MAKING DIZZY MORE INCLUSIVE

The space is 'classy' and looks very high society, middle aged white men with blazers vibe

Hard for big groups of people to sit

Seating is uncomfortable and tables small

Lightning is hard contrast with stage

Stage is elevated, has a red curtain behind and a big concert piano, doesn't make the audience feel like they are a part of the place.

Going there makes you feel like you have to be dressed up, order an expensive cocktail

It has it's popularity and fame for being the oldest venue in Rotterdam and for famous jazz musicians preforming there. It had it's regular guests and people who wanted to go to an old place with a name but aside from these on it's own it's not that inviting for a big variety of people.

And now with the pandemic it's completely closed only open for takeaway food.

So Far Sounds is a company that started out with organizing living room concert and by today it became a big company present in cities all over the world connecting all kinds of people and artists.

The venue and performers are always secret and you learn about it after purchasing the ticket

The people are seated as if they are in a big living room and it lets you connect to all kinds of people in and from around the city and to artists coming from all over the world.

In my project I’m researching Jazz Cafe Dizzy. In my last project I lost my aim a bit and ventured too far away from the topic and location so in my resit I’ve been focusing on finding solutions that are apply and concentrate on this specific one.


Throughout my mapping and research into it I found that it’s a physically small place, not allowing big groups of people to come in. The movement is restricted and directed in a circular motion but the small tables, uncomfortable chairs and elevated stage with harsh lightning doesn’t quite make you feel like you’re part of the place. In the month of September only one third of artists preforming were women. The management is mostly white middle aged men in blazers. The club makes the guests feel there’s a level of classy dress code, with art deco style, recalling an early 20th century high society kind of feeling. Most of the guests are returning ones and the place’s advertisement and name is built on almost entirely it being the oldest music venue in Rotterdam.

Next to women, I also found lgbtq groups quite excluded by these unwritten dress codes and high class attitude, not represented in the venue. Being inside, bound by invisible rules on how and where you are sitting, how you look and act one can’t help but feel restricted.



In my research I found a model of something that is quite the opposite when it comes to music venues, So Far Sounds. It’s a company present in cities all over the Globe organising concerts in secret locations including living rooms. The place is always very inviting and open, the design is always focused on creating a cozy athmosphere, and it’s part of why people love it. Always a very mixed crowd of strangers yet the venue is orchestrating these people to feel at home together. They hold different themed evenings including lgbtq pride concerts and women’s nights.

Right now they are promoting online concerts people can join from all over or specially organised for groups.



This gave me an inspiration for my proposal, which is to transform Dizzy into an online venue for these restricted times. Right now they only offer food delivery but they could be delivering music into people’s own living rooms along with food. Inviting not just local, but up and coming artists from all over and focusing on specific topics per evening, including women’s night and lgbtq evenings. This would make Dizzy more inclusive and appealing for a newer crowd than their usuals so later on when they open it’s a wider guest reach.



I made a mock up event with a singer friend of mine to test if enjoying an online venue from your own couch at home would make people feel like they are part of a concert, comfortable and included. The feedback I got from participants were very positive and they said they’d attend to more and didn’t feel the uncomfortable unwritten rules I observed in the real Jazz Bar. I am aware that my experiment had limited reach and restricted technical aspects but in the end it was successful to test how personal can a concert be through your screen.


This is a project I find very interesting and I see where I could take it further and continue with experiments. During the resit period I learned to keep focus and not lost track when it comes to observing a space and researching and stay attached to my goal/question/location.