Nieuwe Vide’s roots lie in the squatting movement of the 1990s, when a group of artists and housing activists squatted the Olympia Pakhuis on the Kinderhuissingel in Haarlem to establish a creative and resilient cultural community. We believe that art helps to both expand minds and facilitate critical thinking, and that these are staple ingredients for taking action and bringing about positive social change. More than thirty years later, the evolving community of Nieuwe Vide still includes early squatters and has become a home to the youngest generation of creatives and activists.
We are committed to making space for visual artists and encouraging interdisciplinary collaborations by bridging music, technology, dance and drag. Our perspective on developments in art and society is international and progressive. Since the beginning of our existence, we have brought international artists to Haarlem and encourage exchanges with the local art scene.
Nieuwe Vide has been a driver of collaboration between Haarlem art institutions and artist initiatives for thirty years and builds bridges to the national and international arts field. Nieuwe Vide is the bridge between established museums, such as the Frans Hals Museum and the Teylers Museum, and artist initiatives such as Studio MAPA, de Pletterij, Het Grafisch Atelier and HorizonVerticaal. Together with 37PK we are committed to talent development and manage Haarlem’s only international artist residency DOC4. We work together with higher art education to shape intensive working weeks with students.
Nieuwe Vide believes that social involvement, creativity and collectivity go hand-in-hand. At Nieuwe Vide we encourage calling on each other to share knowledge and talents . For example, during the development of new work, we can enlist the help of studio tenants for professional knowledge; international artists share their practical or global social insights; anyone who has business expertise likes to think along with others. Our community strength has proven to be the condition for our survival. We have already been able to face several challenges together, in the areas such as housing, finances, politics and recently the pandemic.