Grote Glijbaan

The “Lange Glijbaan” (“Long Slide”) was a public artwork by Dutch environmental artist Karin Daan which was installed under the bridge of Ganzenhoef metro station in 1976. Although the artwork was extremely popular among many generations of local residents, it was dismantled and removed by the municipality in 2002 for alleged safety concerns. “Children could get stuck with a collar. Nonsense of course. As far as I know, no accident has ever happened”, as the artist told Het Parool newspaper .

When still in place, Daan’s interactive sculpture consisted of two long metal slides (as  the ones we known from children’s playgrounds), mounted on a sequence of wooden blocks, designed to resemble train rails. Located directly underneath the actual rail-tracks of the Amsterdam metro, this public sculpture mirrored on its locality while introducing a playful, accessible and welcoming participatory aspect, which made the artwork a meaningful addition to public space, beyond the limits of aesthetic contemplation.

Local residents have demanded for this popular piece of artwork to be brought back to its original location, which has been rejected by the authorities who then have failed to even disclose the whereabouts of the disposed original artwork.