How one Elm at Beursplein Square in Amsterdam tells a financial history of 750 years...

In April this year,  I had the honour of opening the Urgent Ecologies symposium at the Rietveld Academie. Amidst a burst of spring snow, I shared a story that has rooted itself deeply in my life: the story of the majestic Elm that once stood in front of Beursplein 5 in Amsterdam. It witnessed the foundation of the exchange buildings in early 1900s and was still there when Occupy Now occupied the exchanqe square after the financial crisis. 

This tree not only held very old nails but it contained the spray painted NOW on it, remainder of the Occupy Now movement. And alas, it was cut down in 2017, to make way for a bycicle parking cellar underneath. However, I managed to get hold of it at Stadshout Amsterdam and turned the tree into coins, works of art and more.

Amsterdam 750 years - time to remember - time for art 

As it so happens, this year is also the year that we celebrate the 750 years birthday of Amsterdam and for over half of this period, Elms were witnessing what was happening in our city. Of course those are not just nice or funny stories.

Because let’s be honest: the financial history of Amsterdam is not just about clever trade and innovation. It’s also about blood money — with connections to slavery, imperialism, and outright genocide, all in pursuit of a lower price for pepper.

This is precisely why having wood and paper from this historically significant elm — linked both to protest and to centuries of economic power — creates opportunities for meaningful art. As the proud guardian of the tree’s remains, I connected those dots in my presentation.

A video on the financial history of Amsterdam - with an artistic twist

Feel free to watch and understand a bit more of the financial history of Amsterdam. See the role of the Elm, understand why Amsterdam is also called the Elm Capital of Europe and just have fun watching. And if you wish, understand that this is also a sales pitch to students of the Rietveld Academy to use the wood/paper from the trees for their art work.

Open source art agreement

To ensure the elm’s legacy remains in the public domain, I expained to the students this special open source art agreement in the form of a perpetual loan contract. Under this agreement, artists and makers can work with the wood or paper from the Beursplein elm, but the materials remain publicly owned — never to be sold, resold, or commercially exploited. 

The contract grants creative use while setting clear conditions: the works must reference the tree’s story, stay traceable, and cannot be monetised beyond covering basic production costs. In this way, the elm becomes a shared cultural resource — a kind of “open source” material — allowing for new artworks to grow from it while protecting its integrity for future generations.

Can I get hold of a piece of this Elm?

Yes you can. If you go to the Stadshout city-shop in the van Wou Straat 70 in Amsterdam, you can find paper, the coins and coasters of the Elm. Make sure you check their opening times, as the shop is mostly open in and around the weekend. And when there, you can either sign the open source agreement or straighforward buy the stuff. It's up to you. 

And how about a walking tour, do you still do those ?

Well, yes, I still do walking tours, but mostly for groups and it needs to be scheduled well in advance.  So if you arrange for enough friends to join (max 15) I'll be happy to tell all about the good, the bad and the ugly parts of the financial history of Amsterdam. And watching this video will give you a good basis to appreciate all there is to tell about the rich financial history of Amsterdam.

Any more events coming up?

Well, the theme of this years Month of History is 'Natuurlijk' which translates as 'Of course' or 'Made of nature materials'. So I may be doing a similar lecture somewhere, so for now the video serves as a nice appetizer.