Last week, I finally had time to sit down with a fresh copy of Exposer le street art by Eric van Essche (CFC-Éditions), a publication to which I had the pleasure of contributing. Almost simultaneously, while the Dutch immersive and cultural innovation world temporarily migrated to London, I unexpectedly found myself catching up with an old acquaintance — Lee Bofkin of Global Street Art. Our conversation drifted from archives to public space, from digitisation to collections,

Measuring impact remains one of the most challenging questions for organisations working in social innovation, education, and community participation. This week, SAMA took part in the KEMs (Key Enabling Methodologies) Impact Session organised by CLICKNL, where researchers, practitioners and organisations gathered to discuss a deceptively simple question: How do we measure impact? The session revealed that impact is not about counting outputs, attendance or publications. Inste

I've been meaning to start a monthly column for a long time, so here we are! There are months at Street Art Museum Amsterdam that feel like a year compressed into four weeks. This was one of them. Somewhere between funding applications, VR testing sessions, neighbourhood breakfasts, strategic meetings, European project calls, interviews, poetry unveilings, broken technology, hopeful young people, redevelopment discussions and endless coffee, I suddenly realised again what SAM

In 2025, with support from the Fonds voor Cultuurparticipatie through the Samen Cultuurmaken programme, Street Art Museum Amsterdam (SAMA) launched BuurtTuin van Verhalen in the Dichtersbuurt of Amsterdam Nieuw-West. What began as a modest neighbourhood-based cultural participation project quickly evolved into something much larger: a living meeting place where street art, storytelling, gardening, poetry, shared meals and community knowledge came together within one continuou

Where are you from? Hi, I’m Noah. I’m 20 years old and I’m from Montreal, Canada, where I was born and raised in a strong Italian family. Growing up in Montreal means being surrounded by so many different cultures, languages, personalities, and forms of expression. In a place so connected to the internet it’s only natural, and I think that environment shaped the way I see creativity and community today. What do you like to do in your free time? In my free time, I enjoy music

Where are you from? I’m originally from Hanoi, Vietnam, and I’m currently studying and working freelance in Montreal, Canada as a visual artist and graphic designer. My 3.5 years in Montreal have deeply shaped me — not only as a designer and artist, but also as a person. It’s a beautiful city full of beautiful people. I’ve met so many inspiring people and built meaningful relationships, which I find the most precious. Being far away from home pushed me out of my comfort zone

Street art has become one of the most visible cultural expressions of our time. From large-scale murals to small interventions tucked between streets, cities across Europe are filled with artworks that shape identity, tell stories, and reflect the communities that surround them. And yet—despite their presence—most of these works remain structurally invisible. They are photographed, shared, liked, and sometimes mapped. But rarely are they managed, preserved, or understood as p

If 2025 taught us anything, it’s this: Street art is never just about walls . It’s about people, memory and the quiet transformation of a neighbourhood in motion. At Street Art Museum Amsterdam (SAMA) , this year was not defined by scale, but by depth. Not by certainty, but by resilience. And above all—by connection. A Year Built on Transition (and Trust) 2025 was, in many ways, a year “in-between.”A year of moving, rebuilding, rethinking. With no structural funding at the st

Entering the Field: From Observer to Participant My experience at SAMA has only just begun, yet the first days have already reshaped my understanding of what it means to work in culture. Before arriving in Amsterdam, I had worked in cultural institutions where much of my time was spent behind a desk — planning, coordinating, communicating from within an office. At SAMA, however, that model quickly proved insufficient. Street art cannot be understood from a distance. It demand

Where are you from? What are you doing in Amsterdam? I am originally from Italy, and I came to Amsterdam with a clear intention: to strengthen my English and deepen my communication skills in an international cultural context. This opportunity emerged through an unexpected yet meaningful encounter with Anna Stolyarova, founder of the Street Art Museum Amsterdam (SAMA). I first met Anna in my hometown of Scandiano, when she visited Italy to present the Toolkit for Youth Worker

Where are you from? What are you doing in Amsterdam? Hi I'm Tessa, I'm 15 years old and I'm from Amsterdam myself and live nearby. I was born here and spent my childhood in Amsterdam. My dad is also from Amsterdam west and grew up around here. My dad told me stories about how west used to be and about what it looked like when he was a child. I find it funny how me and my dad for example in the summer went to the same beach when I was slightly younger or how we played in the s

Amsterdam, as a Living Canvas How Urbanites United turned the city into a shared artwork In September 2025, something subtle but powerful happened in Amsterdam. Walls started talking. Streets began listening. Neighbourhoods recognised themselves in colour, line and story. Urbanites United: Amsterdam, as a Living Canvas was never meant to be a festival you “visited.” It was something you walked into . Something you stumbled upon . Something that unfolded while you were on you

Moryz here again! In my introduction post I gave a breakdown of what my tasks and responsibilities would be during my one-month internship with SAMA, and in the recent VR-centric post I explained in more detail what that specific component actually entailed. Yet, I thought that as my stay comes to an end, it might be interesting to know in a bit more detail what exactly I am up to on a given day, and generally what working for SAMA means as student from AUC. So, to give a sne

As part of the Digital Street Art Depot project , SAMA developed a unique virtual reality heritage preservation component to document street art in an immersive experience, allowing for future generations to have the feeling of standing in front of massive murals in their real-life scale. The 3D space that this "memory capsule" puts users into contains a high quality scan of the artwork, several audio information points, and details about the creation of the piece. For the te

In November, Street Art Museum Amsterdam (SAMA) participated in an intensive Partners Meeting (TPM) and Long-Term Training Activity (LTTA) in Reggio Emilia, Italy , hosted by the Municipality of Reggio Emilia – Officina Educativa. The week brought together project partners and youth workers from different countries to strengthen cooperation, review project progress, and deepen practical skills in using street art as a tool for non-formal education and social inclusion. The

Where are you from? What are you doing in Amsterdam? I am from Germany – where my parents are from and also where I was born – but have lived most of my life elsewhere, most prominently in Malaga, Spain, for the better part of 12 years. Recently, I moved here to Amsterdam to pursue the Bachelor’s degree ‘Liberal Arts and Sciences’ at Amsterdam University College, a unique programme that offers me the chance to explore several interests while still focusing on one ‘major’ path

The first STAR project was a two-year , EU-funded initiative running from 2019 to 2022. STAR (STreet ARt) aimed to promote social inclusion through street art in 14 European countries, including the Netherlands. Organized by ALDA and the Municipality of Arguinano (Italy), the project used street art to revitalize neglected urban areas and actively engage young people. With international events in Italy, Portugal, Kosovo, and the Netherlands, the STAR program has proven that

Het eerste STAR-project was een tweejarig , door de EU gefinancierd initiatief dat tussen 2019 en 2022. STAR (STreet ARt) was gericht op het bevorderen van sociale inclusie door middel van street art in 14 Europese landen, waaronder Nederland. Het project, georganiseerd door ALDA & gemeente Arguinano (IT), gebruikt street art om verwaarloosde stedelijke gebieden nieuw leven in te blazen en jongeren actief te betrekken. Met internationale evenementen in Italië, Portugal, Kosov

An end-of-year story from the Dichtersbuurt At the end of the year, the silence falls differently on the Dichtersbuurt. It gets dark early, the cold muffles the sounds of the street, and the pace slows. It's then that the gentle forces become visible: a greeting that lingers, a door open for coffee, a hand that lends a helping hand without being asked. It's these small gestures that make winter bearable—and that reveal what kind of neighborhood we are together. 2025 was a yea

A month ago, on September 13th and 14th, the very first edition of Urbanites United took place: the open-to-all street art weekend that transformed Amsterdam into one giant canvas for two days. Together with artists, residents, visitors, and partners, we transformed the city into a living museum, just as we at SAMA envision. The city as a stage Throughout Amsterdam, murals, live art sessions, open studios, and neighborhood activities were available to visit. Thanks to the d