One advantage of having children is that you come to know everyone regardless of class or profession. My daughter played in kindergarten with the son of the director of Mediamatic an (e)cultural institution operating in the field of new media, art and society. Right now the threat of a substantial cut in state grants forces Mediamatic to fight back with highly ludicrous activities in the city. Measures such as handing over their library to the public and several other protests recall the spirit of the activism of art movements like Cobra or the Situationist International.

Like a Comme des Garçons guerrilla store, their office hopped from one over the top location to the next. Having just left POST CS (the building where Club 11 used to be) they have now opened their doors in the former headquarters of the ABN bank.

This summer Mediamatic curated an exhibition IKIKIK=MEMEME with designer Andrea Crews, who is known for similar events in Palais de Tokyo (Paris) and Madrid.

During this interactive show on fashion and self representation on the internet, with what they call a big component of DIY=do-it-yourself, you can perform on several levels: you can join upcycle yourself workshops, professional catwalk workshops, buy retro basic clothes for 5 euro a kilo and sew them straight away into streetwear, participate in photoshoots to name but a few of them.

A huge pile of clothes in the middle of the ground floor of this old bank building dominates the space, flanked by sewing machines, a bar with a garden view and a catwalk. For those who are not ultimately creative themselves you can buy some piece of clothes and let Mediamatic takeover the complete the makeover.

Mediamatic Bank; Vijzelstraat 68

Exhibition 18 July-4 October 2008