Open Call.

Caring for a stranger, regularly honoring something or someone, participating in (small) rituals, visiting a place of worship , regularly seeking moments of silence, putting giving above receiving and being part of a community are things that are often not considered the norm in our Western society. Instead we focus on making a career, making money, having a very busy day, focusing on individual growth and buying a lot of new stuff. All things that are considered normal. There are already many artists who reflect back to us how strange our “normal” really is. The Spirit challenges makers to normalize the strange. The unique cross-pollination between makers and places of worship lay the foundation for new narratives that create attention to the well-being of the individual and the city.

The Spirit challenges creators to not only incorporate specific themes into their work, but to push for change. This means that the experience of a performance, concert, celebration or exhibition will go beyond just touching on a topic or contributing to awareness. Topics are recognizable and accessible to a wide audience, with creators challenged to add acts (or rituals) as translations. Consider actions that are close to everyone's environment, such as discouraging phone use, volunteering for a day, or building a moment of silence into your day. Or customs that tap into deep-rooted and ancient rituals, traditions and ceremonies that were once widely held in different cultures and communities, but have now seemingly lost their value for many people in our (Western) society. Consider, for example, the "Day of Atonement," an ancient tradition where one is encouraged to reconcile and make peace with someone with whom we have been in conflict. Or incorporating a period of fasting, making a small altar in your home or neighborhood or resting a set day during the week. We can also create new rituals, traditions and customs. Through these practices, The Spirit will create a profound impact that will continue to resonate well beyond the three days of festival or the city limits.

The submitted plan will need to take place between Friday November 22nd from 08.00hrs and Sunday November 24th until 00:00 hrs and may take up part of a day, a full day, or several days.

The Open Call opens on January 4th, 2024 and closes on March 4th, 2024 at 23:59 hrs. You may submit your plan exclusively through opencall@thespiritof.amsterdam.

All applications that meet the set criteria will be submitted to the selection committee. The evaluation will be based on various evaluation criteria.

Selection committee and the evaluation criteria.

Selection committee and the evaluation criteria.

The selection committee represents the objectives and values of The Spirit and have committed to contributing their experience and expertise to the organization. The committee's mission is to give a balanced assessment of the submitted plans based on set criteria and personal expertise. The committee will select those initiatives that fit the needs and possibilities of the participating locations (the Amsterdam places of worship). The composition of the committee will be announced from January 15th 2024.The collaborations will be announced on The Spirit of Amsterdam website, together they will make up the programming of the festival The Spirit of Amsterdam.The committee evaluates contribution according to the following criteria:

- Degree of connection to target groups

- Degree of alignment with festival objectives.

- Artistic quality and innovation

- Impact (which measurable effects do you want to achieve)

- Partnership (which makers, social organization, other organizations or companies do you include)

- Attainability and feasibility

- Public outreach

- Budget and financing

- CV and experience

Your application may contain up to 2500 words and should describe:

• Summary, and/or an elevator pitch of your idea.

• Your motivation.

• The creative objective.

• How your plan aligns with one or more of the festival’s goals and objectives.

• The social objective and target group and how it has a place in your program component

• What impact your plan will have on the city and how this will create a measurable and meaningful impact after the festival.

• Audience: who do you want to reach? What is your goal in terms of numbers? How does this relate to the target groups of The Spirit of Amsterdam?.

• Any preference for any specific (type of) location and , or description of what a location should contribute to the event.

• Impression of your plan of action: who does what and when.

• What partnerships do you want to form? It helps if you have already secured one or more partners.

It helps to include images and sound from previous work you have done.

What to send ? (maximum of 4 documents, all in pdf.)

1. Content plan in pdf (max 10 MB). Is your pdf too big? Try this

2. CV of the applicant and/or artistic team, including all contact details and all information on legal form (zzp, foundation, B.V., etc.).

3. Budget.

4. Other information important to the selection committee or The Spirit organization (Maximum 1 attachment).

Submit your plan at: opencall@thespiritof.amsterdam

1. Everyone will be informed by March 15th, 2024 whether or not their plan will be submitted to the selection committee.

2. By March 31st, 2024, the selection committee will have made a final decision and all final participants will be notified.

3. The programs that have received a positive evaluation will be submitted to the participating places of worship during the months of March and April. Under the guidance of The Spirit's festival organization, a connection will be made between the culture creators and places of worship . We might also suggest matching you with another initiative.

4. By May 2024, all possible matches between culture creators and places of worship will have been formed . From then on, these new collaborations focus on preparations for the event. The Spirit will remain available throughout the year for coordination between the participating partners (culture creators and places of worship).

The number of participating locations determines the scope of our programming. This means that the number of plans to be honored matches the number of available locations. In any case, plans with the following elements will not be considered for evaluation:

- We will not tolerate aggression, violence, discrimination, exclusion, harassment and/or physical or verbal abuse such as (but not limited to): ableism, anti-Semitism, (body) shaming, bullying, intimidation, Islamophobia, racism, queerphobia, sexism, sexual misconduct and/or transphobia.

- Plans with religious objectives.

For more details on the above, please read our manifesto.

To ensure unity and impact of the overall festival program, Five clear goals and objectives have been formulated. All submitted plans must align with at least one of these objectives listed below.

1. Inclusion and active Participation of vulnerable groups - The festival is accessible to all people. Inclusion as a mindset is a must for visitors, creators, volunteers and staff alike. The Spirit focuses specifically on people who are often excluded. Which includes and welcomes homeless people, refugees, , illiterates, undocumented immigrants, elderly people, or socio-economically disadvantaged youth, for example...

2. Future Creators - This objective is twofold. We encourage participating makers, producers and programmers to collaborate with young and unknown artistic talent for the purpose of talent development. We also encourage collaboration with Amsterdam natives with unique and untold stories, such as the homeless, refugees, or (former) addicts. The vulnerable and powerful stories of these people serve as inspiration for the creation of the program.

3. Youth Participation - Engage young people and encourage them with meaningful ideas that match their perceptions and needs. Young people easily get overwhelmed through social media, and constant distraction. There is a growing desire amongst young people for a sense of meaning and community . They may not always know where to begin. The festival provides a space to discover and create for themselves with other young adults.

4. Mental Health - The goal is to create an inclusive platform where people feel supported and where mental health is approached with empathy, understanding and positivity through the integration of art, education, movement and conversation, The Spirit helps promote mental health in an accessible way. Think mindfulness programs for stress reduction and relaxation. Or art workshops focused on self-expression and healing art. But also the use of virtual reality, for example, can allow visitors to experience what it's like to deal with certain mental health challenges.

5. Connect the differences - Polarizing issues like the Israel-Palestine conflict, discussions about Zwarte Piet, left-wing and right-wing politics, sympathy for gender fluid people versus a conservative holding to traditional gender relationships, have all caused us to feel as if we are in opposition to one another, rather than understanding each other.

Our objective is to challenge creators to connect these different perspectives and paradigms in order to create a society where everyone feels safe, welcome and included

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The Spirit targets a wide audience. We appeal primarily to people who are open to positive change and with the unknown. We define this target group as "The Young Spirit of Amsterdam," With that said, we want to give special attentions to the groups listed below:

1. Adolescents and young adults (18-40 years) - More and more (young) people are looking for meaning, for example while going out or as part of their work or study. With interactive programming and activations, The Spirit helps people give their lives more direction.

2. Vulnerable people - The Spirit actively engages with vulnerable groups, including undocumented people, asylum seekers, status holders, minima, homeless people, the elderly and vulnerable youth. These people often have limited access to current cultural offerings, even though they are more likely to feel lonely and thus have a greater need for cultural and connecting gatherings. By working closely with community organizations, we ensure that they become part of the festival, as visitors, or collaborators.

3. Tourists looking for depth - We target both national and international guests. With our programming we offer an alternative to the tourism in Amsterdam that sometimes causes nuisance, for example through the abuse of alcohol and drugs. With cultural enrichment, local entrepreneurship and a new visitor profile, we make the inner city more attractive.

4. Disaffected believers - Although places of worship are emptying in many places, the need for meaning and community remains. Faith communities and places of worship are looking for new ways to shape their community. Involving social and cultural programs can help.

5. Neighbors seeking local (re)connection - In big cities, we sometimes don't know who our neighbors are anymore. Even Though research shows that bonding with the neighborhood has a positive impact on people's lives. Together with participating places of worship, The Spirit ensures that neighborhood residents are involved in the creation of the events as volunteers or professionals.

Places of worship throughout the city of Amsterdam are participating. The Spirit Of Amsterdam festival in 2024 is the result of the efforts, creative ideas, and contributions of the entire The Spirit network, including the Dominicus church, Fatih Mosque, Oude Kerk, Westerkerk, Oranjekerk, Thomas and countless others.

The festival is paid for by visitors, sponsors, and with contributions from the municipality, funds, venues and collaborative partners. The Spirit of Amsterdam will provide financial and practical support for the organization of each individual event, depending on the know-how and willingness to take risks of each initiative. There may be initiatives that will easily and independently fill a place of worship for several days, while others might require a customized approach in which The Spirit Of Amsterdam platform assists. Where necessary, we help your initiative find the necessary funding. In addition to the start-up capital provided

There will be 3 types of tickets available from a central online ticket environment which we facilitate.

1. Ticket for a single event. Proceeds will go to the initiators of the individual event ( i.e. places of worship and/or culture makers and/or entrepreneurs and/or other organizations, social partners, etc.), with a limited remittance for the festival organization (5%)

2. Free tickets for the vulnerable. We make 15% of the spots per event free for vulnerable Amsterdammers ( i.e. homeless, refugees, elderly, underprivileged youth, and others). We do this in cooperation with our social partners such as the Rainbow Group, Salvation Army, Cordaan or the City Pass..

3. Passe-partouts. These allow you to enter anywhere. The proceeds go to the festival organization The Spirit of Amsterdam and can be seen as a donation to make this initiative possible. Very limited edition.

The festival The Spirit of Amsterdam was initiated by Robert-Jan Glas, Stefan Beek, Marissa van Beurden and San Jonker. Our team has a background in social involvement , events, culture and media. The Spirit of Amsterdam is set up as a social enterprise in close cooperation with the 10,000 HOURS Foundation.