Celebrating the super-diverse city: The Nite Shop in Rotterdam
In Rotterdam, design and media collective Concrete Blossom opened ‘The Niteshop’ in March 2021, during the parliamentary elections: an ode to the super-diverse city, in the form of a night store. Not only does it sell products that are characteristic of all the nationalities that Rotterdam is rich in, The Niteshop is also a place where work is done on the society of the future. From the perspective of the bi-cultural urbanite, the collective organizes podcasts, exhibitions and design workshops about public space. During the elections The Nite Shop was also a polling station, to represent the votes of the so-called ‘migrant’ – which is more than half of the Rotterdammers – also on a national level. And as in most convenience stores, loose cigarettes are also sold under the counter. A special initiative for which De Wolven was asked to take on the national media approach. We’re happy to sink our teeth into that!
Together with initiator and artistic director Malique Mohamud, De Wolven developed a press release that brought together everything that The Nite Shop was: which speakers were in the store around the opening, what products were sold, who is The Nite Shop meant for (everyone) and what do the founders have in mind with their night store? Big cities are becoming more diverse and that means new questions need to be asked. What is the role of gentrification in this, is it a reinforcement or hindrance? Which way will we go together as the Netherlands becomes more diverse? How did this play out during the elections?
The Niteshop published podcasts and video content that dealt with these questions, among others. In the context of the elections they recorded two podcasts with journalist and spoken word artist Zaire Krieger and lecturer at the Uva and founder of the Instagram page Political Youth Nugah Shrestha. It was up to us to inform the media about this and to approach them with tailored inserts.
This resulted in a number of great publications: among others, Trouw, Open Rotterdam, One World and Vers Beton.
"In March 2021 the museums were closed, but we were still allowed to do PR for a very special 'museum': The Nite Shop in Rotterdam. A night store, a museum, a breeding ground for new ideas, a place where the neighborhood comes together: it is impossible to give this special project a label, and that is precisely the strength of this great initiative. We are proud to have been able to contribute to it!
Steff van Dorp, PR advisor
