OT301 – Café Gilde

OT301 is a squatter-turned-cultural-centre on Overtoom in Oud-West, operating since 2000 in a building that formerly housed the Netherlands Film Academy. It is one of Amsterdam's most significant underground spaces: non-profit, collectively managed, with a clear political identity and a programme that reflects it. It survived multiple eviction attempts and legal battles, and was eventually purchased legally in 2006, which has only deepened its position in the city's alternative culture. It won the Amsterdam Prize for the Arts in 2007. The building contains multiple spaces used differently throughout the week: the Lift club for DJ nights and live performances, a cinema, a gallery, rehearsal and studio spaces for local artists, and a printshop. Events range from punk and metal to experimental music, film screenings, art exhibitions, political discussions, and skill-sharing workshops. The programme isn't packaged for a casual audience, and that's understood by everyone who comes. Café Gilde now runs the kitchen and bar, taking over from the legendary De Peper vegan restaurant that operated here for over two decades. Entry prices are kept deliberately low. OT301 doesn't advertise heavily, events are listed on the website and distributed through flyers and word of mouth. Finding it for the first time requires a small effort, which is probably part of the point.