Masterplan Under Construction
...with YOUR help!?!

Welcome to the rough beginnings of our envisioned more comprehensive online story of the Poortgebouw. As the web-based reflection of the activities and history of the Poortgebouw, our goal is to give people more inside knowledge of a very special building they might otherwise just drive under.

As it is with the other activities of the Vereniging, Poortgebouw.nl is currently being built without the help of subsidies. This Do-It-Yourself attitude allows improvisation and a shorter reaction time as opposed to planning activities 6-months in advance. And not have to think first and foremost about “target-groups”. We did —for the first time— however ask the RKS (Rotterdamse Kunststichting) to support the development of this website, what we detailed as an essential living cultural document —not only for the Poortgebouw— but for the city of Rotterdam. On the 29th of November, the RKS chose not to support the project.

“Hoewel de commissie oog heeft voor kunstprojecten die sociaal-culturele en maatschappelijke aspecten als onderwerp hebben, vindt zij in uw project te weinig artistieke inhoud.”

We have a hard time separating socio-cultural aspects of a project from the artistic and rather believe in the importance that these aspects are intertwined, especially given the current political situation in Rotterdam.

Nevertheless the Poortgebouw remains home to many active artists and has hosted a spectrum of artistic social-cultural and political activities for 23 years which deserves a greater and more accessible public presentation and awareness. The future of the Vereniging Poortgebouw is uncertain as we are confronted by the market-oriented vision of a private owner who would like to generate more money from this prime real-estate location. To avoid a future without the present inhabitants (= vereniging), it is essential (and urgent) to inform the public of the life and times within the Poortgebouw before it becomes a hollowed shell.

To present the “monumental” story of the Poortgebouw online does and will require much time and work and unfortunately can not be treated as a “free-time project”. It is a popular misconception that websites just come out of the air and require little effort and costs. On the contrary, there is a whole graphic design industry making a living off producing websites. Also our computers, the software and other technical instruments might collapse at any moment (and some already did!) given the vast amount of information within the Poortgebouw archive and the daily news!

We would sincerely appreciate any private donations to the Vereniging for this intense time, labour and costs of collecting information, design, production and maintenance of this website.

For a better understanding of our vision for Poortgebouw.NL, please read
“Waarom een Poortgebouw-website?”

Gironummer: POSTBANK 6397048
Ten name van: Vereniging Poortgebouw - Feestkas
Kenmerk: WEBSITE

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