For our first stop, Amsterdam felt like a natural choice, given the gratitude we owe the city’s nightlife for shaping our understanding of what it means to be queer, and to dance as one. With a history of progressive developments, like squatting, legalizing same-sex marriage, pioneering harm reduction practices, and integrating club culture with queer expression at institutions like Club RoXY or Club iT, Amsterdam has become a known haven for many dancing queers around the world. This appeal has also led to a dense population which incentivizes the development of residential buildings that marginalized groups cannot afford, simultaneously reducing nightlife spaces. Like the essence of queerness, Amsterdam’s stance on queer rights and nightlife is anything but singular or linear. Communities and places that gave the city its strength are facing more disadvantages. Meanwhile, the city's renowned electronic music scene further invites the co-optation and commercialization of queer culture, at the expense of queer people. To talk about queer nightlife in Amsterdam today is to go back to its roots, into the underground, speaking to those who are creating spaces and changes from their communities upwards. With 12 stories that span collectives, artists, organizers, historians, advocates, and community members, ISSUE 01 invites you to immerse in the ecstatic energy, diverse expression, ingenious entrepreneurship, community love, and collective resilience that is alive today, in Amsterdam's queer nightlife. ABOUT ISSUE 01 No One in Amsterdam starts with a foreword by art historian Manique Hendricks, which contextualizes Amsterdam’s queer scene within the city’s “herstory” and emphasizes the importance of archiving and keeping queer legacies alive. With stories from long-term collectives like De Trut, Spielraum, and Lesbique, to newcomers like BODY, Club Transmission, and De Reünie, the issue indirectly narrates the evolution of nightlife in Amsterdam: where it is now and where it might head. Through exchanges with the owners of Bar PAMELA and Club RAUM (same organizers as Spielraum), readers hear about the joys and challenges of starting and running queer businesses in Amsterdam. Readers also learn about notable efforts to advocate for safety within the night, through interviews with Kimmah (DJ & author of an internationally adopted artist safety rider) and Ramon de Lima (project leader at ClubEthics and former acting Night Mayor). Equally important to the other features are voices from community members who are shaping the scene by participating, organizing, curating, programming, and more. We hear from multidisciplinary artists DIORA and Val Dechev, who are cultivating much-needed trans-led initiatives in the city. In a takeover by Undocumented, a multi-medium platform that uplifts queer stories in Amsterdam, readers hear a range of stories from active members of the community; like the DJ Irem (I-RO), an awareness team staff member, Youssef (JO.JOE), and party organizer, Ici (HASHASHIN). While we can’t offer a comprehensive overview of every initiative in the scene, we hope to give a glimpse, and encourage curiosity to find the countless other important initiatives happening in this city. No One Core Team Việt Raider-Hoàng, Jeremy Raider-Hoàng Editorial Design Samuel Salminen Proofreaders Tom Biddulph, Ira Raider Contributors Manique Hendricks, Claudie Crommelin, Juha van ’t Zelfde, Charlotte van der Gaag, Samuel King, Max Van Der Voort (MXV), Jason Tjon Affo, Kim Hoffenberg, DIORA, Val Dechev, Lukas de Flines, Haamed Shah, Raul Fournier, Caecilia Rasch, Aniela Kurkiewicz, Sven Bijma Cover Stickers Courtesy of BODY, Bar PAMELA, De Reünie, Club Transmission, Undocumented, ClubEthics, Lesbique, De Trut, Spielraum / Club RAUM
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