Anonymous, Paradiso Noord

Poster for an event at Paradiso Noord, Amsterdam, featuring live acts, DJs, artists and designers, all of them performing anonymously. From the Paradiso website (translated):

New music, no names. […]

Anonymous opposes the trend of ever-larger names and less and less exciting club nights where you go with friends for good music. Anonymous refuses to mention who is performing and thus sets expectations. The audience can go out with a fresh look and be surprised again. Artists can play at underground parties free from hype. And that is something artists have missed so much that one of them has canceled another gig for November 29th. At Anonymous the club is again for the music.

Anonymous as counter-movement
The consequences of the Dutch government’s austerity politics on culture are visible everywhere. Since the First Rutte cabinet, the basis for artists and cultural institutions has become so unstable that opting for security remains the only option. The result is avoiding risks and going for guaranteed success. Big names are booked time and again and stop the flow of new talents. Artists ask for and get big fees, and tickets are unaffordable. With such high prices everyone wants to know what they pay for – proof them wrong.

Anonymous takes action against this. Anonymous is uncertainty. Anonymous is risk. Anonymous is surprise. Anonymous is that results from the past offer no guarantee for the future. Anonymous is freedom.

Anonymous is a direct result of the hype. Of the need for certainty. Of cynicism. Anonymous is for the unknown, the indefinable and the ignorance. Anonymous is the immune system that comes into effect. Anonymous is the counter movement. We are Anonymous.