23/10/2020
We are facing a legal investigation by the police for violating sanitary measures - but we were wrongly accused.
Last Saturday, police officers entered our venue around 23h10 because of noise complaints. The complaints were justified, so we fixed it straight away by finishing off the night immediately.
After a complete check of our legal documents, we were confronted with subjective and false accusations about the venue’s conformity with the respective COVID-restrictions. Supposedly, we did not respect the capacity of the space and the distance between tables - we were wrongly accused. We did not violate any of the sanitary measures.
It was the challenging context of the pandemic that inspired us to create a safe environment for cultural exchange. Our space was consciously designed to avoid a possible spread of the virus: a strictly regulated capacity with limited reservations and elevated seating platforms that disable guests from moving around.
There’s no way we can accept any of these subjective assumptions. What now follows is a legal investigation that probably leads to a wrongful condemnation.
We were saddened to be approached by police officers with such a degrading attitude and a complete disesteem. We felt criminalised for a project with a cultural cause, criminalised for trying to exist. But it was utterly misinterpreted.
As it seems, we are not the only ones who feel misinterpreted. We heard about several injustices that restaurant and bar owners had to deal with. It’s a political issue that exists here and beyond.
The COVID-restrictions force every staff member to adopt the role of a law enforcer by warning every single guest who ignores the rules - consciously or unconsciously. For us and our team it was extremely tiring to do this kind of job, yet we progressively managed to solve the issues we faced.
Today, we made the decision to close our venue for the next few weeks.
Following the worrying growth of COVID-infections, we feel that we can adapt our space even more. We want our venue to be more than COVID-conform.
Hopefully, we will co-create the optimal space with the help of the Ministry of Health.
This entire statement is not about blaming someone or voicing unconstructive criticism. These observations should encourage us to make improvements and to change things for the better. We were thinking a lot about the work of police officers or the difficulties that authorities are facing. Difficult times, difficult jobs. We deeply acknowledge the work they do, but we have to work together.
Music, arts, dancefloors were never about resentment. They are about sharing and existing.
In that sense, we want to encourage a constructive dialogue between authorities and the affected organisations. The ongoing criminalisation of the sector won’t lead to any long-term solution.
We should work together, not against one another.
