GENTRIFICOPOLY or Street Names is an Alternative to Monopoly, presented on 2007 in an exhibition in Amsterdam about the artist's role in gentrification.
The game contains no money, houses or hotels. Because as an artist you will never have anything of the above. You will move around the city increasing the property value with your work but without any gain or loss.
Except, when you have to move from your living and working space again to look for a more affordable quarters.
The game provides a table, an astray and some pillows hoping to create a space for meaningful conversations around the subject of gentrification.
GENTRIFICOPOLY
The Starving artist's Monopoly
STREET NAMES contains:
1 game board 2mX2m with 24 streets and 4 major art cities
4 tokens to move around the city
1 dice ashtray for smoking visitors
1 table to stimulate discussions
2- 3 pillows for the comfort of the visitors
1 instruction manual containing the stories behind the 24 street names*
Street Names does NOT contain:
Real or Counterfeit Money Real Estate tokens (Houses or Hotels)
Property Cards – The Origin of Street Names:
(from purple to blue)
The Purple Streets
Jan Pieter Kastelein Street is a street for people that wish that they were self-confident. “I wish I was” becomes “I know I am” and is a phrase by Jan Pieter Kastelein. Jan Pieter was brought into this world in Heemstede (North-Holland) in the Netherlands, in the year 1985.
Sina Khani Street is in living memory of the richest bitch who ever existed: Sina Khani. As he himself once said: ‘That nasty word up there, the word ‘bitch’, is not related to you, of course. Do not misinterpret it. It’s just that I think that it makes the sentence complete, since it includes the funniest one-liner catchphrase that I have in my entire life and I use it all the time. “That is: I’m rich, bitch!” ’ Sina Khani was born in 1982, in Rafsandjan, Iran.
Dan Lucal Street is in memory of Dan Lucal, born in Boston in 1987, in honour of the fact that Dan turned into a giant lobster and chased the head chef of a restaurant on his unicycle.
The Cyan Streets
Devin Kenny Street is named after a significant contributor to the art of getting over things.
Devin Kenny, born in 1987, in Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Lot Meijer Street took its name from the drummer of the well-known band “Vicky and Ron”.
Lot was born in 1981 in Hilversum.
Frederique Olthuis Street is dedicated to Frederique Olthuis, born in Leeuwarden in 1985. During the last two decades she has kept things remarkably real.
The Pink Streets
Marc Roig Blesa Street is named after the guy who did t twice. Born on the fifteenth day of May, in Madrid, Marc did it twice.
Barbara Amalie Skovmand Thomsen Street is a street dedicated to people that like to spend time on their own. Her childhood- and former friends remember her habit of always polishing shoes – She was always saying that she had to go home to polish. They never learned that this was just a bad excuse and that she sometimes just preferred to be alone. Barbara was born in Sommersted 1980, or actually, at the hospital in Haderslev, although she never actually lived there.
Judith Vogt Street is named after Judith Vogt, born in 1983, in Werne, a small village next to the German highway. We should remember her for what she is.
The Orange Streets
Martha Hjorth Jessen Street is a street name chosen by the daughters to come in Martha’s family in honor of her as someone who built something BIG! Born in Copenhagen 1983, she is working on it.
Fabienne Zuijdwijk Street is named after Fabienne Zuijdwijk, who was born in Delft, in 1983. Her adventures are now living history and her blue eyes legendary. She usually says, she’d rather be remembered for what she is than for what she did.
Mu Xue Street is named after Mu Xue. She was born in Nanking, a cozy, lazy large town in China in 1979. People always remember her for the things that she made, wherever she happened to be at the time.
The Red Streets
Roos Blogg Street is named after the girl who did stuff. Roos was born in Haarlem on a very cold day in 1980.
Mirja Bons Street is the name of the world’s best bakkenist. Mirja was born in 1985, in Zuidworld (GR) and apart from being the world’s best bakkenist she is constantly discovering amazing machines.
Steven Bos Street refers to Steven Bos. Steven exists as a result of being born in Ede, in the year 1984. Although the circumstances remain unclear till this day, he is commonly considered to ‘the guy that killed Marco Borsato’.
The Yellow Streets
Floris Bovee Street is a street named after Floris Bovee for many reasons. Born in 1980, on the 3rd of October in Rhenen, Floris was a natural disaster creator who couldn’t make up his mind until well into the year of 2008.
Chrysa Chouliara Street is a street for obsessive talkers. Chrysa was born in Athens, in 1982, and has been honoured in many international contests for her special ability to talk and talk and talk, without ever needing a break. Above all, she once mentioned that ‘paradox has its own ways of returning back to your life like a good old friend’.
Bonno Van Doorn Street is in memory of the third living testicle of Bonno Van Doorn, born in Amsterdam, 1977.
The Yellow Streets
Cidgem Turek Street a street dedicated to Cidgem Turek for uncertain reasons. Cidgem was born in the city of Van, in the year 1971.
Hans Diemel Street took its name from Hans Diemel, after he worked with Cidgem Turek. Hans was born on 16.05.1974, in Utrecht, Holland.
Styrmir Orn Gudmundsson Street is for a boy that was born in Reykjavik in 1984 and who people remember as the one who held an old woman’s grocery bags while helping her cross the road.
The Blue Streets
Ulla Eriksen Street is named after Ulla Eriksen. Ulla was born in a hospital in Esbjerg in Denmark, where a rather peculiar event happened a few minutes after she and her parents left the building. Apparently, the night keeper of the hospital had a small drinking problem thus failed to extinguish his last cigarette properly. A few minutes later, the small hospital was on fire leaving no valid paper proof of the birth of Ulla Eriksen.
Justin Gosker Street was named after Justin Gosker. He was born in Toronto, in 1980. People have described him as someone who smiles like a boy on a red bike, which is way different than a boy who smiles on a yellow bike.
Reinilde Jonkhout Street is in the living memory of Reneilde Jonkhout, born in 1986, in Leidschendam, the girl that keeps dancing when the music has stops. In this street, the lights are on during the day.