OCCII/Binnenpret

The hut on chicken legs
The OCCII is a cultural centre and independent music venue without a profit motive located on the Amstelveenseweg 134 in Amsterdam. The venue is a part of association Binnenpret, a complex of various properties that were squatted in 1984. The rather noticeable façade of the OCCII on Amstelveenseweg, and that of Teatro Munganga located on the Schinkelhavenstraat 27 (also a part of Binnenpret), were designed by architect Abraham Salm. The design is based on the Russian nationalist style and inspired by a painting of a cuckoo-clock, made by Viktor Hartman (named The hut on chicken legs, Baba Yaga).

The buildings were constructed between 1883 and 1884, and initially functioned as horse tram depot. At the time, De Amstelveensweg was a street where people came for entertainment and pleasure, thus the reason for the presence of experimental buildings. Abraham Salm and his father G.B. Salm where also responsible for design of other distinctive buildings throughout the city, such as music venues Paradiso and Melkweg. Quite unique that all three buildings – thanks to the squatting movement – have been able to maintain and transform into leading music venues.

Squatting movement
Binnenpret was squatted on Friday the 10^th of February 1984. A day that was classified by the squatting movement as the ‘Day of unrest’, due to multiple buildings being squatted, as a response to the planned eviction of squat Wijers on the Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal. Wijers was eventually evicted with a lot of effort after four days. Several people who were active at Wijers, joined Binnenpret after the eviction. Together with other active squatters from the Schinkelbuurt and Hoofddorppleinbuurt, and in close collaboration with the Meerpaal, they organised among other things the housing consultation hour and the youth work.
In 1989 the municipality of Amsterdam started the initiative ‘Schoon Schip’ (= Clean Ship), within which all squatted buildings where within her possession were registered. In the end Binnenpret was last to be registered, and after yearlong negotiations with project group HAT an agreement was made in 1993 in the form of a leasehold contract. The contract had a duration of thirty years and was to expire, just like eight other buildings (such as Zaal100 and the Frederik Hendrikschool), in 2023. After new negotiations with the municipality of Amsterdam the leasehold contract was prolonged and now there is an everlasting agreement.

Programming
The OCCII (officially founded in 1992) is a non-commercial venue where each week around 3 to 5 shows take place. At the venue obscure, underground bands from all over the world perform, that are not able to find a place to perform anywhere else. In terms of genre, it’s really broad: from punk, jazz, dance and rock to folk, reggae and spoken word. It is not necessarily a specific genre, but the do-it-yourself mentality is what connects the programming to each other. Bands usually approach OCCII themselves, without involvement of bookers, managers or other outside input.
Closed parties such as kids’ birthdays used to be hosted for friends and acquaintances, but now they no longer do. More than enough requests, but they prefer to keep themselves occupied with finding live bands rather than peripheral matters. Besides live music, there is also space for theatre. For example, on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons, theatre performances and workshops are held for children from ages 2 to 12, called Kinderpret (= Children’s play). Rob and Marie from Atelier Lichtbende (since its’ squatting located in Binnenpret) often organise try-outs for the audience in the OCCII.
All programmes are organised by volunteers with their own network or from their own scene. It is quite experimental. Not merely in the sense that everything squeaks and creaks, but also as it’s often young people who come to do something for the first time. In that regard the OCCII, just like most other free spaces, is truly a place for experimenting. A place to work together out of passion rather than organisation through a business plan. Together they devote energy towards a venue where everyone can feel welcome and safe. Despite gender, ethnicity, age, validity, sexuality or anything else. A nice thing about OCCII is that they have a guestroom where bands can sleep. This means they can park in front of the door, set up, perform, sleep and continue on the next day to Groningen, Hamburg or Paris. In that way, the OCCII is part of a larger structure. A cog in the world of touring bands.

The financial system of the OCCII is quite simple. The money that comes in at the door is for the artists, and the revenue from the bar is for the OCCII.

Financing
Because association Binnenpret has received the property in collective ownership and don’t have to pay for it, the costs for the association are limited to the yearly ground lease and the maintenance. This allows for spaces remaining affordable, as well as there being little pressure on the OCCII to programme commercially.
The financial system of the OCCII is quite simple. The money that comes in at the door is for the artists, and the revenue from the bar is for the OCCII. It’s a system that functions well, as most of the people working at the OCCII are volunteers.
But it must be said that it is becoming more and more difficult to find volunteers. People are busier and must work more and harder to pay their rent, meaning there is a lack of time.
Through a four-year subsidy from the AFK, the OCCII can pay two permanent employees. This helps majorly for making sure the organisation and programming can continue, as well as professionalising every now and then.
If there is money left over, it is invested in new gear or maintenance of the building.

Collective
Association Binnenpret exists besides the OCCII out of multiple companies, two living groups, a community studio, a practice space, a giveaway shop, InfoKafee Bollox and hack lab LAG.

The association organises a member meeting every first Tuesday of the month, at which everyone involved is expected to attend. Besides those official meetings there is a lot of communication within Binnenpret. The volunteers of the OCCII also visit and help other initiatives of Binnenpret. Or they go to the MKZ to eat. And vice versa of course; the volunteers from the theatre or the kitchen often come to the OCCII.
As per usual in an association, within Binnenpret the member meetings are the highest organ. During these meetings large decisions are often made collectively. If truly necessary, a vote is cast. Often this is not necessary, as through conversation agreements are usually able to be made. There is also a board, but they stand at a distance and are only called for action when strongly needed.

The management of the buildings is one of the most important topics of the member meetings. Members do a lot of the maintenance themselves and for that they have a multiple-year maintenance budget. In this way they know exactly which jobs must be done each year. One of the big jobs in 2010 was the restoration of the unique but neglected façade of the OCCII. With help from a subsidy from Rijksmonumenten and the input of many volunteers, they were able to restore it back to its’ original state. Meanwhile, the mortgage that they closed at the time in order to cover the costs of the big project has been repaid for the most part.

During member meetings usually one of the members of association Binnenpret is evaluated. Feedback can be given in terms of the functioning of a person or group within the collective. If truly necessary, one can be addressed on shared responsibility. It is important that everyone does what is expected of them within the organisational structure. One of the largest internal conflicts of Binnenpret was the seven yearlong court case with sauna Fenomeen. Association Binnenpret had cancelled the rent of the sauna – that was in Binnenpret for years – in 2004, because according to them there had been years of mismanagement taking place by the sauna and its’ management. Due to the situation not improving, the conflict ended in 2011, when the sauna left.

There needs to be space for new people to develop their own ideas and take responsibility for matters.

Renewal
One of the great challenges for places such as the OCCII and Binnenpret is the constant flow of members and replacements. Many similar, legalised squats in the city have over time become rather aged and dull. They have become family houses where older residents can bring their children in to pass on the house. One often (righteously) hears criticism from the municipality and outside world that there is not enough flow of members and that young generations are unable to get involved. In Binnenpret there is more of an awareness regarding this. Thus, they see it as a challenge to also give young initiatives a chance whenever space becomes free.
The same goes for the OCCII. There people are constantly occupied with the questions ‘How can we keep the place relevant and exciting?’ and ‘How do we make sure that new people come in to take over tasks?’. In any case it means that they must consistently evaluate and renew the organisational structure, for new people to join and for replacements to be made organically. There needs to be space for new people to develop their own ideas and take responsibility for matters. The basic structure is already there, so one doesn’t ever have to start all over. But it remains a challenge to find people who really want to go for it. An additional benefit is that the property is a collective ownership, meaning they don’t have to leave at any point. This gives peace and space to think about the long-term.
Other spaces in the Binnenpret, such as the shared studio or the rehearsal space for bands, have less of an issue with flow and succession. The function of the space is always the same, and artists or bands never leave at the same time. Once in a while someone leaves, but then there is always a new artist or band ready to take over the freed-up spot.