Where did Rembrandt paint The Night Watch? Where were great philosophers like Spinoza, Locke and Descartes able to philosophize freely? Where did Van Houten discover the process of making chocolate? And where do many great fashion designers such as Viktor & Rolf, photographers such as Erwin Olaf and choreographers such as Hans van Manen still find their inspiration today? In Amsterdam.
Like many other cities in Europe, Amsterdam aspires to be the creative capital. Designer Marcel Wanders decided to do research on whether Amsterdam is fulfilling this ambition and why. He went in search of Amsterdam's creative capital: the most revolutionary inventions, groundbreaking innovations, special finds and masterful works of art.
This is how 'Amsterdam creative capital' was born. An anthology about the more than 700-year creative history of Amsterdam; an ode to the city and its creative master builders. By bridging the gap between past and present, Marcel Wanders shows that Amsterdam as a creative city is not something new, but a logical result of its own typical existence: Amsterdam is the creative capital because she has the creative capital.
