CREA reinvents itself so that you can reinvent yourself
CREA - the cultural organization of the University of Amsterdam (UvA) and the Amsterdam School of Higher Education (HvA) - is a unique place to meet each other in a course, at a performance or on the terrace of the CREA Café. At the same time, from July 5th to August 13th, it will become clear that CREA is emerging from the crisis renewed and energised. The new course team and the new CREA director have not been idle during the lockdown. In addition to courses in writing, theatre, dance and photography/film, there are a number of new contemporary courses.
A vacation in the capital of the Netherlands for your head, your heart, your breath and your hands.
GENDER AND IDENTITY
Starting this summer, CREA is expanding its regular programming of art and culture courses. From July it is possible to book a vacation in the capital of the Netherlands by spending a week diving into the world of drag queens and discovering who you are as a drag queen or -king. None other than Miss Vanity Love, who previously organised the popular drag nights at the CREA café, will review all aspects of drag culture. But most of all, it is the new version of yourself in the mirror that you will never forget. As RuPaul, the iconic drag queen of RuPaul's drag race once said, "When you become the image of your own imagination, it's the most powerful thing you could ever do." In addition, for the second time at CREA, LGBTQ+ pioneer Amber Vineyard of The House of Vineyard will teach a week of ballhouse culture. A course for all those who have become curious about the empowering strength of movement during vogueing and posing through the Netflix series Pose.
Both weeks are open to everyone, even if you are not part of the community itself, as long as you are LGBTQ-friendly.
ACTIVISM AND YOUR WARDROBE
If you are looking for a different form of activism, you can visit Syrian-Kurdish artist Shahin Daoud at CREA this summer, who is teaching a course in Activist Art. Because of his own history, this technically gifted artist cannot help but work from personal and political urgency. And the social art collective United Painting is also teaching a summer course once again: United Painting made it to the world press in 2014 with several huge murals in Rio de Janeiro as Favela Painting. Led by Dre Urhahn, one of the founders, projects followed in communities, slums and refugee camps including the US, Haiti, Greece and the Netherlands. All projects are carried out in collaboration with the local population. At the last BLM demonstration in Amsterdam Southeast, their work was on display as a gigantic rug. And if you, for example, want to give shape to a more sustainable world in a smaller but no less active manner, then start in your own wardrobe. This summer, CREA offers the Funky fashion repair art course by Bell Poort to get you started in an inspired way.
REPRESENTATION
Also new is a collaboration with the Diversity Hub, the diversity platform of the Hogeschool van Amsterdam. A week that we have called (re)present yourself. A new platform for all those voices that deem themselves little or not represented. Through various art disciplines you will work towards your personal perspective, image or sound in one week.
In addition to these special vacation weeks, CREA also organizes courses in Coincidence, podcasting, in creativity, drawing, painting, singing, theatre on location, the combination of multimedia and dance and much, much more this summer.
Check: www.crea.nl/zomercursussen
