March - 面花 (Miànhuā)
We got to know each other through an interactive evening centered around 面花 (Miànhuā)—traditional dough figurines from Shanxi.
Using colored dough, we shaped creations while sharing stories of belonging. As we crafted, our conversations took form in the dough, turning shared moments into a tangible, sculptural record.
April - Ctrl+Alt+Depart
Fed up to the back teeth with Big Tech, we created accounts together on alternative platforms like Pixelfed and learned about the possibilities of servers, privacy and offline connection. We shared our own experiences with de-googling, open source alternatives and dumb-phones. We wrote letters to family, friends and strangers, told stories and came up with ideas for the next Ctrl+Alt+Depart, such as making picture books together and cleaning up our storage in the cloud, eventually returning to physical hard drives...
May - Liberation Day
“No one is free until we are all free.” — Fannie Lou Hamer
On Liberation Day, we gathered in front of the building of Clublokaal, to read texts, poems and fragments about freedom and (in)justice together. The sculpture 'Walger' echoed our voices, spreading the message across the streets. We did so alongside free Palestinian pastries, coffee and veggie soup.
Among the texts we read were the writings of Angela Davis, Etty Hillesum, Maya Angelou, Mahmoud Darwish and more.
June - Queer Hangout
A spontaneous and informal queer hangout, focused on providing a safe and warm environment in which everyone could be their true and open selves. We ate homemade rainbow soup and rainbow cookies and talked about relationships, identity and patchwork families.
July - Neighbourhood Café
During our very first neighourhood café, we invited all of our neighbours and neighbour organisations to come by for a joint dinner. It was amazing seeing how many neighbours showed up and to hear about all the ideas they had about the space, what they would like to do at Clublokaal and how we can be a community home for the people living in the surrounding area. On to many more neighbourhood cafés!
August - Volunteer hangout
A chance for all Clublokaal volunteers to meet each other, eat together, get to know each other and sing karaoke!
September - Apple Harvest
Harvesting time! We gathered in the garden, underneath our apple trees, and collected the ripe fruits. We peeled, talked, knead and drank apple cider brought by Zomeren collective. We made a delicious apple crumble and enjoyed each other's company outside.
October - Platform DIS workshop
Wouter from Platform DIS hosted this Open Monday, during the Platform DIS x masharu exhibition about edible soil and compost. We did an exercise on where our food comes from, tracing back the roots, environment, and 'what the food ate'. During the exercise we drew our thoughts out on the paper tablecloth.
November - Volunteer takeover
The first volunteer cooking takeover during Open Monday, with Simone and Mieke. They made veggie spaghetti bolognese and we had a cozy dinner with neighbours, volunteers and visitors!
December - Open Blik & Almanac talks
During our final Open Monday of the year, we ate soup made by Veronique from Tientjes and talked about the upcoming Open Blik Symposium. Laura (our intern) prepared questions for the Almanac publication about Clublokaal, which we discussed with everyone that was present.
