User:)biyibiyibiyi(/Special Issue 09

Shadow Libraries

<reading notes from Shadow Libraries: Access to knowledge in global higher education>

Practice intersects community

starting point, motivations

Interest in excavating history of Katendrecht, being once a red light district and Chinatown. Still many Chinese immigrants live here, I identified them by these ways:

1.coming across them in public spaces, such as on the street, in the Asian supermarket Amazing Oriental. A lady working in Amazing Oriental once spoke to me asking if I the bread I bought that day was Turkish bread. As I live on Katendrecht for several months now I brewed a curiosity towards people working in the supermarket, despite my limited interaction with them.

2.encountering with their private spaces. On a frequent basis I discover Chinese last names on the post boxes, as I took walks after dinner. I see a Chinese family water their plants on the balcony.

3.semi-public, semi-private place, which is the Chinese church on Katendrecht. I see people gathering there for events, and there are posters outside about afternoon tea sessions. I thought I would like to invite the community to do something with me than the population from the church might be a good place to establish a network?

4. misc. As I participated in Angeliki's workshop the yesterday (23-05-2019), she told me that in Leeszaal west, some Chinese immigrant females go there. Her workshop inspired me in her way of how she worked with people. Several tips include confronting the fear of "I am the artist who is going to appropriate other people in my work", and be open and clear while proposing work plans/intentions to invitees.