Every day, something is being built or torn down, and you basically adapt as you go along. It’s a very gradual transformation – one that you hardly notice. But if you return to some place that you haven’t been for a long time everything seems different. Everywhere, you run into new buildings, new roads, new bridges, different people. Every familiar location that has disappeared for whatever reason seems to leave a hole. What if Rembrandt were to return to today’s Amsterdam? What would he still recognise?
Not this bridge, at any rate. Because you wouldn’t even have seen it here a few weeks ago. It’s a brand new structure: the Bridge of 1,000 Dreams. It was built especially for the festival, in partnership with the City of Amsterdam. It was conceived by Studio Toer and is based on dreams shared by 1,000 children in Amsterdam. They all took time to reflect on their dreams – for themselves, their families, friends, the city. If you look closely, you can see elements from these dreams in the work itself. They’ve been painted with fluorescent paint on the bamboo poles that form the bridge. So this structure not only forms a bridge between the two quays, but also a bridge between dreams and reality… between the present and the future… between wanting something and achieving it.
Fun fact
Amsterdam may be livelier than ever, but there’s a problem going on beneath the city’s surface. Bridges are starting to become structurally unsound, and quays are starting to fissure – and in some cases even collapse. To preserve Amsterdam’s heritage, protect it against decay and solve these and other problems, we need a fresh shot of imagination. This year, Amsterdam will be involving the next generation – our future users and ‘bridge builders’ – in this challenge by putting a spotlight on ‘the bridge’ and the city itself. This education project is the first in a series of four organised in partnership with the City of Amsterdam’s Programme Bridges and Quays.
