Artwork shows Amsterdam Dam Square to visually impaired
From Wednesday, blind and visually imparied people can feel the buildings of Dam Square in Amsterdam in miniature in a work of art. Buildings such as De Nieuwe Kerk, the Royal Palace, the Bijenkorf and the National Monument were replicated in a raised, textured format by artist Streetart Frankey with accompanying text that is also in Braille.
The artwork is in bronze, and takes the form of the concrete, Lego-style barricades in the area. The buildings are on the studs at the top of the block. The artwork has a QR code, which refers to a free audio tour that tells more about the fourteen buildings around Dam Square.
The original concrete blocks were placed on Dam Square at the end of 2017 as an anti-terrorism measure. "It's nice when a concrete block that nobody thinks about can suddenly become an iconic object that people want to think about," said the artist, how produced the work with a commission from the entrepreneurs' association for the Dam Square area.
The entrepreneurs' association wants the concrete blocks to make way for natural stone benches in the future. "Until then, we want to let visitors experience the story behind the buildings on Dam Square with the artwork and the audio tour," said chairman Richard Francke.
Last year Streetart Frankey also made a work of art for the entrepreneurs' association: A Lego statue of singer Andre Hazes on the Dam.
Reporting by ANP