i 1 3 i HET MUSEUM VAN DE STRAAT “A lot has changed in the streets of this old mining colony. For the people this neighborhood remained their home. A close-knit community in familiar houses. With beautiful roofs, little facades and a square. But Heerlen is shrinking, the gentlemen kept repeating.” Het Museum van de Straat (2013) is a video about the conflict between the residents of a neighbourhood and the housing corporation wanting to tear down their houses. As many other former mining areas in the south of the Netherlands, the shrinking city effect followed by the closure of the mines of the region during the seventies means a zone of contestation over the social policies that gets rapidly articulated. The manifold stories told by the residents contributing in the making of this work bring about their genuine desire of maintaining a sense of community. A short lecture for the screening of Het Museum van de Straat and my participation in the making process as a dramaturge can also be viewed. Video Lecture i 5 i