July 15 - October 8, 2010
I gave invitations to people in Amsterdam.
I did this in several ways. This was the first way:
I made a list of colours to follow in a random order: Red, Yellow, Blue, Orange, Black, White. At the exit from the courtyard of the building where I live, I waited. Some days only for few moments and other days for several long minutes. The first person I saw cycling in any direction on a non-rental bicycle, and wearing the colour red, I followed.
When that person stopped and got off her/his bike, I approached her/him with an invitation letter in a small envelope. From that geographic point, the spot where I gave the invitation, I waited for the first cyclist I saw wearing yellow.
And so on through the list of colours...
So, beginning from my own place of residence, I followed a "neighbour" who led me somewhere. I followed and approached the next "neighbour" based on where the previous "neighbour" had lead me. So each invited person determined the subsequent invitation.
Here are the places I was led to; the spots where I gave an invitation:
View Invitations in a larger map
From July 15-26, I made from five to thirteen invitations each day until 45 invitations had be given in this way...
This is what these invitations looked like:
From July 15 - October 8, 2010 I gave paper invitations in this and other ways. This is how the most recent paper invitation read:
Dear Neighbour,
I would like to invite you, to invite me, to join you, in an act of your everyday public life.
I am interested in finding out what public life is made of. I’m hoping we can learn something about it, while spending a little bit of time together as strangers who share a city.
...
This is one part of the Beste Amsterdam (Dear Amsterdam) project.
