United Painting Projects

OostTunnelCentje - Amsterdam Centraal Station

Amsterdam, August 2021 - April 2022

In the summer of 2021, Amsterdam Central Station opened its doors to the art collective United Painting, with the request to transform the East Passenger Tunnel from an uninspiring hallway to an uplifting experience for its 30.000 daily commuters. In the following 8 months, the collective integrated into the Station’s community by setting up shop in the Amstel Passage. During weekly paint sessions at night, United Painting hand-painted the narrow tunnel with a flowing lively geometric pattern, together with over a hundred participants from station staff to students and locals to newcomers. A collaborative nature is at the heart of United Painting, this translates to their iconic and dynamic form of process-based creation, meaning the artwork is developed during the process rather than starting the process with a predetermined artwork proposal. This way of working invites the inclusion of people and place in the design stage as well as the making stage via co-creation methods, giving everyone access to the empowerment of creation. For the project, a pattern system was designed based on the remarkable floor tiling made in the 80s by, amongst others, the architect Henk Woltjer. The collective remixed the original patterns with a United Painting twist by adding extra layers of shapes. To make sure the participants of the project could design their own piece of pattern, thus forming a collective artwork, a digital co-creation tool was developed. The participant’s pattern was integrated into the total wall design and painted by the participants themselves. The physical application of the artwork on the wall started with the Base Color (1), covering the entire hallway with a colorful version of the H’s & I’s pattern. Followed by sessions for the first, second and sometimes third Pattern layers (2). The painting process was repeating cycles of Tape & Paint! (3) The project ended with a festive opening on 8th of April 2022, celebrating the visual memory left behind on the walls and all the new connections made during the nearly year long social interaction.

Stationmanager Rene: ‘Seeing the station through the eyes of an artist is very different from seeing through the eyes of a station manager. Break your bubble.’
Sanitation staff Amilton: ‘This was the best night shift ever! I have been working here for 7 years. Joining the paint team was very special, every time I walk through the tunnel I think: hey, I painted this part!’

Customer Experience Manager Maartje: ‘It was a great experience to paint at night and to get to know fellow Amsterdammers. How cool to see your own design on one of the walls of Amsterdam Central Station!’