ANAT STAINBERG
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The Israeli Anat Stainberg has a liking for aesthetic interventions related to dance. Her happenings do not entirely revolve around beauty, however. She also examines the position of women in society and is sooner apt to respond to current issues such as war and identity.
Not so strange, then, that she should be interested in a temporary stay in the Zuidas. She likes variety and welcomed the idea of being challenged by what for her is an unusual way of working. “Normally I come up with an idea first,” says Stainberg in reference to her area of research, “and I seek specific handholds in order to carry out my idea. This time I was curious about the extremely general theme.”
Considering her feminist approach, the first thing that fascinated her about the Zuidas was obvious. She was amazed at the male, if not to say phallic nature of the architecture and wanted comment on it from a female point of view.
A struggle with preconceived notions awaited her. “The grandeur and power of this new city appealed to me and I had all sorts of assumptions.” She was certain that the district would be filled with well-dressed yuppies who populated the area during the day and left the skyscrapers to their fate at night.
The truth turned out to be totally different. “Unlike similar districts elsewhere in the world, in the Zuidas the majority of men and women dress very casually. The atmosphere is relaxed and the lights in the offices stay on until eleven o’clock at night.”
