City Talks Amsterdam: Breathing Space
After a successful first season, City Talks is back! City Talks is ITA's sip & talk show, in which we focus on our city’s talented creatives and change makers. Each edition we will connect one of our theatre performances to social topics, urban trends, and daily life. We invite you to grab a drink, join the conversation, and get inspired!
Festival Lieve Stad,
Location ITA, Pleinfoyer
Run time 60 minutes
Genre perspective
Language English
Questions may be asked in Dutch
Register for free admission and a free beverage
Breathing Space
The urban environment can have a huge effect on mental health, both positive and negative. Architectural elements such as natural light, colour, texture and acoustics shape our experiences, influence our mood and contribute to overall well-being.
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In this edition of City Talks, we will explore how spaces determine our mental state and how we can create spaces that contribute to our well-being.
Warren Gregory, affectionately known as the Flowerbike Man, is spreading joy through Amsterdam's streets with his colourful bicycles adorned with flowers. Warren's motivation stems from his love for his wife Michelle, who started facing memory loss due to her life-threatening epilepsy and was having trouble recognising and locating her bike. How can we help people thrive in urban spaces? Join us as Warren shares his story and his mission to create more compassionate and accessible environments for all.
With her graduation work Plek van de Geest (Mind Space), architect Anouk van Deuzen aims to create a haven for young people living in urban areas where stressors are plentiful and access to mental health services is often limited. By making certain spatial interventions, she envisions a future where dealing with mental health issues is seamlessly integrated with urban life, promoting resilience and well-being for all.
Rixt van der Veen, neuroscientist and assistant professor at the Swammerdam Institute of Life Science at the University of Amsterdam (UvA), studies how the environment in the early years of life affects the brain and behaviour later in life, particularly social behaviour and stress resilience. As part of the research team at UvA's Centre for Urban Mental Health, she studies the role of urban aspects in this process to ultimately help people thrive.
20 – 30 March
Festival Lieve Stad,
Amsterdam is a city of many faces. Lieve Stad, – a celebration of theatre, art, and dialogue – reflects the dynamics of that metropolitan environment, in which the city itself is a source of inspiration. This festival, a collaboration between ITA and Meervaart, is about bringing people together, in the city, in the theatre, in society. How do we live together and what stories do all individuals and groups carry with them?
Together with inspiring guests from the LGBTQIA+ community, we explore the themes behind the theatre experience. Two episodes per session — with a free drink during the break!
