Het Zegel van Amsterdam
Owen Brouwer
Opening hours:
11:00 - 18:00
Address:
Oudezijds Voorburgwal
During the Warmoes Biennale, the neighborhood transforms into an area for reflection, conversation, and imagination. This program features the pavilion of Het Zegel van Amsterdam, where visitors can discover the places that truly keep the city alive.
Although the city center attracts millions of visitors, many residents feel that recognizable cafés, shops, and crafts are under pressure. These places, in particular, give people a reason to come to the city and feel at home.
Het Zegel van Amsterdam aims to highlight these businesses: places that are rooted in their neighborhood and important to the city's social and cultural life. The pavilion invites visitors to look at the city center differently and discover the places that keep Amsterdam alive.
The Seal of Amsterdam is the plan for a new urban distinction that recognizes businesses essential to the life of the city. As Amsterdam’s center changes and familiar places disappear, the Seal of Amsterdam highlights shops, cafés, and crafts that residents consider anchor points.
Based on research and community nominations, selected places receive a visible mark acknowledging their social, cultural, and neighborhood value. The initiative aims not only to recognize these businesses, but also to strengthen their voice and support their role in keeping the city center vibrant and connected.
About Location
This space is the studio of jewelry designer and maker Jero Leeflang. Alongside creating his own work, Jero actively connects makers within the jewelry world. Under the name Atlas Amsterdam, he organizes exhibitions that highlight the work and stories of jewelry artists connected to the city.
For the Warmoes Biennale pavilion, Jero collaborates with Irish-Dutch designer Owen Brouwer. Owen draws inspiration from the inner city and its architecture. By examining urban elements—from façade motifs and shop windows to infrastructure and public sculptures—he explores how the visible identity of the city center and its residents is formed.
Where Owen reveals the visible and hidden layers of the city center, The Seal does something similar: it makes visible what holds value, but is not always recognized.