Tiles that remember: De Kraaktegel and the visualisation of squatting history

“Squatting” and “squatters”—terms that are either burdened with the stigma of lawless vandalism or seen as relics of bygone history of 1970s radicalism. Following the criminalisation of squatting in the Netherlands in 2010, not only has social stigma about squatting increased but also its history has become disrupted. Squatting becomes a faraway past and an underrepresented present, to the point that people forget that an important part of the Dutch urban cultural scene is built on squat venues.

So, how do we remember the repressed yet on-going history of squatting? How do we memorialise squatting in a city where the legible memorial sites (museums, monuments, plaques etc.) must be aligned to the logic of urban gentrification? These questions led me to De Kraaktegel (The Squatters’ Tile), a project initiated by Rosa Hanssen.

This tegel is, literally, a red square tile with a squatter’s symbol carved on it. It is placed in front of (ex)squatted buildings to, as Rosa herself believes, “visually preserve the history and spark conversation about the future of squatting”. Started in 2022 as a personal project, Rosa, who is based in Eindhoven, has expanded the scope of this project to Nijmengen, Gouda, Rotterdam, and, of course, Amsterdam. After 3 years, De Kraaktegel has transformed from a personal project to a collective work, visualising the traces and on-going struggle of the squatting movement across the Netherlands. 

In conversation with Rosa, this article situates the small history of De Kraaktegel within the wider legacy of squatting, to reflect on the importance of preserving alternative history in a gentrified city where the right to memorialisation is often reserved for the mainstream. 

So, how did it all start?
With interest and curiosity about squatting, Rosa, who was still a student, decided to visit a new squat in Amsterdam that was in need of cleaning volunteers. Her initial plan was to interview the squatters there about the housing crisis, but she ended up finding herself helping them mop the floor. Then, out of the blue, a wave of police broke in and began an illegal eviction. In response, the squatters quickly gathered everyone together, including Rosa, to create a group cohesion and debrief. Since that moment, Rosa has felt a warm sense of inclusivity that transformed her initial interest to an active engagement with squatting. As a tribute to all the fellow squatters that had led her to this journey, De Kraaktegel was born.

Just like any other initiative, the first attempts did not go very smoothly. Rosa and a friend tried to place the first two tiles in Amstelveenseweg and Warmondstraat, where the aforementioned eviction took place. These first two locations turned out to be the “riskiest” locations that she has ever placed the tiles. Needless to say, both attempts failed. This was partly because the duo were dressed entirely in black and acting very secretively, which appeared intimidating to the area residents who were still cautious of squatters following the early police intervention. More problematic were the tools they brought - too bulky and unorganised for fast installment.

That is why, with a design student’s mind, Rosa decided to make her own toolkits, neat and compact. This DIY kit helps fasten the process - at its fastest, it takes only 15 minutes to install the tiles, which increases accessibility for different types of users. When Rosa extended the scope of her project to festive ex-squat sites, which are more essential to the city’s cultural scene, the toolkits further transformed De Kraaktegel from a personal initiative to a collective work. For example, the tile at De Nieuwe Anita was not made by Rosa herself but by the people there - they only needed to pick up the kit in her mom’s garage and then install the tiles themselves. Since then, a total of 9 kraaktegels have been installed across the whole country (two of which were unfortunately removed). For every site, there is also a poster about the brief squatting history of the location and about the moment when the tile was placed. As such, when people walk past the bustling grounds of well-known community hubs like Paradiso, De Nieuwe Anita, or Stroomhuis, these tiles act as a memorial to the history of squatting that are increasingly rendered invisible by the increasing waves of hyper gentrification. 

To visualise a history
Gradually shifting the project’s focus to the more festive ex-squats, what De Kraaktegel aims for is not just better safety but also increasing visibility. Free spaces like Paradiso, where all sorts of concerts and cultural events are hosted, are an important part of the squatting’s history - yet not all people know about that. The “sanitised” façade of the city effaces the legacy that squatting has left to urban culture. At the same time, a prevalent narrative about squatters and anarchist movements continuously reduces their socio-cultural significance to mere vandalism, or even acts of nihilism. This is why the tiles are placed across different free spaces in the country: to fearlessly celebrate the on-going history of the squatting and to bring more visibility to the communities that have made the culture of the city. 

The “sanitised” façade of the city effaces the legacy that squatting has left to urban culture

For that reason, De Kraaktegel must visually stand out. With its deep red colour, the squatter’s tile stands out amidst the grey cement street. To complement this striking red tone, Rosa also wore a red coat while installing the tiles and invited people to surround her. This gave the scene an air of performativity, allowing people to pass by without raising suspicions. This kind of performance is not only for practicality and safety, but can be seen as a subversion of social stigma about squatting. A classy red-coated woman installing a well-designed tile in a music venue is nowhere near the stereotypical image of squatters. The so-called sneaky dangerous anarchists are nowhere to be found in celebratory red hues. What is more, as Rosa herself shared, this red colour is inspired by the “red square” - a symbol of the 2012 Quebec student protests against the increasing privatisation of university, including tuition hike, anti-protest laws, and different neoliberal policies. Both the symbol and De Kraaktegel aim to amplify repressed history, to make the invisible visible, in a celebratory manner. By doing so, De Kraaktegel invites people to think differently about squatting. “When seeing the tiles at places like Paradiso and De Nieuwe Anita, people may find a resemblance between something familiar to them and something that they still are afraid of. So it would invite people to, slowly but gradually, shift their perspective on that fear”.

A call for collective work
Spotlighting squatting history is not only important at well-known establishments and free spaces, but also for the lesser-known squats where people are living today. To continue bringing the tile to more squats around the Netherlands, additional funding is critical. But, what De Kraaktegel needs more is collective engagement in different parts of the country. “I would like to make more toolkits available in every city, so that people put the tiles on themselves”, said Rosa, “De Kraaktegel shouldn’t wait for me to live its own life”. Making the tools more accessible is thus the current goal of this project and it has to come with actual engagement on a collective basis. 

This article is, therefore, not just an introduction to De Kraaktegel but also a call for joining forces. We are living in a city where memorialisation is typically reserved for the ‘major’ history, in the form of big museums and monuments that still conform to the logic of capitalism and gentrification. A small squatter’s tile is a subtle rupture in the otherwise homogenised urban landscape, yet it needs collective awareness and action to continue flourishing. If you, who are reading these lines, feel resonance to what De Kraaktegel is doing, do not hesitate to reach out . Squatting goes on, as should the visibility of its history!

More info:
www.damesaap.nl/De-Kraaktegel
www.instagram.com/kraaktegel