Apr 28, 2010
ISIS Night Mayor Article (from Time Out Amsterdam)
She surprised the crowd at Melkweg in February by winning the nachtburgemeester election, even though drag queen candidate Jennifer Hopelezz was the clear audience favourite. But local nightlife fixture Van der Wel, who began her DJing career at age 17 as 100% Isis, already knows a thing or two about nightlife politics.
Were you disappointed that you lost the popular vote?
Jennifer Hopelezz was by far the most popular candidate with the audience that showed up that night, but luckily for me, it wasn’t just the audience that decided; it was also the expert jury. I was surprised when I won. It was so overwhelming.
Were you surprised by the ensuing controversy? Some felt Hopelezz was ‘robbed.’
I was fascinated by the whole situation. All the other candidates are in one way or another related to one another; they’re acquaintances, colleagues, old business partners, current business partners – everyone is part of the nightlife scene. Jennifer was the only outsider, and I would’ve been surprised if someone from a different subculture had won. In Dutch we have an expression: a storm in a glass of water.
A tempest in a teapot?
Exactly. This was about people not acknowledging the rules of the election. The ranking was based on audience votes and votes from the jury, which were combined and the winner was revealed – and that was me.
Why do you think you carried the jury votes but not the popular vote?
I decided not to surround myself with people with whom I had a financial relationship, and I didn’t want to surround myself with my buddies, my homies, my friends. I wanted people with a long-running credibility in a bigger group. Not just in nightlife, but in the daily life of the city… the political decision-makers. The other candidates, all of them were surrounded by friends, which is nice, but that’s too little
for the whole of a community like in Amsterdam.
What’s at the top of your
nightlife agenda?
Closing time is definitely of major importance. Every person I’ve spoken to complains about it. It’s quite ridiculous that we live in the capital of the country, a place that imagines itself a world capital, but everything closes at 4am. I understand that you want to keep things calm and quiet and we should do that, but not everywhere.
So there are certain areas where the rules should be relaxed?
There are places in Amsterdam that are providing the city with a valuable cultural life, such as Blijburg or the NDSM or Ruigoord. Trying to buy these cultural assets with money would be super expensive and difficult. It’s crucial for society not to let these dry up and to provide space for people to create in a state of freedom that’s neither controlled nor cultivated by the government. If citizens prove that they can organise things in a way so that a certain social order is maintained, I think we should give these people a carte blanche.
Carte blanche to do what?
To create in an environment where you don’t apply the rules and police restrictions as you would elsewhere. Obviously, not to allow criminal acts that threaten anyone’s human rights… but to provide a little bit of flexibility, lots of room to play.
Are you also referring to temporary cultural ‘breathing places’, as culturalminister Carolien Gehrels calls them, like Trouw or the former CS Post building?
Those are all nice, but often these things are created then demolished. Some things have value that go beyond a temporary project plan. It’s proven
that where there’s a lot of artists living in a certain district, the property values increase. Artists have been used by a lot of governments to reanimate certain areas in the city. It’s clever and they should continue doing that, but never forget who’s responsible for the success and validate those people. Why would they have to invest everything they’ve got only to be moved on?
The position of Night Mayor is an unofficial city post. How do you plan to get your message to City Hall?
I have no illusions that it will be me in person making a change, but I do believe that there will be a worthwhile dialogue. I’m meeting Carolien Gehrels tomorrow and I really want to open up a discussion with her.
Do you see this position as a stepping stone for you to get into official politics?
Politics? All these people are like, ‘Oh, you have to start your own party.’ I was in the youth parliament when I was 20 and I definitely realise that if you really want to change things in the world it’s not a bad idea to do it in politics. Sooner or later, but I don’t think I’m ready for such a step yet, I think I have to learn a lot more.
Two years from now, what do you want to be remembered for having done?
If I could get some freedom back into the city it would be awesome
