Let’s pay a visit to a village: we drive past meadows, along one of those narrow roads with ditches on either side. For a moment, we pull over onto a patch of asphalt to let an oncoming tractor pass. As it rumbles by, the ground trembles.
At the edge of the village, we turn onto a farmyard. An old woman opens the door. Upon entering, we take off our shoes and hand her a bouquet of tulips. In the living room—beige carpet, a silver dish of cookies on the coffee table—we hesitate before sitting down. Above the sofa hangs an archaic painting of a little boat in a storm. The waves tower over the frail wooden vessel. The water is already tilting; it’s only a matter of seconds before the boat will be violently swallowed.
Why, we whisper to each other, would such a dramatic painting hang in an otherwise so ordinary, tidy living room? In such a rural setting?
Now, let’s shift from that stormy living room to Amsterdam Zuidoost. From April 8 to July 3, you’ll find MOHA at Bijlmerpoort square, between the McDonald’s and eetcafé 100% De Bijlmer. Together with people that live nearby, MOHA is setting up The Library of Strategies for Surviving the Storm.