Come and debate civic space with us. Decades of neoliberal politics and capitalist investments are threatening the concept of Public Space as we once knew it. What are we, citizens, left with? How is our shared space evolving and what can we claim to be shared space? With the help of writer Sanneke van Hassel and strategist Ben Cerveny we will talk about how we negotiate our right to space between different users.

As an introduction to the debate we will watch Selling Dreams by Bêka & Lemoine. In this 24 minute film we see 34-year old Mark taking the Airbnb system to an unbelievable extreme.

Debating Civic Space starts at 22.00 hours at the Tuinzaal, Tolhuistuin | Programme by SLAA & Archis/Volume. For more on this topic, read the latest issue of Volume and keep an eye on other events by SLAA.

Debating Civic Space is part of the WIEKENT Tolhuistuin, where De Tolhuistuin opens it’s doors for 24 hours. Discover the Tolhuistuin through the range of activities and events like live music, poetry, films, club night, eating together, in all corners of the site and architectural buildings.

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On Selling Dreams: ‘The home sharing platforms drastically changed Mark’s life. From a cozy and normal family life, this young man entered in the vortex of a rather unusual and adventurous life experience. From now on, Mark makes a living by renting beautiful flats, living himself exclusively in hotel rooms, changing address everyday. Unveiling his rare strategies of success, selling tailor made dreams for guests looking for a ’true Scandinavian experience’, Mark pushes the home sharing system to its extreme. Thanks to this experience, he found a new form of freedom combining a high level of material detachment with a maximum of mobility.’

Sanneke van Hassel (1971) studied Theater Sciences and Cultural History at Utrecht University. For ten years, she was part of theatre company ’t Barre Land. In 2005, she debuted as a prose writer with her short story collection IJsregen. Subsequently, Sanneke published published many more books ans regularly contributes to various literary magazines. In 2012, she joined Terras magazine’s editorial team. A main theme in Sanneke’s work is the city and its inhabitants. Among other titles, she’s published Hier blijf ik (Here I Stay), a collaboration with 12 city photographers featuring visual and textual portraits of Rotterdam. Together with Flemish writer Annelies Verbeke, she created Naar de stad (To the City), a collection of short stories about city life by renowned authors from all over the world. Aside from writing, Sanneke regularly creates and hosts events revolving around the short story genre.

Ben Cerveny is a designer and strategist with over 20 years of experience on user interaction and experience design, concept prototyping, and strategy in the context of media applications, operating systems, web services, ubiquitous computing, and massively multiplayer games. He is currently part of the staff at The New Normal program at the Strelka Institute for Media, Architecture and Design.