What can you experience during POW! WOW! Rotterdam 2020?
Credits:
POW! WOW! Rotterdam 2020 is in full swing, but due to the worldwide pandemic, this edition may seem a bit different from what you’re used to from us. On Sunday September 13, the final day of the festival, there is no dance or live music event in the park. But seeing how street art will always be the heart of POW! WOW!, there is still plenty left to enjoy!
Have you picked up your free POW! WOW! Passport for a trip through Rotterdam yet?
THE FOLLOWING THINGS CAN BE FOUND IN THE AFRIKAANDERWIJK EACH DAY FROM SEPTEMBER 6 TO 13
- LIVE PAINTING: On several locations in the Afrikaanderwijk neighborhood, some of the best and most interesting mural artists our country has to offer will be painting live. To restrict international travel in light of the pandemic, we’ve chosen to host only artists currently living in The Netherlands, and that made us note how much amazing talent is actually walking around in this little country!
- POW! WOW! PASSPORT: The POW! WOW! passport is a free(!) booklet you can pick up at several food and drink establishments in the Afrikaanderwijk neighborhood or at our pop-up shop in the Martinus Steijnstraat. It contains a map featuring all locations of the new murals and some background information on its creators. You can use the passport as your guide, and as a souvenir of your trip through the Afrikaanderwijk!
- POP-UP SHOP: In collaboration with Rotterdam streetwear kings Banlieue, we’ve once again developed an exclusive POW! WOW! Rotterdam merchandise-line. At Martinus Steijnstraat 12, you’ll find all of its items, as long as supplies last.
- LA KARAVANA: Martinus Steijnstraat 12 is also the address where the double decker bus known as La Karavana is parked, while artist Tymon de Laat provides it with a whole new look. You can catch Tymon at work throughout the week!
- DO IT YOURSELF:On the circular playground behind the Riebeekstraat, illustrator and street artist Martje Rullens aka oxenmystic has created a line drawing. The Flemish artist living in Rotterdam has purposely left parts of it uncolored, with the idea that people from the neighborhood can color these themselves. No matter your age, if you would like to help Martje by putting your own spin to this huge coloring book, you are welcome. We’ll provide the colored chalk, you only have to bring your inspiration!
Oxenmystic at work | Photo by Martine Kiers
THIS IS WHAT YOU CAN DO ON SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 13
- MURAL ART: The artists who have been working on their murals during this week, are either finished or finishing up on Sunday. This means you can check their work in all its glory, with the free POW! WOW! passport or the Rewriters app for iOS and Android as your guide!
- 20 VANS 30 CANS: They’re spread out a little further apart from each other than they were during previous editions, but the vans, campers and trucks of 20 VANS 30 CANS are present! Up until 19:00h (7:00h PM) they will be parked in the Afrikaanderpark, where a wide selection of artists will be transforming these vehicles into mobile pieces of art before your very eyes. It promises to be a colorful spectacle once again!
- MOVE AROUND SOUND: Sure, we don’t have a live music stage this year, but the DJ’s behind the cycling soundsystems of Move Around Sound will be riding their bikes through the neighborhood to provide some danceable tunes for you!
- AFRIKAANDERPARK FOOD COURT: From 12:00 to 21:00h (9:00h PM) the Afrikaanderpark will be opened for you. You’ll find several food trucks and bars there to provide you with good food, drinks and atmosphere, all with regards to appropriate distancing and the guidelines set out by the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment.
- LA KARAVANA, INFO & MERCHANDISE: The double-decker bus Tymon de Laat freshly painted will move to the edge of the park, where it will be our information point, pickup point for free POW! WOW! passports, and our merchandise shop! Will we meet you there?
During the week, some guided walking tours will be given, and the 55×5 pop-up exhibition is held in a block of empty houses. Unfortunately, due to the covid-19 pandemic, access to these events is severely limited, and we had to work with reservations. All available spots have been booked up by now, but you can always check out the live online agenda, in case reservations become available again due to someone cancelling theirs:
Can’t join us during this week after all? Some insight into what happened at the festival today, can be seen each day at 21:00h (9:00h PM) CET uur in the POW! WOW! Daily video reports. And the mural paintings themselves will remain for at least the next few years, so come visit the Afrikaanderwijk neighborhood as soon as you have the time!
