Crowdfunding for AstaroTheatro

“Our lives are communal; we need to be social to survive. The neoliberal assumption of individuals being responsible for their (material-economical) wellbeing within society (read: market) leads to the commodification of mankind, a world where everything and everyone is a commodity, a product. This is true for the arts as well. We witness the growing pornification of theatre in order to sell, its reduction to an empty shell, flashing from the outside but devoid of authentic, unexploited meaning within. The exploration of meaning is at present dangerous territory, mined and savage, where artists need to move with care” (from the manifesto poetico, Roberto Bacchilega)

Neoliberalism has knocked on the doors of the arts. Theater, cinema, music slowly become commercial products. Once digested in the capitalist machine, they lose their political and subversive potential. Studies across Europe show alternative cultural spaces disappearing as cities prioritize profit over community—replaced by chain stores and luxury developments that serve tourists, not residents or migrant. In the face of rising far-right ideologies, we need, more than ever, a strong counterculture. We need subversive cinema. We need revolutionary music. We need theater to take up the streets. We need alternative cultural spaces.

AstaroTheatro is a community theatre in the heart of touristy Amsterdam. Being in the center matters, means we're right where the forces of commercialization are strongest, holding ground that would otherwise be sold to the highest bidder. Our presence in the heart of the city is itself an act of resistance. The theater has always been a place where the marginalized can come together in joy, to dance, to play, to sing or have some pasta made with love. In short, a wholesome home for all. A place of rest and regeneration where art and activism meet.

Today, Astaro faces the same pressures killing alternative spaces everywhere: landlords raising rents, bills climbing, while spaces for real community and radical culture are squeezed out to make room for profit. We are actively organizing to raise money to help pay rent and bills. Unfortunately, vokus and performances are not enough to cover all costs. This is why we created this campaign: to raise money and save Astaro. We cannot afford to lose one of the last spaces of alternative and subversive culture in town! We cannot afford to lose Astaro!

All benefits from this campaign will go to AstaroTheatro.

Curious for what is on at the theatre? Check radar or https://astarotheatro.com/