A meter high work of art on the facade of the Volkshotel, which draws attention to the International Day of Press Freedom. Much needed, says Free Press Unlimited. Because the safety of journalists is under pressure. “It is also not going in the right direction in the Netherlands.”
Long black stripes on the windows of the Volkshotel on Wibautstraat, like the – sometimes – blacked-out information that the government sends to journalists. The artwork of Laser 3.14 refers to a Wob request, an information request that journalists can submit to government agencies. Often a lot of information is painted black before it is sent.
Under pressure
Impossible, says the artist. “I can be angry about that, yes. The government is there for the citizen.” The only words he leaves legible in his artwork are the successes that investigative journalists have achieved in recent years. For example, the Panama Papers, the allowance affair and the stories about abuse in the music industry.
The assignment for the artwork comes from Free Press Unlimited, an organization that is committed to guaranteeing the freedom of the press and the safety of journalists. Especially for the International Day of Press Freedom, tomorrow. “We have seen for some time that press freedom in countries such as Hungary is coming under increasing pressure,” says Tim Schoot Uiterkamp. He conducts research for Free Press Unlimited into, among other things, the consequences of disinformation. “But things are not going in the right direction in the Netherlands either.”
Threats
from a research from 2017, commissioned by the Dutch Association of Journalists, it appears in particular that crime journalists, opinion makers and photo and camera journalists are often threatened. For the latter group, this happens, for example, when they enter problem neighborhoods or report on demonstrations.
Tim hopes the artwork will draw attention to what investigative journalism means for society. “It is important that journalists can do their work in safety,” he says. “We shouldn’t take that for granted, we should appreciate it.”