip
go lower than you expect. It always pays
dress instead to pull on pants underneath.
off. Keep small change and coins. If you
With leggings you can try pants out over
see something you think is overpriced, or
the top. Gym bras give you the option to
really can’t afford, then you can pull out
try on shirts and tops without anything
the change you do have to show the vendor.
bunching so you see if they really fit.
From experience, they might not want to carry their items back home and be willing
2. Always bring a bottle of water and
to hook it up. They usually hook it up.
some kind of snack. IJhallen is a ferry journey away from Centraal Station and there aren’t too many food spots around inside the market.
3. Bring a backpack, tote bags and even extra tote bags. Bring one more than you think you need – most vendors either won’t
“BARTER. IT ALWAYS
PAYS OFF. KEEP SMALL CHANGE AND COINS.”
have bags to give you or will have run out. It also saves on plastic bags, so it’s just a solid sustainable practice in general.
4.
Bring a smaller bag or fanny pack for
vitals like your phone, wallet and keys so it’s all in the same place. That way, when you’re pulling out cash, it’s always from the same spot.
5. Get an idea of price points before you
Hear more about Stella’s journey, from thrifting in New York’s Lower East Side as a
start spending. Some stalls at IJhallen
teen to full fledged stylist and international
will have signs that say ‘everything €1,
vintage sourcer in TQTB podcast 004 via the
everything €5…’. The market is huge, so
QR code.
if you see prices you’re happy to pay at the
20
start of a row, the rest of the stalls tend to
@stellaartwaaaa
be about the same.
@vombvintage
THE QUICK + THE BRAVE
Kiara is wearing a suit by Ting Gong, necklace by Emma Wang, earrings by photographer
21
NEW GROUND ISSSUE 001
Carmen is wearing jewelry by
Rosanna and Carmen are both wearing
Simon Marsigilia, top by Una’s Original
Blowboi Bonanza.
22
THE QUICK + THE BRAVE
Carmen is wearing a top by Una’s Original,
Photography: Kiriko Mechanicus (she/her)
skirt by Salvatore Vignola, necklace by
Art direction: Kiriko Mechanicus & Julia Beo (she/her)
Simon Marsiglia.
Styling: Julia Beo
Kiara is wearing a set by Una’s Original
Models: Kiara Ming (she/her), Carmen Kistemaker (she/her), Rosanna Kistemaker (she/her), Youke Pelletier (he/him)
23
ISSSUE 001
NEW GROUND
In conversation with
The murder of George Floyd this spring prompted a wide resurgence in the Black Lives Matter movement in the US and far beyond. Ray Fuego (he/him), front man of the SMIB collective, and designer Florence Lamy (she/her) engaged with this deeply personal issue by raising funds for anti-racism charities in the Netherlands with their DIY initiative, ‘Zwart Lives Matter’. Here they talk activism, parenthood and using your platform for social change.
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THE QUICK + THE BRAVE
NEW GROUND
“ONCE YOU READ
ISSSUE 001
ABOUT RACE AS A WHITE PERSON, IT COMPLETELY CHANGES YOUR PERSPECTIVE AND LIFE.”
TQTB: When did each of you first become aware that you were socially conscious?
I started to consider and reflect on how our
family is from the suburbs and not so open
Before, we were more like individual
relationship worked.
minded as there’s not much contact with
players. You were living your life’s
Blackness. There’s work and education
experiences as I was working on myself.
Once you read about race as a white person,
to be done within the family. My parents
And yes, we still have heated discussions
Ray: I’ve always been socially conscious,
it completely changes your perspective
are great and I can see my mum doing the
about different subjects like rape culture.
though I wasn’t always aware of it. I was
and life. It’s ongoing work. As well as
extra work to educate herself, which I love
always faced with social issues because
academic journals, I read ‘White Rage’,
to see.
I'm Black and, as a teenager, I started
‘Black Skin White Masks’ and ‘Fade to
to understand that people get treated
Black and White’. Malcom X’s autobi-
Ray: I always had a different mindset back
I believe that before you can change the
differently. I was curious why. I read a
ography is what triggered me to read
in the day. I was really radical in handling
world, you have to change your immediate
lot and listened to artists like OutKast,
everything I could.
myself and my emotions. I was so deep in
environment. There’s a lot that I don't
my own reality that it was hard to realise
know because I'm not a woman. You tell
Wu-Tang, musicians my uncle liked. When
Ray: Rape culture is something that men are becoming more aware of now.
you’re young, you listen to these musicians
I remember one specific moment as I was
that not everyone thinks the same – I
me where I’m lacking, in what I say or
because it sounds cool but as I listen
writing my dissertation, I met with my
thought that everyone understood how I
think, before I talk to people about this. I
to them again now I realise how many
professor. I said ‘so I'm reading this text,
saw the world.
speak to you first because I don't want to
messages are in their lyrics.
and this book and, you know... I think I’m
be ignorant.
racist’. He looked at me and replied ‘there
Flo: Once I started reading, our discus-
Flo: As a white person, my story is exactly
you go!’ It was such an illumination. Until
sions became more about me sharing what
Flo: You know, I can tell you from
the opposite. I was never aware of race.
you admit that you’re racist, how can you
I was learning with you, which I think gave
working in a mostly male environment
I grew up in mostly white spaces – there
move past it? How can you start checking
you a more academic way of looking at
and having these conversations over
was one Black kid in my school adopted
yourself? I was raised with prejudice –
your life.
and over, it’s really difficult. It's weird
by a white family. It took me moving away
bombarded by the media. My parents are
to London and, even then, a couple more
great parents but they took a colour blind
Ray: I didn't know how to place or
when it's about you, but somehow when
years for me to even start to understand.
approach. That specific moment with my
articulate things. You’d ask me stuff and
a woman tells all these guys how it really
When I met you, I realised the impact of
tutor was when I could really start to work
I’d try to go into more detail. I’m not a
is, it's in one ear and out the other. They're
us having discussions. One time, we were
on myself. As a white person, you can't
dumb guy but everything was scrambled
not ready to believe you or listen. There’s
talking about people going to jail. I was
consider yourself an ally until you reflect.
in my mind.
a lot of ego running around. It’s the same
arguing with you in such a white way,
It starts with yourself.
the whole time you're trying to make me understand white privilege. My argument was that ‘after you go to jail, you can just turn your life around, why would you go back to jail?’ I didn’t see my own privilege.
because you want your voice to be heard
with white people and racism, saying that Flo: No, of course, it’s really different
TQTB: What role does activism play in your dynamic as a couple? Is it something that’s grown over the course of your relationship?
they don’t see colour.
to live and experience something versus learning about those experiences from an
Ray: You have to listen to the people being
academic angle.
oppressed. That's the only way that you can help. Your personal preference and
Ray: As a couple, these kinds of
opinion don’t matter. You have no opinion
From that point, I started to educate
Ray: It started with arguments because
discussions are kind of like brushing
in these situations. I had a really hard
myself – my dissertation was on the
we really come from extreme opposite
teeth. We don't really think about it,
time with that. Sometimes I had to ask
portrayal of interracial relationships in
worlds. Like, I couldn’t go to Canada to be
we just do it. It's a natural part of how
myself ‘why do I even feel this way? Why
the media. Researching helped me to see
with your family – it was just difficult for
we work.
am I being defensive about this?’ This shit
my place as a white woman with a Black
me, I was broke...
man, how to navigate that, to understand
has nothing to do with me directly — but Flo: It’s more now about how we raise our
indirectly it does have to do with me. It's as simple as that.
the differences between preferences and
Flo: I think you could have come but
baby, trying to share and educate more.
fetishes, appropriating Blackness.
you would have felt uncomfortable. My
I think we work better as a team now.
26
Flo: You try to diffuse what someone
Flo: When there’s that spark of awareness,
I don't really have hatred in my heart
else is saying to remove your own
the biggest part of the job is done. To
anymore. I said to you, when it’s my time
accountability and avoid feeling guilty.
get people to understand that there’s a
to go, I want no hate in my heart. Peace
That's why people say ‘All Lives Matter’.
problem is the biggest part of the work. If
isn’t something external, it's within you.
They can't handle facing how they’re
they don’t see, they don’t know it.
I'm so calm now that, even when one of
involved in the problem. You want to erase
life’s blizzards comes along and things Ray: You know, when somebody says
settle again, I'm back on being chill. I
something in my surroundings that doesn’t
don’t get upset about stuff like I used to.
Ray: I knew that I had to have difficult
sit well with me, I'm like ‘don't say that’.
Even knowing which conversations to
conversations because there are a lot of
I don't even have to discuss with you why
engage in – some people talk because they
men in my circles and in SMIB, and I was
you shouldn't say that – just don't say that.
like the sound of their own voice. They’ll
like ‘fuck it, I have to do what I have to
The other day, some white guy was talking
say ‘let me play devil’s advocate here.’
do’. If I want to do better, I have to keep
to me about black people and casually said
Why do you want to play devil’s advocate?
the same energy for everything that has to
‘n****r’. I confronted him and said ‘yo, don’t
I don't even want to hear what you're going
change. I can’t only use that energy for shit
say that.’
to say. Keep that devil's advocate over
that affects me personally. That's how I brought the conversation to my friends. As a group, we have to have
there, bro.
TQTB: Speaking up against ignorance is one form of activism. For you, what other forms can activism take?
our minds straight and stand behind what
Flo: I’m still finding my form of activism, and trying to do it continually. I’m haunted by times when I could have spoken up
we say 100%. Not only with Black Lives
Ray: Check people around you and have
and didn’t. I have so much guilt for not
Matter. With everything.
those uncomfortable conversations. You
speaking up, and not just about race.
don't have to fucking discuss something
Even in trying to stand up for myself.
Flo: I’m realising now how much we ignore
with someone who doesn't want to
That's part of being a woman – you don't
so many other groups. Disabled people,
understand – I don't spend my energy on
want to ruffle feathers so when you're in
the LGBTQI+ community – and the Black
that. I lose too much of myself. I don't
a situation of power, it’s hard to speak up
experiences within these groups. We
even get agitated anymore because I feel
because of a fear of disruption. You don't
ignore intersectionality.
like I'm so far ahead spiritually that I can't
want to cause problems.
get mad at people for not understanding. Ray: I had this conversation with my dad.
It gives you a certain peace of mind when
I have the feeling that the older generation
you accept that some things can’t change.
is more homophobic, you know? Now he's
Ray: It’s like being Black. Flo: Education is activism. I have a lot of
starting to understand intersectionality.
Some people are not here to make a change.
white friends who are mums. I share books
He gets that I can’t fight for only one
Not everyone is here to be light. You have
with them to make sure they’re thinking
group, I have to fight for everyone. He still
to have darkness to have light. Other people
more about diversity.
has a long way to go, as we all do.
are not on the same path in life as you.
“I ALWAYS HAD A
DIFFERENT MINDSET BACK IN THE DAY. I WAS REALLY RADICAL IN HANDLING MYSELF AND MY EMOTIONS.”
THE QUICK + THE BRAVE
yourself from the problem.
My sister’s a stepmum and she's bought
‘Zwart Lives Matters’ came about as a
Ray: We made that in a day.
young people with a platform, like mine,
all these Barbies. She got a wheelchair
reaction to the murder of George Floyd.
Flo: Even within a couple of hours. It was
aren’t using them the right way. They
a good start but I’m not big on Instagram
don't see this as a problem that’s bigger
so I couldn’t keep up! A lot of people in
than themselves so I hope this motivates
the Netherlands don't have PayPal so
younger kids by showing them that they
they needed another payment option. It
can do something independently, without
was sticky, I had to keep track of DMs,
any help.
Barbie, a Black Barbie, an Asian Barbie, she’s bought the Rosa Parks kids book. I see her bringing diversity to the attention of her stepkids.
TQTB: How did the idea come about to sell signed artwork from your album ‘Zwart’ to raise funds for local Black charities?
NEW GROUND
Your job every day as a white person is to try and share something, some
Ray: The whole thing was activated
addresses... It was a whole mess! In the
If you have 50,000 followers on
information. Even if only one person sees,
because of Black Lives Matter. It was a
end though, we raised over €4000 for
Instagram, you know that people look
it might spark something in them. That’s
dark, weird time. A really dark period.
The Black Archives, Black Queer Trans
at you. What are you influencing, bro?
Resistance and KO Zwarte Piet.
What's the message you’re spreading?
a responsibility that white people have to take on.
People should be more conscientious
‘Zwart’ is a political album in that it’s
about how they use their platforms.
about how I perceive the world as a
To know that you can do a little something
For us, activism has to be an organic
young Black man who’s kind of lost
to help, to see that you can have power and
process as we’re not experienced in the
and how emotional trauma has affected
a voice... I don't know if it was important
The most disgusting thing was to see people
field. Once we spend time with people
my everyday life. Texas [Schiffmacher]
for you, but it was for me.
who were like, ‘oh, I'm not going to talk
with more experience who can give
created the artwork for the album. She
guidance, then we can have more impact
called me saying she wanted to
Ray: Speaking about this shit every day
industry. They act like they understand
beyond our immediate circles.
do something.
– at a certain point – it feels like you don't
but now, in times of need, they don't do
really see things change. This time, I
nothing. You don't have to shake my hand
Flo: She wanted to do her part, so she
really felt like I could help. I want to do
when you see me – I'm not going to shake
came over and we had a brainstorm to
this – people know I’ve always been about
your hand.
figure out what we could do.
this, no one’s doubting.
Ray: You did all the admin in one day. The
TQTB: Ray, you’ve been consistently vocal about race and race issues in the Netherlands. Do you think that people understand the personal depth of this specific project?
TQTB: What’s it like balancing parenthood with activism? Has it changed how you view or channel this work?
ISSSUE 001
send Tikkies, match those to names and
about racism’, people who I know in the
Flo: It’s shocking sometimes to look
Flo: There’s defi nitely a different
PayPal, Instagram, email. Lit. You're a
motivation now we have a son. It’s become
machine.
more serious on a personal level. As soon
around you and realise that people are showing their true colours. It’s so easy and quick to spot the problematic shit.
as you have a child, your empathy levels
Flo: I checked Instagram, no one had
rise. Educating other mothers is how I can
taken the name ‘Zwart Lives Matter’ so
change things the most around me.
I took it quick. You and Tex made the
Ray: I don’t think so, but that’s not my
to acknowledge it. I had it with a lot of
video quick, same day, and a ‘Zwart Lives
goal. It's something so broad that it's
people. It used to be a case of if you don't
Matter’ song.
kind of open for your own interpretation.
say that shit to my face or you don't act
All people need to know is that it's pro-
dumb to my face, then I don't have to slap
Ray: Parenthood hasn't really changed my outlook on activism. I've always been
Ray: The craziest shit is that, deep down, you already knew, you just don't want
like this. I'm not as reckless anymore
Starting to see the positive responses, I
Black. Everything we do, we want the
you. Now I'm at a point like nah, man. Even
because of him. I peek at him when I
was thinking maybe we’d make a €1000.
world to be a better place. This is my
with fucking microaggression shit, I can’t
priority. In the Netherlands, I feel that
let that shit slide no more.
come home.
“BEFORE YOU CAN
CHANGE THE WORLD, YOU HAVE TO CHANGE YOUR IMMEDIATE ENVIRONMENT.”
28
In a world tormented by COVID-19, the subject of racism is front and centre in people’s minds. The murder of George Floyd comes at a time when, forced to stay indoors during lockdown, we had nothing but time to reflect on his life – and death. 14,000 people came to the Dam to protest for equal rights and participate in a beautiful ceremony where truths are shared with the people. Truths my parents and teachers didn’t tell me.
Stiil from 'BLACK LIVES MATTER' - 2020.
As I enter Dam Square, I look around and I'm taken aback. The first thing that comes to my mind is a realistic reflection of what the world should look like. All colours united to strive for equal rights.
Scan the QR code to watch the full film shot and directed by Steven Elbers
Black Lives Matter.
@stevenelbers
– Steven Elbers (he/him)
THE QUICK + THE BRAVE
1st June 2020. Never in my life has the urge to go outside with my camera been so strong – to blend in and capture the crowd’s full range of emotions. It’s my first ever protest.
ISSSUE 001
NEW GROUND
REMOVE. ENGA
AGE. MOBILISE.
EXPLORE MORE
�
MI NI MAAT JE TQTB'S MINI MAATJE: BLACK OWNED BUSINESSES
REMOVE HERE
�
you on the path less travelled around Amsterdam. In this first edition, Mini
Maatje’s editor Lily (she/her) delves into her pick of Black-owned businesses, from plant stores to barbershops, vintage shops to brunch spots.
Tear out and keep Mini Maatje for your next AMS wander.
THE QUICK + THE BRAVE
Mini Maatje (or ‘little buddy’) takes
NEW GROUND
BLACK OWNED BUSINESSES
ISSSUE 001
OF AMSTERDAM
21
B 24 22
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Welcome to Mini Maatje. Home to 180 nationalities, Amsterdam prides itself as a melting pot. As a freelance writer, who also happens to be a mixedrace buitenlander, I often shine a spotlight on diversity in my content because representation matters and so does local impact.
20
In 2020, the momentum behind #BLM brought well-deserved attention to Black-owned businesses in Amsterdam and beyond. Supporting minorityowned spaces contributes to the community, helps close the racial wealth gap, promotes job creation and makes a statement for other brands to follow suit. So, whether you're new to the #buyblack movement or already tend to shop locally, use Mini Maatje as a pocket guide for spending a day in Blackowned Amsterdam. — Lily Heaton (she/her) Mini Maatje Editor @lilywanderlust
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9 25
24 4
1 A C
3 D 2
13 10
11
12
7
15
8 5
19
THE QUICK + THE BRAVE
6
ZUID-OOST
17 18
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REMOVE. ENGA
CENTRUM
NEW GROUND
1
2
TERRA ZEN CENTRE
Enjoy authentic Jamaican food in Amsterdam, this pop-up restaurant
and Japanese dishes with a twist.
offers West Indian cuisine along with
Sint Jacobsstraat 19-H
fun events and live music.
@terrazencentreamsterdam
Nieuwe Kerkstraat 84 @reggae_rita
MENDO BOOKS
ISSSUE 001
WATER EN BROOD
Experience “good food and no
of books about photography, fashion,
bullshit” at this intimate family run
travel, culinary, design and more.
café with bespoke cocktails and
Nieuwe Doelenstraat 10
brunch inspired by their Surinamese
@mendobooks
roots. You can rent bikes here too! Nieuwe Kerkstraat 84
ZUID
@waterenbrood.ams
BLACK HERITAGE TOURS
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EDUCULTURE BOOK STORE
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Home to an assortment of children's
Omnivores and vegans unite at this
Diaspora throughout Amsterdam.
books, this unique store keeps the
restaurant where seasonal produce,
Dam Square
focus on diversity, inclusion and
locally sourced ingredients and
@blackheritagetours
social content.
veggies take the spotlight.
Eerste van Swindenstraat 20
Ruysdaelstraat 48
@educulture.store
@yerbarestaurant
KINDERED KUTS
barbershop offers fresh beard touch-
13
BLACK ARCHIVES
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This historical archive is a significant
Art, music and a taste of the tropics
Palmdwarsstraat 81
local source of Black literature, knowl-
mix at this bar nestled along the
@kindredkuts
edge and information centred around
south side of Vondelpark serving
race issues, slavery, colonisation,
Afro-Caribbean dishes and bespoke
feminism and other social sciences.
cocktails.
Zeeburgerdijk 19-B
Amstelveenseweg 53
@the_blackarchives
@labyrinthamsterdam
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SLAVERY MONUMENT
MOOSKHA VEGAN SOUL FOOD
Located in Oosterpark, this bronze
Vegan soul food inspired by African,
statue by Surinamese artist Erwin
Caribbean and Southern US cuisine.
de Vries commemorates the 1863
Their menu includes classics like
abolition of slavery in Dutch Antilles
milkshakes, roti, kapsalon and plant-
and Suriname, which was finally
based chicken and waffles.
resolved a decade later.
This family-run spot specialises in
Van Woustraat 110
Oosterpark 9
Creole-Surinamese dishes with a
WEST 21
twist, including daily specials, vegan
FRIENDS AND FAM
options and tasty meal boxes to-go.
This map wouldn’t be complete without
CEREAL N'CHILL
New in town, this natural hair salon also
Cabralstraat 49-H
a salute to TQTB’s friends and fam:
This laid back café adds a fun twist to
functions as an event and exhibition
@thepombar
waffles, brunch and comfort food
space featuring affordable artwork.
complete with good vibes retro games!
Linnaeusstraat 205
Dusartstraat 22
@deartiesten_amsterdam
15
22
@cerealnchill
everything from coffee to brunch with a lovely view of De Pijp.
16
HEESTERVELD DISTRICT
The OG brand that put Amsterdam on the global streetwear map.
tasty menu, including everything from
Zeedijk 67
tea to tequila and toasties. Bonus:
@patta_nl
B
@pamela.amsterdam
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PATTA
This corner café has a wacky vibe and
Jacob van Lennepstraat 86
ZUID-OOST
vibe at this welcoming café serving
A
PAMELA
they host LGBTQ+ friendly events too.
LOCALS COFFEE
Experience a cosy neighbourhood
DAILY PAPER
Bringing Afrofuturism to mens and womenswear since 2010.
PLANTHOOD
Bilderdijkstraat 131 @dailypaper
Eerste Jacob van Campenstraat 27-H
Home to a collective of innovative
Plant parents can find inspiration,
@localsams
residents, this artist community aims
join workshops and learn how to best
C
to inspire and facilitate creativity,
care for their plant babies.
ROBBEDOES HAIR DESIGN
cooperation and cultural entrepre-
Postjesweg 52
Home to exciting local
This family run barbershop in De Pijp
neurship in Amsterdam's Bijlmer area.
@planthoodofficial
POC-owned brands Sumibu
has catered for all hair types and the
Heesterveld
Afro-hair community for over 35 years.
@heesterveldcc
Daniël Stalpertstraat 80-H @robbedoes.today
17
NOORD 9
POM BAR
DE ARTIESTEN
@mooshkavegansoulfood
8
LABYRINTH
ups and genderless haircuts for all.
DE PIJP
7
YERBA
the hidden histories of the African
Amsterdam's very own queer friendly
6
11
inspiration with a curated collection
tour (the first of its kind) explores
5
REGGAE RITA'S
tasty and unique menu of Caribbean
Since 2013, this interactive city
4
10
A family-run vegan café serving a
Book lovers, rejoice! Dive into
3
OOST
Crafting one-of-a-kind childrens' dolls, this concept shop shines
18
and The New Originals. JUTKA RISKA
Zeedijk 60
This vintage boutique was named
@zeedijk60
OSCAM
after the two sisters who founded it.
The Open Space Contemporary Art
Together, they curate the bespoke
Museum highlights creative talent
collection of clothes, jewellery and
Footwear innovator since 2009, now
through a unique cultural platform,
accessories on offer.
with mens and womenswear collections.
exhibitions and events centred
Bilderdijkstraat 194
Berenstraat 11
around art, fashion, and design.
+ Haarlemmerdijk 143
@fillingpieces
Bijlmerplein 110
@jutkaenriska
@oscamonline
COLOURED GOODIES
24
ZEEDIJK 60
25
D
FILLING PIECES
NATURAL NATION
NELSON MANDELA PARK
Exclusively using products with
a spotlight on diverse features
This six-hectare recreational park has
natural ingredients, this salon and spa
Did we miss someone?
including a range of skin tones and
plenty of room for visitors to cycle,
specialises in nourishing curly, coily
Know a Black-owned business
hair textures.
skate, picnic, explore nature, exercise,
and textured hair.
that’s not included, or want to
Van der Pekstraat 75-H
or even attend a seasonal festival.
Zaanstraat 109
feature your own?
@colouredgoodies
Reigersbospad
@thenaturalnation
Email info@thestudy.group.
34
THE QUICK + THE BRAVE
AGE. MOBILISE.
Inspired by Ray and Flo’s DIY ‘Zwart Lives Matter’ initiative to raise Zwart Lives Matter protest poster,
funds for anti-racism charities in the Netherlands. Remove this
@therealbabyfuegod
handwritten by Ray Fuego (he/him)
from the centre of the print to use as a peaceful protect poster.
@zwartlivesmatter
ISSSUE 001
NEW GROUND
a movie. I’d be saying ‘how can you think
to be more flexibility. They’re not robots,
that anyone will listen to what you’re
these kids are living people. There are a lot
saying and take you seriously when you’ve
of stepping stones to get us to that point.
not been consistently on this?’ People are I'm not gonna fight everyone every
so cringy. Go read a book, come back.
Flo: I see organisations in London and
fucking day. I distance myself from people
Digest it, because you don't know how to
other places that are really inspiring,
who aren’t on the same shit that I’m on.
apply it to your life. Then you can come
like Black Minds Matter. To me, that’s
I don’t give them my energy. I want to
back to talk to me because, right now,
something that’s needed everywhere – to
surround myself with people with the same
you’re just a little boy to me. I should kiss
give people of colour and Black people
goal as me. We don't have to take the same
your forehead.
access to therapists who are Black or POC
route to the goal. But eventually the goal
themselves. You can’t have a Black person
these things.
TQTB: As underrepresented minorities (based on race and gender), we often have our narratives told for us. ‘Zwart Lives Matter’ feels like a rebellion – not asking permission and instead being active in standing against a struggle. What impact do you hope ZLM can have in the broader discussion on race, gender and representation in the Netherlands?
Ray: Thing is, you didn’t make changes
Ray: I think Zwart Lives Matter is a
know, like how OVO has in Toronto. A
because everyone around you was doing it.
stepping stone to get things moving.
centre where kids can go into a studio.
You made the change because you felt that
Eventually, we’ll build more because the
It's a safe space where they can hang out
it was important.
people around us take us seriously. Once
and learn, that also feels cool. If someone
you’re surrounded by people who can help
like Patta runs it – people from the same
you to make more things a reality, that has
community these kids are from – then they
a powerful impact. One thing I want to do
trust it, see the authenticity and want to
Ray: Yeah, that's even worse, a lot of
is change the way kids in the Bijlmer are
actually hang out there. Then it becomes a
people are jumping on the bandwagon.
educated. Ideally I’d like that to happen
great outlet for them.
I've been talking about this shit and people
everywhere, but the Bijlmer is where those
didn't take it seriously. I was always seen
changes need to happen fi rst. I’d like
Ray: We can do it. I don't see it as
as the radical guy, you know. “Crazy Ray”
how history is taught to change, as well
something that should be that hard. We
was always talking about this shit-blah-
as a better understanding of what these
just have to put our heads together and do
blah-blah.
kids are dealing with. They told me that
it. The place has to look good, feel warm
I was a problem child because they didn’t
and welcoming, everyone needs to know
A lot of fake conversations came up
understand my background and culture,
that it's a safe space.
recently and it felt like I was in a soap or
different personalities. What works for one
has to be the same, otherwise I just can't be around you. Flo: And not everyone grows at the same time. Maybe in a year, people who let you down now will be in a place where you can talk with them again. If I think about where I was four years ago versus today, we’d have had a hard time talking about
share their trauma with a white therapist and have them understand and know what treatments will work properly for you. Black Curriculum, another initiative in London, is a project to bring more balanced history and representation to the classroom. Long term, these are some of the things that I’d like to see. Impactful projects with a lasting effect, that’s really key. I’d like to build a recreation centre, you
Flo: There’s a lot of performative activism.
“YOU HAVE TO LISTEN
kid won’t work for another, so there needs
Flo: You’re levelling up when you step in, not levelling down. Just by walking in,
TO THE PEOPLE BEING OPPRESSED. THAT'S THE ONLY WAY THAT YOU CAN HELP. YOUR PERSONAL PREFERENCE AND OPINION DON’T MATTER.”
these kids should feel empowered. Ray: A rec centre would bring in a different approach to education and life skills. Say, sports days – exercise is super important. Knowing how to feed yourself. In the Black community, people just eat shit because it's cheap, but even food on a budget can be healthy. If you teach kids this kind of stuff early, they know how to do it for life. The school system doesn't teach you how to do that – you're not made to go and work on yourself. Summer schools where there’s an educational element every day would be a way for us to change lives for the better. If you can help someone to learn daily, you
THE QUICK + THE BRAVE
know you’re doing the right job.
Photography: Obi Mgbado Retouching: Omar Rosalina Lighting: Obi Mgbado Art direction: Colinda Bijsterveld Wardrobe: Concrete Matter, Crocs Hair and make-up: Xiu Yun Yu Production manager: Marie-Anne Leuty Location: The Brouwersgracht Studio
@therealbabyfuegod @baby_floflo @zwartlivesmatter
37
NEW GROUND ISSSUE 001
THE LEGAL BURQA There are countless people infected with the virus of racism, many of them appearing asymptomatic. The most serious form of racism, in my opinion, is ‘de jure’ racism. It means racism by law. I can hear you thinking: ‘how can law be racist?’ There is legislation that makes Islamic face-covering clothing (like the burqa and the niqab) illegal in the Netherlands. This law applies on public transport, in government buildings and health institutions. Now, because of the pandemic, it’s also mandatory to wear non-medical face masks in public transport. Ironically, those things are exactly the same. Not according to me, but according to the law. How can the exact same thing be banned and mandatory? To question this, I combined the silhouette of the illegal, with the material of the mandatory. – Ersem Ercil (he/him)
@ersemercil @thelegalburqa
38
THE QUICK + THE BRAVE
NEW GROUND ISSSUE 001
S.E.L.F. Akoh (he/him) @_akoh_
Inspired by my first photography series, ‘SOS FROM AN EARTHLING IN DISTRESS’, this project explores toxic masculinity. Being ‘male’ comes with pressures for some men in Africa. Men aren’t supposed to be emotional or vulnerable. This series tells the story of a man raised in a system where these traditional stereotypes say he should be dominant. These norms are challenging for him. He wants to live in a system where ‘boys will not be boys’. He wants to stop being someone he’s not just to be accepted by his community.
A CALL TO DISORDER What does it mean to claim and cultivate otherness? Marly Pierre-Louis (she/her) imagines the creative potential and power of the wild.
why it appeared to be so natural and easy
unbearable. Two years later, my mother
gaze the answer to what I’m doing here in
for immigrants from the Caribbean to pick
left home without telling her dad, got on
Amsterdam, in this community, starts to
up and leave for elsewhere and so difficult
a plane and went to live with her mother
come into focus.
for white Americans (my mother's husband
in Brooklyn—she never saw him again.
is white ya’ll - she was definitely @ing
He died suddenly four years later and she
him). She had a theory that Black folks
wasn’t able to return. It took eight years
suffered from a restlessness, that as a
and two kids before my mother went
people we were always seeking, materially
back. My grandmother never saw Haiti
or spiritually moving about the world
again, she transitioned four years after I
None of us are locals, not really. None
looking for something we weren’t finding.
was born. It wasn’t a pandemic that kept
of us are from here. Home may never be
them away; it was being Black, immigrant
a static place for those of us whose lives
mothers in America that did.
are often at the whim of forces built to
Migrant: a person who moves from one place to another in order to find work or better living conditions
Diaspora: the movement, migration, or scattering of a people away from an established or ancestral homeland
destroy us. But what if, for us, home is a Less than a year after I gave birth to my
movement, a direction, a yearning that
son Sekani, Sybrina Fulton buried her son
ties us together? As I’ve built my village
It’s been nine months since I’ve cuddled
Trayvon. Less than a year after that, my
in Amsterdam I’ve had to let go of all that
with my loved ones and the word ‘miss’
partner and I sold everything in our Bed
I thought diasporic Black folk would have
no longer captures the longing I feel for
Stuy apartment and moved to Amsterdam.
in common when it came to politics, ways
my mother, aunties, sisters, and besties
He never, ever wants to go back. We have
of being, and worldviews. What remains
Before shit hit the fan this year, Editor
scattered across America, Canada, and
always felt persecuted and hunted down by
is this though: we are all journeying.
Extraordinaire of this very magazine,
Haiti. 2020 has called on all of us to
the specter of death and incarceration in
As people from here, elsewhere, there,
Marie-Anne (a.k.a bae), asked if I could
imagine an expansive sense of rootedness
the United States. I am not in exile but I’m
wherever — this is what unites us. This
help her think of a word to identify the
in the world; a way of feeling ourselves
afraid to go home.
is what we share. As a people we are
group of people who were moving into and
into spaces far from where we’ve found
through Amsterdam from other places in
ourselves sheltering. It has also called
the world. 'Expats' would be the simplest
on us to stare down and upend white
choice, although I think we both bristled at
silence and supremacy. When I imagined
the baggage of privileges the word carried
the apocalypse – and I imagine it all the
and the way it created an ‘us’ that was
time – I never imagined being so far from
different from a ‘them’. I cycled through
those I hold dearest. Never imagined
I (and evidently my mother) have come to
other possibilities but never landed on one
being in the European version of Stepford,
understand Blackness as a constant state
that felt precise enough to encompass the
Connecticut where self-congratulatory
of freedom journeying. Sometimes it’s
experience she was trying to capture. The
white people smugly cycle along canals
forced due to conditions of subjugation,
question stuck with me.
with bloody hands utterly convinced of
war or poverty, other times it’s through
their innocence.
our own volition for work, love or
Refugee: a person who has been forced to leave their country or home, because there is a war or for political, religious or social reasons
like to move to next, basically trying to figure out where and with whom
other, to our ancestors, to our future. Let’s cultivate our own freedom, our wilderness here together. Because we are all we got, and hasn’t that always been the case?
adventure. Black life is itinerant, always But none of this is new, is it? Haven’t we
on the move, always on a quest. I’m
always had to occupy multiple realities at
interested in what it looks like to lay
once? Hasn’t home always been elusive?
claim to this tradition of movement and
Isn’t this just what it means to be Black?
migration. How it would feel to turn and
On the phone with my mom recently, we were discussing where on the planet we’d
unmoored, and so be it. We belong to each
Exile: the state of being sent to live in another country that is not your own, especially for political reasons or as a punishment.
face our collective restlessness. What
Asylum seeker - a person who has left their home country as a political refugee and is seeking asylum in another
we wanted to be facing the ongoing
does it look like to exist in and create from that wild, in-between place? What happens there? Who are we? What new ways of thriving can this space reveal?
apocalypse of Black life with. As we
My grandmother left Haiti for America
When I imagine that space as freedom, I
imagined ourselves on the shores of
in 1980. She had walked out on my
feel giddy with inspiration and potential.
Bridgetown, Tulum and Limon, my mom
grandfather and in retaliation he tried
When I imagine what’s possible when we
shared that she had been thinking about
to make her life in Port-au-Prince
can dream, breathe, and serve our own
41
@marlyatlarge
THE QUICK + THE BRAVE
I’ve lived and worked in Amsterdam for seven years and still don’t feel at home. So when, all at once, a deadly virus spread across the globe, and white people everywhere finally woke up to the fact of their knees on our necks, I couldn’t figure out why the fuck I was trapped 3,451 miles away from my mom and between 3,641 and 5,598 miles away from my best friends. What the fuck was I doing here? I mean seriously, of all places, what am I doing here?
What does it mean to experience and live a blend of cultures? Kenneth James (he/him) explores the idea of a sense of home.
ISSSUE 001
NEW GROUND
DIS PLACE MENT
“TO EMBRACE AND
UNDERSTAND EVENTS TODAY, WE NEED TO DELVE INTO OUR HISTORY.”
‘Displacement’ is a project close to my heart as it’s taken from the perspective of me being born in the Netherlands and having Ghanaian roots. Growing up, I always had friends from Suriname. I never questioned our connection because, to me, we shared the same ethnic background. The Surinamese way of going about things was almost identical to what I’d been brought up with; so bonding and making friends was very easy.
events today, we need to delve into our history. The trans-Atlantic slave trade had a devastating impact and it continues to this day. The subject needs to be addressed instead of being overlooked as a thing of the past. It was a period when men, women and children were slaughtered or separated and subjected to servitude under extremely harsh conditions. No person should live their life that way. No one is displaced out of choice, but people will always hold on to their culture and the free will to live how they want. As individuals, we carry ‘home’ with us, and constantly think about how to reach it.
‘Displacement’ has shown me that home, or the sense of home, always travels with us wherever we go. It’s in the culture and everyday customs that you take part in throughout your life that give you a sense of belonging. Being born in a Ghanaian family in the Netherlands, and growing up with friends
42
whose parents are Surinamese, is a force
Images: Kenneth Aidoo
of nature. To embrace and understand
@kennethjames
“NO ONE IS DISPLACED
THE QUICK + THE BRAVE
OUT OF CHOICE, BUT PEOPLE WILL ALWAYS HOLD ON TO THEIR CULTURE AND THE FREE WILL TO LIVE HOW THEY WANT.”
43
NEW GROUND
KRAKERS A vibrant scene battling the law, the cultural world of Amsterdam’s squats is on the brink,
ISSSUE 001
writes Jon Madge (they/them).
The krakers were in Amsterdam before the cycle paths, and brought with them the gig venues, art galleries and bohemian living that the city became known for. Effectively outlawed in 2010, the scene is now clinging on for its life.
At its height, Amsterdam’s kraker scene
There are others that have adapted to keep
Not just for people living on the ADM but
was 20,000 strong. Among them, a
the cultural revolution of the krakers alive.
for people living in other similar kinds of
massive number of artists, designers,
Both the OCCII and Nieuwe Anita are
places.”
filmmakers and the artisans and crafters,
mainstays of Amsterdam’s independent
who made the Jordaan the hipster centre of
music scene. The former was founded
Since 2010, that cultural self-defence
the city. One of the most famous cultural
as a squat and is still collectively run by
has been against the municipality and
squats was de Slang on Spuistraat, named
volunteers, in the true spirit of the early
landowners who want to redevelop the site.
for the colourful snake mural that covered
krakers. It is self-styled as ‘a stage for
It’s a common problem for Amsterdam’s
the entire building. From when the krakers
underground and radical music acts’, and
kraker communities, and one which
arrived in 1987, it became a gallery, hosted
has earned respect internationally for
threatens to rob the city of some of its
Squatting as a movement started in
movie nights and political talks, and was a
most unique cultural institutions. ADM,
Amsterdam in the ‘60s, a decade before
staple of the city’s alternative nightlife.
like many of the squats in Amsterdam, is
the city filled with bicycles. Known locally
fighting back with new ways of living, new
as ‘krakers’, the early squatters were
“Everyone who comes to live here turns
responding to landlords running down
into an artist and a craftsperson,” explains
property throughout central Amsterdam,
Suwanne Jo of the ADM autonomous
allegedly to limit housing supply and drive
community. “It’s part of the freedom
up rental prices.
that people experience and there is this willingness to inspire others and work
During this time, uninhabited buildings that
together and teach them.”
had been left to rot were occupied. Many
art, music and film. As long as there are
“ IN 2010, EVERYTHING
CHANGED AS A NEW LAW MADE SQUATTING ILLEGAL AGAIN.”
people supporting that, it will never die away completely. ***** This article was originally written in 2018. In the early days of January 2019,
of the kraker groups did more than just live
Then, in 2010, everything changed as a
the police removed the residents of ADM
in these buildings, they helped conserve
new law made squatting illegal again. With
from their homes, promising that it was
them. Some of these early squats are now
one eye on the increasing gentrification
million Euro canal houses. Throughout
of the city, the municipality began to
its commitment to doing that properly.
occur. Moments later, bulldozers and
the ‘70s and ‘80s, the krakers faced off
clear the squats. The new law meant their
The latter has given a second life to an
other demolition equipment rolled into
against the state and the police, becoming
residents faced up to a year in prison, and
abandoned school, as one of the best and
the community, destroying the homes
a major voice for the provision of housing
the threat worked. Within two years, 350
most unique places to see live music,
and possessions of the residents and their
in Amsterdam. The city deployed tanks to
buildings had been emptied.
theatre or comedy in the city.
children.
And with them went the culture.
Then there is ADM. More than just a
This was against the pleas of the UN.
temporary and that no damage would
try to empty a squat in Vondelstraat, only to be met with protests against the Queen’s coronation months later. Signs declared
squat, this former shipbuilding site in the
‘Geen woning, geen kroning’; no housing,
“It’s pretty obvious to conclude that the
Northeast part of Amsterdam harbour is
The residents were moved to a second,
no coronation.
cultural scene of Amsterdam is more
now an autonomous community of more
wholly unsuitable site. There they have
and more a scene for the rich,” explains
than 125 people of all ages. Since arriving
had to attempt to rebuild their community.
What became known as the ‘squatter
Ivo. “Slowly the poor, the students, the
in 1997, the residents have transformed
Now, just one year later, they’re being
wars’ ended in 1994 when squatting
starters, the experimenting and the
the site with gardens, wildlife habitats and
threatened with eviction again by a state
legislation came into effect. If the
alternative people are being pushed out
have laid electricity, water and internet
whose famous tolerance does not seem to
squatted building had been empty for
of town.”
connections to fully modernise their
extend to them.
more than a year, the claim on it was
homes. They’ve also made it a cultural
legitimate. The krakers had won the right
He’s one of the survivors of the 2010
centre within Amsterdam for everything
to their homes. However, the activism
law. Seeing that the winds of politics
from gardening to music to food.
didn’t end there. One of the features that
were beginning to blow against them,
had been consistent from the ‘60s onwards
the residents of OT301 (named for the
“We organise festivals, workshops,
was the role of squats as community and
address on Overtoom 301), managed to
seminars… We initiated the tiny house
culture spaces. They had been music
raise money to buy their premises in 2006.
movement, you could say the whole food
venues, art galleries, performance spaces
Owning the property saved them from
truck thing can be partly traced back to
and more, and continued to be once they
eviction but it didn’t let the collective
ADM.”
were legalised.
remain as it was.
“When we squatted the OT301 in 1999
“Things changed when we started owning
ADM isn’t just something that the residents
the scene was still pretty vibrant,” recalls
the building. More rules, licenses, check
do, it’s a fundamental part of how they live.
Ivo Schmetz of the squat-turned-film-
ups, mortgage, etc. We still follow the ideals
school. “Every couple of months a new
that we have from the beginning but we had
“From the start we’ve put up our festivals
Keep up to date with ADM's fight, their events
place was squatted and there were many
to change. Changing is inevitable, it’s part
as cultural self-defence, to showcase our
and ways to support the community at:
underground events organised.”
of life and it makes the project interesting.”
way of being in a broader sense.
facebook.com/adm.amsterdam
For Suwanne, the cultural aspect of the
44
THE QUICK + THE BRAVE
SAY THEIR NAMES
Inspired by an original portrait by New York-based photographer
Karlijn Marchildon (she/her)
police brutality directed at minorities. The beret here carries some of the
Mark Elzey, this work is a reminder that the Netherlands has its share of names of people who have died in Dutch police custody during, or shortly
@herdailydoodle
after, violent arrests. Their assaulters still have not been prosecuted.
45
NEW GROUND ISSSUE 001
ORIGINS: RETRACE YOUR STEPS
Travel changes perspective – morbidly cliché but true. It also sparks new ideas. Editor-in-Chief Marie-Anne (she/her) recounts how TQTB came into existence in a garden in Lisbon.
“FRAGILE AND
BROKEN ONCE AGAIN BY THE CORPORATE WORLD, I WISH THE MICRA ONWARD TO ANJOS.”
24/8/2018, around 14:30:
Fragile and broken once again by the
His olive knuckles pale around the crack
‘So, we fucked the Indians in Brazil and the n*****s from the plantations, you know, the Africans. And we did it for control, but in the end, the people we colonised love us because we integrated with them – mixed everything up.’
corporate world, I wish the Micra onward
rock clutched in his palm.
The dusty Nissan Micra careens around
to Anjos. The erratic driving is a help and a hindrance.
27/8/2018, 21:00: The quiet crowd gathers around a
Same day,19:30
white van on Praça de Rossio between
‘My n****r!’
the national theatre and Igreja de São
We keep walking.
Domingos. The church has existed here
‘Ey, yo, my n****r!’
in some form since 1241, testament to the square’s medieval grandeur. Tourists
Yep, he’s definitely addressing Obi. We
mill around the ginjinha bar as junkies
stop to talk, his keen green eyes meet
sit along the perimeter, unhungry. A hush
ours. He’s no more than 35.
cloaks everything and everyone. The line
the roundabout. Obi’s knees graze his
slowly moves forward as septuagenarians ‘You’re Igbo right? My dad’s Nigerian…
climb into the back of the van to collect
the Airbnb host in the rearview.
he remarried when I was small. She’s a
their donations. THE QUICK + THE BRAVE
shoulders while I avoid eye contact with
white lady. I ain’t mad at him, she was Internal dialogue kicks into overdrive.
nice. But my mum’s your colour and my
This dude’s clearly a lost cause. He’s
dad’s your colour, and people assume this
taking us to the apartment. We’ve been up
white lady’s my mum. I mean, don’t get me
since early to catch the flight, so neither of
wrong, I love her, she’s good for my dad
us is in a place to expend energy to remind
but she’s not my mum. I’m Cape Verdean.
him about the other sides of his weighted
Can you spare any change?’
story. I focus on the arboreal arrangement in the next roundabout. We ascend into the hills of Lisbon. Two weeks earlier, I tipped into my second burnout. A full meltdown with a confidante at work who knew how to handle the situation, recommend I head home, call the company doctor, allow my brain to diffuse. The trip was already on the cards, but I didn’t make the final furlong. ‘... and the Portuguese women, they love their Portuguese men.’
47
TRAPPED IN A CYCLE OF ROUTINES AND HABITS TO NUMB YOURSELF FROM REALITY, FINDING A NEW PATH IS INTIMIDATING.”
ISSSUE 001
NEW GROUND
“WHEN YOU FEEL STUCK,
30/8/2018, closing in on noon: There’s nothing like travel for a change in perspective. Lisbon demands that you acknowledge its geography. As we climb, it feels good to move with the land, skin glowing under the sun, each step brings us closer to its rays. Today’s destination is the Botanical Garden. Timing is everything, so we pause on Calçada da Patriarcal to dissolve our tabs – this is my first experience with LSD. As we wind along the descent into the garden, a wave of cool air and shade envelopes and shields us from the midday sun. Cacti stand proud bearing their fruit, palms tower overhead. Deeper into the microclimate, plants become more lush, so thick and verdant you could bite into them. Shards of light pry through thick branches with evergreen leaves, dappled shadows wrap themselves around us with cool, reassuring arms. We wind around a corner and, carved into the side of the escarpment, is a manmade pool edged by a walkway. Monstera tumble over, rich, unapologetically filling every available space between the rising trees. This shit is magical. The acid’s making itself known. Monstera deliciosa is native to the tropical forests of southern Mexico. A misfit residing in Portugal, this displaced behemoth has thrived for generations in this alien, urban, European setting. Unlimited by the confines of an office or a window sill, thick air roots sink deep into the pathway and hillside. So entwined and adapted to its new geography, the rolling waves of castellated green embrace and uplift us.
48
**** The seed that became The Quick +
These encounters in a new city, a
From that subconscious realisation, we
The Brave planted itself at a time that
different culture to our adopted everyday
embarked on a new chapter that would
didn’t feel fertile. We were vulnerable.
in Amsterdam, were pivotal in helping
make little to no sense until puzzle
Fractured by systems and environments
us find inspiration rooted in our values.
pieces started to fit together two years
that continually ask us to shrink,
And by ‘values’, I don’t mean in terms
later. Those darknesses were in wait for
accommodate, reject intuition and push
of corporate managerial speak – I mean
us, pushing defences that we’d cloaked
for endless goals with no meaningful
it from as far removed from that as
ourselves in for a lifetime, further and
value. A distinct crossroads presented
it possibly can be. I’d heard the word
further back.
itself. Were we going to continue in the
used so much in corporate settings and
same vein as before, facing burnout after
contexts that it had lost all meaning. In
Building TQTB is nothing short of a
burnout, making ourselves smaller and
that environment it had come to signify
labour of love. Love for our community
smaller to make others comfortable? It
acquiescing to the needs of the business
and love for ourselves because, ultimately,
was a path I’d been on for a long time. It
until your own worth lay bruised and
how can we care for those around us when
taught me that I can be very resilient up to
rumpled on the floor.
we silence our better judgment, taking
a point, but the cost is too dear.
on roles our spirits tell us we shouldn’t Exploring a different city prompted us
play? Seven days in Lisbon amplified the
When you feel stuck, trapped in a cycle of
to consider what meaning we could bring
dance of the infinite parallel experiences
routines and habits to numb yourself from
back to ‘values’: celebrating our cultures
and existences happening at once. Stark
reality, finding a new path is intimidating.
rather than folding them away to be
inequalities were dramatically placed
Lisbon was a wake-up call. A reminder
palatable; finding and creating spaces
at our table to observe and remind us.
that different people connect in infinitely
where inclusivity is a way of life, not a
Nothing swept away, nothing concealed.
different ways, and our realities converge
buzzword; establishing small sustainable
and meander just as broadly.
practices with ripple effects on our immediate environment; honouring
It was time to look deep, deep down
the gut instincts that centre self and
into the darkness of our situation and
community care.
own it. The only way to get through times of uncertainty is to have faith that things can, and will, be better. You don’t know what the path will be, what new darknesses and lights you’ll encounter. But come what may, you’ll fight because it is better to live with purpose than to allow the burdens you rail against to consume you.
“BUILDING TQTB IS
THE QUICK + THE BRAVE
NOTHING SHORT OF A LABOUR OF LOVE. LOVE FOR OUR COMMUNITY AND LOVE FOR OURSELVES.”
Images: Obi Mgbado @obi.island @laleuty
49
NEW GROUND
MONSTERA:
There are never enough words to describe monstera deliciosa. From its waxy leaves to its ISSSUE 001
fierce size, no wonder it’s such a crowd pleaser. The monstera changes as it matures. Starting from a small heart-shaped leaf, it develops fenestrations and holes. I believe that the anatomy of a monstera can mimic a perfect world. They’re hemi-epiphytes and have developed a way to climb and grow on to trees. As the plant matures and climbs higher to receive more light, its fenestrations get deeper to allow light to shine down on its young. While this is not unique to the monstera, plants can teach us a unique way to live and find purpose, as well as sustain life for generations to come. — Plantmom (she/her)
@plantmom.amsterdam
50
HEALTH COMES FIRST
When you meet Hernsy, you’re
‘I’d see them in club kits. They played
immediately drawn to his open, bright
competitively and were signed to football
energy, and a grace that can only come
clubs or academies. I thought it’d be sick
from years of athletics. Known for his
to make a career from that. Coaches and
signature training style, he’s just as at
scouts would come by looking to build
home on an indoor spinning bike as he is
teams that could make it to the national
running a spontaneous half marathon.
football leagues.’
No wonder he’s made a name for himself in high-end fitness clubs across Amsterdam
It wasn’t just extracurricular sport
and Dubai in less than four years.
that interested Baby Hearns. Physical education teachers played an important
‘I’ve been an athlete for as long as I can
role in his development, introducing
remember’, he explains.
new sports that he and his classmates wouldn’t have got involved in otherwise,
‘I quickly discovered my love for
like badminton, gymnastics, softball. One
movement as a child. The highlight of
teacher in particular left a real mark.
my day was playing outside with friends. Rain, snow or shine, we’d usually play
‘Shout out to Meester Remy – he had
football on a concrete field, using jackets
so much respect for movement, and he
or shoes for goal posts. There had to be a
made everything fun. He was fit, he was
tornado in town to stop us.’
jokes. He could relate to us, and we really appreciated that.’
Sport was a good outlet growing up. The decision to get into sport profession‘Through good and bad days, I just wanted
ally didn’t come all that easily though.
to be in a position where I represented
Expectations as he grew up meant that he
something that would be good for people,’
was pushed more into becoming an
says Hernsy. ‘When I discovered that my
architect, an engineer, a doctor.
football training could help friends and family around me, I knew that I wanted
‘I thought the role of a PE teacher couldn’t
a career in fitness. That would turn into
really give me the life that I wanted,’ he
my main motivation, knowing that I could
explains, ‘but with time, I found a way
help people with something I was already
back to it.’
doing for the joy of it.’ Eventually, Hernsy’s talent in football Growing up in the Bijlmer, Hernsy
took him international, with sports
noticed from early on that older kids were
scholarships and college in the US. On his
developing something fun into a more
return to Amsterdam, he knew it was time
disciplined craft.
for the next chapter of his career.
51
“I STEPPED ONTO
THAT STAGE NERVOUS, SOMETHING INSIDE JUST TOOK OVER THE SHOW. IT WAS MAGIC.”
THE QUICK + THE BRAVE
Carving a niche in the aspirational world of fitness took Coach Hernsy (he/him) from the Bijlmer to Dubai. We ask Zuidoost’s most motivating son about his journey, and what makes his style so unique.
NEW GROUND
Being from the projects, he faced
transition to being a full time instructor
Within four months, he was offered the role
Hernsy decided to draw on his own love of
challenges in establishing this new path.
straight away.’
of Master Instructor, mentoring and training
MCing – soon to become a staple feature
new and existing instructors to ensure high
in his classes. Bringing his cultural background to the table was scary at first.
‘It definitely takes work, a lot of energy,
Feedback from his early classes was
quality at every class. His new title enabled
a lot of strategising. One of the biggest
resoundingly positive. Knowing that he
him to step into full-time teaching.
challenges I faced was finance. I landed a
could refine his teaching style by giving it
full-time job at Adidas with a good salary
more focus, Hernsy made the call to leave
Finance wasn’t the only challenge he
colour in class, and I wasn’t really used to
and work environment, great people. But
his role at Adidas. He went back to retail, a
faced. There were no mentors in the
having so few POCs around. The classes
I didn’t really like the job itself. That was
job he’d had as a teen.
spinning field who he could relate to
were mainly white. It was a whole different
personally. He saw examples of classes
world for me.
my stumbling block.’
‘Once in a while, I’d have a person of
‘There was a bit of pride swallowing, but
that he liked, and there was no shortage
Around this time, he found out about a
it was fine. I had this part-time job to give
of training, but nothing reflected his own
‘But, you know what? It paid off. People
new spinning club. For the uninitiated,
me more time as a spinning instructor.’
style or cultural background.
really liked the different dynamic,
a customised indoor bike, with elements
Hustle kicked in. Hernsy contacted friends
‘There weren’t any other people who
discover. They’d go “hey, I didn’t know
of HIIT plus resistance training using
he’d made over the years in the nightlife
looked like me doing this, and it would
I’d like this kind of music, what is this?”
dumbells. After a tester class – quickly
scene to show them the club feel he started
have been helpful to relate to someone
“Well, this is afrobeat, this is dancehall.”
followed by an audition – Hernsy was sure
to bring to classes.
about the different challenges I’d face,’ he
They got to learn about genres that were
explains. ‘So, my mission was to define my
new to them.
and for them, it was something new to
spinning involves high paced pedalling on
ISSSUE 001
he’d found his next step. ‘I knew they liked the feel of those spaces:
teaching style, go out there and find what I
‘At the audition, I stepped onto that stage
the dark little room with the bikes, plus the
could bring that was unique to me.’
nervous, at first, but something inside just
MC vibe and positive encouragement… all
took over the show. To this day the same
that helped people try out the classes, then
Inspiration came from another big part of
influences in different genres, and include
thing happens at all of my classes. It was what
keep coming back.’
his life – music and nightlife.
them in my playlists to get a whole other
At this point, tester classes weren’t a thing,
‘A lot of my friends are DJs, MCs. I have
there too. I’m quickly drawn to African
twist that people love.’
I was looking for all of my life, and I knew it was what I wanted to do. It was magic.’
‘I’m Ghanaian, so I include music from
so he created an account with credits
to give a special shoutout to Jay, who I
Despite the positive reactions, it was
Immediately accepted as an instructor,
he paid for himself so friends could try
knew as a big DJ back in the day. Hip hop,
hard to avoid comparing himself to other
he got to work building his reputation.
out a ride for free. Things quickly grew
drum’n’ bass as well… He became a Nike
instructors.
from there, with one friend bringing
running coach and was my first example of
‘The more classes you teach, the more
another along with them – he’d started
somebody who transitioned from nightlife
finances you bring in, but my availability
the foundation of his own community and
to fitness. He also introduced me to the
was limited, so I couldn’t make a real
regularly sold out classes.
Patta Running Team.’
52
“I APPROACH EVERY CLASS
LIKE A GAME SITUATION, A HABIT I’VE KEPT FROM MY ATHLETE DAYS.”
‘The biggest piece of advice I’d give is stay
that anyone can just lace up, including
he connected with another club he was also
true to yourself. When other instructors
people who work in nightlife who just want
interested in. They were keen to sign him
sold out classes, I’d analyse what they did.
to sleep in the day.
up too, and before long, the paperwork to
But what they do might not work for you.
move was in motion.
I discovered that staying true to yourself
‘For a group that’s not used to training
is the key to giving your best classes. You
daily, it's hard to stay disciplined so you
‘The message is that you never know who’s
do what you like because you want to
need to have extra people in the group
going to be in your class, so always be on
introduce people to stuff you like, and the
who are used to it. Then you always have a
your A game,’ he explains. ‘Be consistent.
energy is just right because you are right
little group to train with. If I help to build
Deliver what you have, whatever your
from within.’
a sense of accountability for that person,
product. Always keep the right mindset.’
they come in, do their training... sick.’ Another big influence on Hernsy’s
Relocating is a big change for anyone,
delivery and presence leading classes is
Heading up classes at more gyms around
with many changes to adapt to. Living with
his Christian upbringing. As a child, he’d
the city started to open new doors.
blended cultures is a matter of course for
regularly go to church on Sundays.
neighbourhood like the Bijlmer, Hernsy
‘I vividly remember our preacher being very
teach in these beautiful locations. It led to
was introduced to many different cultures
charismatic, very motivating, and really
many opportunities, including being in a
from Day One.
effective at spreading the message through
campaign for fitness app OneFit.’
the entire room. When those preachers speak, it’s with an energy, with a fire.’
‘There were a lot of different cultures that So how did Hernsy go from carving his
I was introduced to. In Dubai, you have
niche in Amsterdam to moving to Dubai?
a strong Asian community from India,
‘The biggest thing that I would notice is the
Pakistan, the Philippines. There’s an
way they would talk and the energy they
‘I wish it was a very crazy story but it was
African mix straight from Ghana, Nigeria,
would put into the words. As a child, I was
literally a case of right place, right time.
Angola, Zimbabwe, Cameroon, South
only interested in playing, but I always got
I approach every class like a game
Africa. Now you have Europe coming in,
drawn to the energy that those preachers
situation, a habit I’ve kept from my
Dutch, British... I loved it because I was so
gave. That really influenced my teaching
athlete days. I take preparation for my
curious about everybody’s story.’
style. I try to put the same amount of
classes seriously and always give the same
energy into everything that I say because I
attention to detail, whether it’s for one
really believe in the power of training.’
person or a sold out class.’
As well as his spinning community,
After one of his classes, he was
but on the other hand it was a whole new
Hernsy looked to his immediate network
approached by someone setting up a new
beautiful world to discover.’
to branch into other areas of training. The
club in Dubai. An Instagram name swap
connection with the Patta Running Team
and few DMs later, they made it clear that
It was a challenge psychologically too to
came by chance through Jay, who also
if he wanted to expand his horizons, he
juggle so much change, whilst building
happened to be their head coach.
should think about a potential move.
up a reputation and client base from
Having never visited Dubai, Hernsy spent
scratch. Having set himself a mission to
‘He introduced me to the concept of what
a week in the city and visited the fitness
have as many clients in Dubai as he had in
the team was about – showing the world
club. But a lot can happen in a week – and
Amsterdam, Hensy had his work cut out.
What about friendships during that time? ‘It was a bit harder to connect with friends,
53
THE QUICK + THE BRAVE
immigrant families, and growing up in a ‘A lot of people came through to see me
NEW GROUND
“BE CONSISTENT.
ISSSUE 001
DELIVER WHAT YOU HAVE, WHATEVER YOUR PRODUCT. ALWAYS KEEP THE RIGHT MINDSET.”
‘I experienced competitive behaviour from
‘I’m developing a fitness series called
even for people who look like me. That
other trainers because you’re fishing in
‘Health Comes First’ that people can do at
makes me hungry, to aspire to that. You
the same pond. What trainers don’t realise
home, with just a yoga mat and cool tunes
decide for yourself what you want. It’s then
is that people will go where they want – if
to move to.’
up to you to do whatever is in your power
they don’t vibe with you, you can’t force them to train with you.’
to get there.’ As well as workouts, Hernsy plans to share fitness advice, set challenges and
Hernsy’s philosophy is that, ultimately,
‘Clients started to come to my classes more
introduce more advanced movements for
we are made to succeed, everybody has a
because I always bring my energy, which
people who’ve trained with him for a while
special skill – and it’s up to each of us to
led to a lot of fakeness from other trainers.
for that signature motivation boost.
find what that is.
I felt that – I’d try to ignore it.’ ‘I want to keep building a community,
‘It’s different for everybody. I’m not out
Between salty competitors, a sea of
and one day have in-person events. Tying
here saying that you have to get a lot of
relocation admin to take care of, and no
entertainment to fitness is something I’ll
money, just enough to get what you want.
family or friends around in person for
always aim to do.’
Don’t be shy about it, be hungry for it.’
support, he burned out. Hernsy’s career has already gone to
‘You’re surrounded with that philosophy
‘You have to be aware of it, you have to
so many heights – one of the constants
here, it pushes you to keep going. We
be honest with yourself and sit still. Even
through all of it is the community he calls
can take a punch out here, man. I’m out
though my mission is ‘go go go’ all the
home: the Bijlmer.
here in the Bijlmer, and we can definitely
time, you have to connect with friends
take a punch. We don’t give up when the
again. You can’t see each other in real life,
‘Oh man, it’s vital to me,’ he says. ‘I
wind blows a little bit too hard. We keep
so at least talk with the people you really
always say that I’m super lucky that I grew
pushing.’
love. Those were definitely tough times.’
up where I did. Living with my mum in an apartment in the Bijlmer, seeing the
Photography: Obi Mgbado
Now that he’s back in Amsterdam, Hernsy
opportunities there are out in the world –
Retouching: Omar Rosalina
has his sights set on new heights, granted
it gave me humility and hunger. Staying
Lighting: Obi Mgbado
in a new reality created by COVID-19.
humble for me means knowing where
Art direction: Colinda Bijsterveld
you’re from, where you grew up, the things
Wardrobe: Nike
that you value.’
Hair and make-up: Charlotte van Beusekom
‘This time has been so strange, and careerwise a blessing in disguise as I’ve added
Production manager: Marie-Anne Leuty
virtual classes to my repertoire. Staying
‘I have big dreams, and I’m allowed to
active impacts health overall, so I want to
dream. Things that I’ve never had before,
be sure to contribute to that.’
but I’ve seen that it’s possible to get to,
54
Location: The Brouwersgracht Studio @hernsyhearns
THE QUICK + THE BRAVE
Visit tqtb.radio
55
NEW GROUND
SHAPES AND SOUNDS
ISSSUE 001
The electronic music industry has been hit hard by lockdown. With a whole infrastructure impacted, from venues to artists, we ask Ghamte Schmidt (he/him) from Bureau Punt and Sharri Morris (she/her) from Delia Bookings how the industry as a whole is adapting.
“BIG UP TO THE
QUEEN ERYKAH BADU WHO FINESSED THE SYSTEM EARLY AND BUILT HER OWN PLATFORM.” - Ghamte
Ghamte Schmidt: The whole market is
established talent while fostering fresh
who fi nessed the system early and built
readjusting to fi nd itself. The most
new faces.
her own platform. I think that’s where the future lies: a service that enables artists to
frustrating and difficult part is the uncertainty of when and how to proceed –
Amsterdam-based initiative, United We
live stream, and deals with all the rights
it’s a major shackle in terms of innovation,
Stream (unitedwestream.nl) has been
and bullshit so artists can reach their
because with innovation comes
inspiring to see, and a great example
audience directly and secure some money.
investment. Everyone is searching on
of how much stronger we are when we
the outskirts of the law to see how they
support and work together. Led by over
New talent will have a hard time to break
can make the best out of the situation.
twenty local venues, it raises money for
through and reach a new audience though.
Some are turning into restaurants that
everyone heavily hit in nightlife – clubs,
So there is a responsibility for venues and
include music and DJs, others are looking
festivals, DJs, artists, bar staff, sound
locations to start to make a bigger effort
to reach online audiences or focus on the
engineers and other freelancers.
to build up our local communities and
live aspect. It's crazy to see how quickly
talents, and create a platform as a venue
the fragile market is shedding its skin and
with large outreach. This is an important
needs to be upheld in that manner as well.
TQTB: What’s the feeling in the wider industry about using digital platforms? Are there any unexpected benefits that have come from this?
Sharri Morris: There’s a stronger
GS: I don't see them yet because the clarity
opens up a plethora of opportunities for
nurturing side to the local scene right
on how, and what, the possibilities are with
all levels of DJs to widen their reach.
now. Venues like Het Hem’s Dynamic
rights, broadcasting and such. Next to, in
New, exciting talent now has even more
Range Bar are putting on programmes of
our local scene, a lot of DJs have started
of an opportunity to break through. The
fantastic local talent. Radion, Doka and
up their own streams or joined streams (for
dramatic turn of not flying in a headline
Radio Radio’s club spaces have also been
free) which devalued the market and made
DJ in will force promoters to look deeper
hosting live stream parties and social
it quite hard to fi nd a substantial fi nancial
into their once overlooked local scenes.
distanced sit-down events, promoting both
model. Big up to the Queen Erykah Badu
Clubs have the possibility now to develop
adjusting to the new reality to survive. That should prove how wonderful and powerful our industry can be, and why it
part to keep the scene and culture alive which should be high on everyone’s agenda right now. SM: An increased number of live streams
56
“I MISS THOSE
GOOD OL’ DAYS... IT FEELS LIKE AN ETERNITY AGO.” - Jerrausama
and deepen their own sound and identity
experiences and connections – this could
by nurturing such talent – this could be
mean a death sentence. My hope is that the
hugely attractive in the future.
government comes to their senses and off their high horse to come down and listen
We love Bandcamp! Encouragingly, the
to some reasonable, logical solutions that
music platform continues to offer its
will help us all move towards a brighter
share of sales to artists and labels for the
and sustainable future.
remainder of 2020 – you can put money directly into the pockets of your favourite artists. Bandcamp is a leader in diversity
SM: There are some incredibly proactive
and inclusion in the music industry.
approaches we’re seeing venues use to
Kenyan-born artist KMRU, on our roster
generate revenue and bring the community
at Delia, is part of the Black Bandcamp
closer at this volatile time. Thuishaven has
collective (www.blackbandcamp.info)
been super innovative during lockdown.
which supports Black artists where he
At the end of May, for example, they
contributes to this ongoing project in
created a fun experience that allowed club
reaction to the BLM movement and recent
goers to a drive-thru car wash, have food
societal conversations.
and drinks, buy merch and speak live to Michel De Hey while he was DJing on Thuishaven radio.
TQTB: As lockdown restrictions loosen for other industries in the Netherlands, are there any signs that the club scene might start to follow suit? What do you think this could look like?
A recent increase of COVID-19 cases in Korea was due to clubs opening again, so we still have to be cautious and reimagine how clubbing is going to look logistically. Cool new spaces are popping up (think
GS: Well the Prime Minister (Mark Rutte,
Freight in Manchester and the Brixton
who doesn't care about black people)
Courtyard in London), and reinventing
has not delivered good news with vague
music and social spaces. This kind of
and contradicting statements that don't
innovation means some sort of fun and
look good for the local club scene. 1.5m
normality can return again, and could
distancing is preached like the Bible, and
have a meaningful benefit if they book
that means that small and big venues will
local acts and offer a fair fee for both
have a very hard time to fi nd a balance
artists and agencies...
“I HOPE WE USE THIS
CATALYST TO CREATE A FAIRER, MORE SUPPORTIVE FUTURE FOR THE INDUSTRY.”
between managing crowds and overheads to secure their existence.
By working collectively as agencies, promoters and artists, we really do have
It means that nightlife is hanging by a
an opportunity to create change. I hope
thread of survival if a middle ground isn't
we use this unexpected catalyst to create a
met. For a city like Amsterdam – that
fairer and more supportive future for the
thrives on nightlife and produces so many
industry as a whole.
- Sharri
job opportunities, as well as life lessons,
We wanted an artist’s perspective too. We caught up with Jerrausama (he/him) to find out how lockdown has affected him as a DJ.
TQTB: What influence is lockdown having on the evolution of electronic music, either in terms of producing new music or engaging with your audience?
TQTB: What was the last gig you got to play before lockdown?
J: Everybody, including me as a young Black individual in this world, is starting of things. I think the night scene is really
COVID was at Palet in the basement of
gonna fall off tbh but that also means that
Paradiso. It was a week before lockdown
there’ll be a rebirth. A more genuine place,
started. I had to play the end set and
truly for everybody and more interesting
totally trashed it. I miss those good ol’
things will come up as a result of that.
days... it feels like an eternity ago.
In a way, I’m really excited for what the future holds. Fuck COVID-19 still, but I believe because of COVID-19 there will be
TQTB: Have you managed to perform at all during this time? What was it like to play in a space set up for physical distancing?
a revolution.
J: I’ve made a few guest mixes, for instance for LYZZA’s Intearnet Radio
Photography: Sharon Jane D
show on NTS and Source Radio based in
Retouching: Sharon Jane D
Paris. I did a livestream for Paradiso and
Lighting: Obi Mgbado
for United We Stream in collaboration
Creative direction: Obi Mgbado
with 3voor12. I’ll never get used to playing
Location: The Singel Studio
for an exclusively online audience, the energy feels kinda off. Hopefully we can
Delia Bookings: @deliabookings
legally go back to playing sets like in the
Bureau Punt: @bureaupunt
good ol’ days.
Jerrausama: @jerrausama
57
THE QUICK + THE BRAVE
to wake up and see what’s wrong with a lot Jerrausama: The last gig I played before
NEW GROUND ISSSUE 001
TAKING UP SPACE:
When we talk about taking up space, intersectionality is often brushed aside as an inconvenient truth. Atticus Oak (he/him) shares his experience of asserting Black queer identity – and unexpected empowerment at work.
THE POWER OF YOUR VOICE
58
Coming out is a rite of passage in the LGBTQ+ community but how, when, where and to who is unique to the individual. There is a duality to being Black and gay. You can be out in some spaces and closeted in others, creating paradoxical feelings of being empowered and powerless. This was my case.
was freezing me out was the CEO. Being
Speaking up in the workplace and sharing
I want to be that representation to
at work suddenly felt like Sunday dinner
my experiences didn’t just give me
encourage more queer BIPOC to pursue
with family members making casual
more confidence in my role. I got more
careers in technology communications.
homophobic comments I felt powerless
satisfaction from my job knowing I was
to correct.
creating a safer work environment for
Your sexuality should never be an
future employees to thrive in.
obstacle for career opportunities. Fear
My career was my lifeline to independence
of discrimination shouldn’t limit your
and freedom, and I didn’t want my office
Members of the LGBTQ+ community
to become a prison. I started speaking
should be confident to be their most
out and using all the missed opportunities
authentic self in the workplace without
If you can’t see yourself represented in
from the family dinner table to discuss
fear of discrimination. Article 21 of the EU
the workplace, I encourage you to be that
issues at work. Everything from normal-
Charter of Fundamental Rights explicitly
representation. If not for yourself, then
Growing up in a traditional Christian
ising same-sex marriage, to breaking
prohibits discrimination based on sexual
for future Black LGBTQ+ people starting
household with Jamaican parents, I felt
down negative stereotypes that over-
orientation, protecting our community
their careers. It’s inspiring to see someone
powerless to speak up for so long. I wanted
sexualise Black gay men and reduce us
from discrimination, misconduct and
like you in a position of influence. It’s a
to be proud and own my sexuality, but I
to objects of lust, lacking substance
microaggressions. Being out and proud in
great motivator to succeed and surpass the
had to be cautious with who I was open
and intelligence.
the workplace shouldn’t be a hindrance to
expectations of others – and your own.
with, knowing that my grandparents and
aspirations.
your career.
the older generation at church wouldn’t
Taking up space comes in many forms, and
approve, and instead actively seek to ‘pray
I started small. I’d contribute to naturally
Representation is so important! Visibility
speak up, I found power in owning being
the gay away’.
occurring conversations about LGBTQ+
of someone who understands your identity
Black and gay in the workplace.
topics, which evolved into me being more
and experiences is reassuring when
I felt like I was living half a life, not
vocal about LGBTQ+ rights, calling out
applying for a new role. It highlights a
being able to fully embrace who I was
inappropriate comments and educating
pathway that has been created by your
in my own home, but work gave me an
colleagues on outdated beliefs. Over time,
predecessors, proving that pursuing a role
opportunity to be authentic. It’s a weird
my confidence grew and I felt empowered
outside of your comfort zone, or in roles
dynamic being out and vocal in the office
to be more proactive. I organised events
that have traditionally been dominated by
and silent at home. This balancing act
to make sure the history of Pride –
white, heterosexual, cisgender employees
is all too common for Black gay men.
spearheaded by Marsha P. Johnson, a
is possible.
I’ve known many who live very neatly
Black trans woman – was not forgotten.
compartmentalised lives out of fear of family rejection.
THE QUICK + THE BRAVE
Whilst I felt powerless in my home to
It’s been over six years since I started my It took a year at the company for me to
career in technology PR, and I haven’t
realise I had a superpower. No one could
met a senior Black gay person at any of
For most of my career in technology
speak to the Black gay experience other
the agencies I’ve worked at. If protective
public relations, I’ve been the only Black
than me. I could use my voice to shape
laws are in place to stop discrimination
person, and often the only gay person, in
the narrative within my organisation – to
based on sexuality, why aren’t more
the office. I remember the first company
make sure it highlighted the Black gay
BIPOC LGBTQ+ people pursuing careers
I worked for in London. The CEO was
experience too often overlooked. All the
in traditionally white, heterosexual
always cold and abrupt with me. I couldn’t
topics and missed conversations I was
spaces? And why are there so few Black
determine if it was because I was Black,
afraid to discuss at home fueled me to be
queer people in senior positions in
gay or both.
vocal at work. My existence wasn’t going
communications? A lack of representation
to be silenced, and I wanted to influence
could be the cause. If no one knows these
The author has adopted 'Atticus Oak' as
I didn’t speak out for fear of rocking the
as many people in my organisation as
roles are obtainable, our community won’t
a pseudonym to freely write about his
boat, especially because the person who
possible, especially the CEO.
pursue them.
experiences.
59
NEW GROUND
A REAL MAN? There are wider conversations on sexuality and gender than ever before. Yoeri Wegman
ISSSUE 001
(he/him) shares how his heterosexuality collides with society’s expectations of masculinity.
It feels like I’m the go-to ‘straight’ guy when the subject of toxic masculinity comes around. A while back, I was asked to join a threeday course about finding the toxicity inside yourself where, luckily, a lot of guys found the root of their hypermasculinity. After a weekend of group discussions, winning the ‘best dressed as a woman’ award and a tug-of-war match, I got confirmation that I don’t have that much toxicity left. I’ve been asked to be part of interviews
As a teenager I fell out of touch with my
So what about my life as a hopeless
drunken call, he was finally convinced
emotions. There was a lot of aggression
romantic? Well, for starters, it’s not
of my heterosexuality. I guess my harsh,
and machismo around growing up and,
hopeless. While being on a journey of self
more ‘masculine’ delivery did the trick.
even though sometimes I tried to, I
knowledge, acceptance and love, I learned
People often label me a certain way when
couldn’t live up to the tough-guy act.
that people are welcome to join and maybe
we first meet. Once they get to know me,
I didn’t want to. It was way too tiring. So
even hitchhike for a bit. But if you need to
they label me as straight. The different
after fucking up a couple of relationships
go somewhere else, that’s fine with me.
ways I express myself play a part in
with girls who meant a lot to me, I decided to work on myself and started therapy.
this. Sometimes I'll be more harsh and Girls I’ve dated or have been with have
macho, other times I'm super loving and
asked me about my sexuality. The question
nurturing. In society, these traits are still
Therapy gave me the ability to get back in
usually flows into the most beautiful
seen as either very masculine or feminine
touch with my emotions. I got more into
conversations about life and perspectives
with little to no crossover.
being one with myself. This ability to feel
on sex versus sexuality versus gender
and express emotions is often classified
identity. I dated someone who identifies
I feel like, and identify as, a man but that
as feminine. So does it make me less of a
as ‘they’ and ‘them’, and I was intrigued
doesn’t mean that’s not fluid. The way I
man – or more of a woman? Or is it just me
to hear that a big part of their group
act in my daily life switches, with some
being human without thinking in binaries?
of friends identify with gender non-
behaviour seen as more masculine, other
I’ll go with me simply being human.
conforming pronouns. Learning about this
times more feminine. Some days I’ll lay
made me think about my own identity even
on my belly in the park with my ass up,
more.
other days I’m pumping (heavy :$) iron in
about hypermasculinity and had friends say, “well, it’s the perfect time for you to
As an artist, and in my daily life, I don’t
come out.” It was a joke – but like any joke,
think in prescriptive traits. I like to be
there was a grain of sincerity behind it.
fluid in all I do. It's something I explore
I’ve had situations when the close friends
through art, for example the song lyrics
of people I’ve dated want me to confirm
As I’m not fixed, my masculinity isn’t
for 'My Brother':
my sexual identity. One time, one of these
fixed. Even if the idea of masculine and
friends – who's renowned for his gaydar –
feminine aren’t outdated social constructs,
was convinced by my Instagram that I’m
the way we give meaning to them is.
To understand how I became the go-to hypermasculinity guy, I have to take the DeLorean back into the past. Growing up, I was never the toughest. Even as a kid I was labelled a ‘softy’. I was
‘Look into the mirror and love who you are. You are who you are, who you were meant to be. Even before you were born, so live like the star you are.’
the gym.
gay. We FaceTimed and, by the end of the
the first mixed race kid in both my mom’s and dad’s families, which already made me
I've lived out those lyrics, and the truer I
feel like an alien. Me wearing chokers at 8
stayed to myself, the more people ques-
years old also didn’t help.
tioned my sexuality. It wouldn’t shock people if I came out as gay or bisexual today.
When I was a teen, I was mostly raised by
Most likely they’d say “yeah, we figured.”
my mom. My brothers are ten and twelve
“SOME DAYS I’LL LAY ON MY
BELLY IN THE PARK WITH MY ASS UP, OTHER DAYS I’M PUMPING (HEAVY :$) IRON IN THE GYM.”
years older than me and weren’t around
The way I dress and carry myself gets
much as I was growing up. Being the
people wondering, even my mom.
youngest and the cutest (though one of my
A couple of years ago, she couldn’t take it
brothers begs to differ) led to me being
anymore and ran up the stairs screaming
more in touch with my feminine side.
“YOERI, SORRY TO ASK, BUT ARE YOU
Some people say it takes a man to raise a
BISEXUAL???” I guess the photos of me
man, but my moms did a good job (like, for
intimately hugging my friends on our
real). If it’s a man’s job to properly raise a
annual Berlin trip just got too much. It may
boy, but my moms was able to do so alone,
be hard to grasp especially with brothers
what does masculinity really mean? Give it
who by comparison fit 'real man' ideals.
Photography: Justin Antonius
a thought and let me know <3.
She came around though.
@caribbeanbeauty
60
61
THE QUICK + THE BRAVE
YOUR STARS - WITH MYSTIC MADGE Life is unpredictable. Let Mystic Madge
ISSSUE 001
NEW GROUND
(they/them) divine your astrological
LOOKING AHEAD: THE ERA OF FLUID PLURALISM
fortunes and summon up your most irreverent hopes (and fears).
2020 is a steep learning curve. Steep enough to make us stop, take a breath and reengineer our own imagination. Idan (undefined) looks at how fluid pluralism can help us to adapt in a world where the rate of change seems to speed up, unabated.
Scorpio (23 Oct - 21 Nov)
Taurus (20 Apr - 20 May)
Time is running out, you better start
If the weather allows, look around when
checking stuff off that bucket list. No,
you’re next outside. Your problems come
there’s no time to find the list, just do
from the same place as everyone else:
something! Swim with dolphins. Eat a new
inequality. You can’t tackle that alone,
cuisine. Fight a giant crab (or a regular
so organise. Demand change alongside
COVID-19 urges humanity to rethink
one with a knife). Don’t text Alice.
your colleagues, friends and neighbours,
and adapt the way we design. Black Lives
and take the world back from the ruling
Matter not only compels us to rethink
classes.
design, but also who is involved in the
Sagittarius (22 Nov - 21 Dec) Your playful, fun-loving side has been at
process and how this positively impacts
Gemini (21 May - 20 June)
the fore this past month. Now is the time
inclusive outcomes. In the ‘Era of Fluid Pluralism’ talk series,
to rein that shit in. Get a hold of yourself,
That slump that’s been affecting you lately
we start a mutual journey exploring
and be accountable for your actions.
is finally coming to an end as Mercury
a future built on pluralism to find
You're an adult and other people are
moves into Pisces. Good news is especially
technological solutions to our biggest
impacted by what you do. Wear a lucky
in store if you’ve got plans to travel. He is
societal challenges.
green jumper next Thursday.
definitely going to propose this weekend. Fluid pluralism acknowledges and
Capricorn (22 Dec - 19 Jan)
Cancer (21 Jun - 22 Jul)
recognises the value of being different in our continuously evolving universe. Pluralism considers the present, while
Take control of your indecision, and
fluidity looks to tomorrow. Our evolution
If you’re reading this, then I’ve had to
make your life as clear as Durham Springs
doesn’t stop today, and we should become
break cover. I’m sorry. You don’t know
mineral water. Cut out the things you’re
comfortable with expression – through
me, but all of this will make sense soon.
unsure about, like Durham Springs filters
language, ideas and feelings – that keeps
Meet me at the cafe on the corner by your
a few impurities from the freshest, purest
our fluid environment in mind.
work this Friday, I’ll wear a vintage hat. I
spring water. Eat well this month and,
promise I’ll explain everything. I just hope
above all, remember to stay hydrated.
we’re not too late.
Aquarius (20 Jan - 18 Feb)
In this podcast, we’ll explore the idea of ‘inherent flexibility’ in a pluralistic design
Leo (23 July - 22 Aug)
approach. By acknowledging interactions in a multicultural society, we question how to embrace more voices in design
Errands seem to be ruling your days at the
thinking to reflect a true and valuable
As a water sign, you can ebb and flow like
moment, but big things are on the horizon.
experience, helping to build a future that
a river and that can lead to being your own
Little considerations will try to get in your
better balances nature with technology
worst enemy. Get out of your own head
way, but Leos are natural leaders, so when
and human life.
and try to remember that Aquarius is in
the chance presents itself, lead.
opposition to Leo, so they’re the ones you really want to take down. Carry a shiv, Leos are sneaky.
Pisces (19 Feb - 20 Mar)
The ‘Era of Pluralism’ will be available
Virgo (23 Aug - 22 Sep) A cabal of friends, colleagues and associates will denounce you as a Napoleonic conspirator. Some prison time
Pisces. Pisces, Pisces, Pisces, Pisces....
may be in your future but keep your head
What can I say about Pisces? Damn,
up, you’ll be coming into some money at
Pisces, I mean for real, damn! Pisces,
the end of it. You may want to consider an
shit man, Pisces. You know what I mean?
elaborate revenge.
Pisces, man. Pisces!
Aries (21 Mar - 19 Apr)
Libra (23 Sep - 22 Oct) Things can be frustrating from time to
Saturn is in its ascendency, and the
time but remember that the power to
woods are burning. Deep in the farthest
address that lies within you. If you find
reaches of space, an intelligence older
day-to-day life is getting on top of you,
than man’s conception blinks its way into
why not shout at an inanimate object?
hungry awakening. Be on the lookout for
If no one’s looking, give it a kick. Only
opportunities at work or signs of the end
you’ll know and knowledge, like kicking,
times.
is power.
62
online soon.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” — Albert Einstein
THE STUDY GROUP The Quick + The Brave is a publication by The Study Group Foundation.
What’s The Study Group? A think tank researching issues that impact minorities in the workplace. We’re independent, founded by people of colour and majority-female led.
Want in? We’re looking for volunteers, collaborators and partners. Visit thestudy.group / Email info@thestudy.group
THE QUICK + THE BRAVE
DM us @thestudy.group on Instagram
63
In the mood for indigo
Trish studies International Fashion and Management. Her passions are sustainable and circular production and supply processes, with a focus on the denim industry. Trish is photographed in front of Advance Denimâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bigbox dyed indigo denim. The eight to thirteen dye baths used in conventional indigo production are replaced with a single Bigbox bath, reducing waste water by up to 99%.
To find out more about Bigbox dyeing, visit advancedenim.com/en/sustainability or follow @advance_denim on Instagram.