OT301 is a self-run social and cultural centre in a legalized squat in the Dutch city of Amsterdam, located on Overtoom 301.  This book came out when they celebrated their 15th anniversary in 2014. They dedicated it to subculture in Amsterdam, to document it, as well as their own position in it.

The book consists of three parts, which by and large correspond to three moments in time: the first part described the then present situation, the second part projected into the future, and the third part described OT301’s origins.

One

“The first part of the book covers the period from 2011 to 2013, during which we have labored towards the professionalization of our organization and the broadening and deepening of our collective’s philosophy, as part of the ‘Overhaul’ process. What do concepts such as ‘autonomy’, ‘self-organization’, ‘collective property’ mean for us, and how can we integrate them into our vision and organization? Applying some recent directions in political theory, we give a critical interpretation of all these talks, tracing what notions of autonomy, self-organization and collective property might be useful in the future for OT301 and other collective projects.”

Two

“In the second part of the book we look ahead. We have approached a number of authors, artists and thinkers to elaborate a vision of the future. In what direction is society developing, what does this mean for OT301, and how can we act upon these developments?”

Three

“In the third and last part of the book, the history is sketched of the Eerste Hulp Bij Kunst association and the OT301 space. It takes the reader back to the squatting in 1999, the first rental contract, and finally, the purchase of the building in 2006, and the difficult choices that the association has had to face during this period, sometimes at the cost of ideological positions. The text has been appended with short interviews with people who have been involved with the process in its diverse phases from a diversity of perspectives, including politics, the Bureau Broedplaatsen, the Triodos Bank, and with a rich selection of charts and figures from the period from 1999 to 2014. We close the book with an extensive report in images of almost fifteen years of EHBK and OT301.”

The book is completely bi-lingual (Dutch and English). Concept and coordination: Nienke Jansen and Ivo Schmetz
Writers: Sebastian Olma, Nienke Jansen, Bart Stuart & Klaar vd Lippe, Geert Lovink, Daniel Rovers, Elke Uitenhuis.

Hardcover, 368 pages.