We walk through a dark and deserted corridor. On the left side at regular intervals the closed doors of the studios. On the right side the enclosed spaces for storage and now and then a door to the toilets. It is quiet in the building. At the very end of the hallway Astrid Moors opens her door and suddenly we are in a bright and tidy studio. The entire exterior wall is from left to right and from above to a meter above the glass floor. The light is filtered through cheesecloth curtains. It's a cloudy day, when the sun shines here it must be almost merciless. "That's right", says Astrid, "the windows are south-facing, it's double glazed but there's a lot of sunlight in the summer, so it's very hot here very quickly. That's why I permanently blocked the top of the window with textile and hung blackout blinds, which go down in summer. The glass curtains are always closed and provide diffused light. I rarely have the fluorescent lights on". Astrid tells it with a kind of down-to-earth cheerfulness. "In spring and autumn it's all right here, in summer it's quickly too hot and there are really days when I don't go to my studio because of the temperature here. In winter it was sometimes too cold. The heating didn't work, this is a corner studio with an outside wall where the sun never rises. So sometimes I had to stay at home. Then I rang the bell and took a thorough look at the climate control: does something have to change on the wall or on the heating? Then they changed the heating. It's better now, but next winter I'm going to turn my desk against the heating because it's still too cold in winter to work sitting at a desk".
"I moved from Utrecht to Rotterdam in 2000 because the art climate seemed better here, less provincial. I started in Rotterdam with a studio in the Schiecentrale, very luxurious and pleasant, but also expensive. After thirteen years I started looking around for a cheaper space and got an offer from the SKAR for this building. But that studio was on the second floor and there I found the ceiling too low. I would like a high studio. You can make a mezzanine there. By the way, you work differently when your studio is high. Bigger, that will make it harder for you because those bigger works are not easy to sell, then people say that doesn't fit in my room", she laughs: "yes, it's always something".
"Tight two months after that first offer, this studio was released. That was in 2013. I immediately went to see if I could do something with it. I thought the mezzanine was too big, there was a huge staircase that took up too much space". We take a look at the mezzanine, which she had rebuilt, on which the paintings wrapped in plastic are placed like in a bookcase. An aluminium ladder is standing by. "Now the mezzanine is only for storage, I like that better. But I can't take down the larger paintings on my own, I need help with that. That's tricky. Yes, I'd much rather have storage in the hallway. There are quite a few storage rooms in this building, but I don't know who uses them, not me. That could be divided more fairly. I think people from the studios downstairs have storage spaces up here. If it would be nice to have a storage room here in the hallway, I can pull out my work when someone is here. Now I have to think in advance which works might be of interest to the client. Of course it's better not to have a warehouse, just sell it right away! Yes, I would like that, I think very often I have to make more work, where do I leave it all".
"I work here three days a week and from the sale of my paintings I can pay this studio. I also have an income as a web designer and make digital illustrations for companies. I also like to do that. I like to do both applied and autonomous work, but I'm always busy making ends meet financially. That's a distraction, I think. When I lived in Utrecht I lived on benefit for seven years, which wasn't much, of course, but the advantage was that I didn't have to worry about money and then I did a great job. Long days just producing. Then you can really get into the flow and develop what you want, yes, I do miss that".
"I also miss the social contacts with my colleagues here. I've organised drinks parties and open days here on Friday afternoons, I'm in the organisation of South Explorer. When I came to this building I didn't know anyone and I invited everyone to my studio for coffee and cake. I like to know what you do about each other. I think we all need eyeballs; you have to show what you do otherwise nobody knows. That way it would be nice to organize and exhibit things together. But we hardly see each other here. I think everyone is happy when they're here, can close the studio door and be alone to work. I recognize that of course, when I come in here I turn on the internet radio first, Groove Salad. Then it's: me and my work, no messages from outside, just that music, all day long".
"But still...if you make that appointment, you can set yourself up for one hour every Friday. I have always tried that, first that coffee and cake, then two", she laughs: "of the 23 artists sitting here! And at the open studios I organized, even the preliminary discussions were difficult. I'm not participating in South Explorer this time, there's not enough enthusiasm. But I do participate in the organisation, which I like. As I said: I like organising". Then she exclaimed excitedly: "Take advantage of that! Put me in!"