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Taxi Travis

28. – 30.03.2025

Taxi Travis Job Willems Taxi Travis Job Willems

Taxi Travis. Photo: Job Willems

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Taxi Travis. Photo: Job Willems

Taxi Travis Parel Strik2 Taxi Travis Parel Strik2

Taxi Travis. Photo: Parel Strik

Taxi Travis Arnoud Verhey Taxi Travis Arnoud Verhey

Parel Strik and Merit Zimmermann, artists who develop Taxi Travis in collaboration with the Het Zuid Manifest team. Photo: Arnoud Verhey

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Tijdens de driedaagse manifestatie Het Zuid Manifest: I Love Carlos reed een “clandestiene” taxiservice, opgezet door bewoners van Charlois met hun eigen auto’s. De chauffeurs traden op als zowel gids als gesprekspartner voor zowel buurtbewoners als bezoekers. Elke rit bood een unieke ervaring, gevormd door het persoonlijke verhaal en perspectief van de chauffeur op Charlois. Passagiers konden ervoor kiezen om afgezet te worden bij een van de locaties van Het Zuid Manifest.

De taxiservice vertrok vanaf Rib en was actief van 28 tot en met 30 maart. Ritten waren gratis te boeken.

Taxi Travis kwam volledig tot stand dankzij de inzet en betrokkenheid van lokale bewoners.

De taxiservice werd ontwikkeld in samenwerking met kunstenaar Parel Strik en onderzoeker en curator Merit Zimmermann. We baseerden ons op het bestaande taximodel van Marit en Parel, en noemden het Taxi Travis, als verwijzing naar Scorsese’s Taxi Driver. De naam is zowel een eerbetoon aan de sociaaleconomische context waarin het project plaatsvindt als aan Hollywood zelf – en benadrukt hoe artistieke pogingen om dergelijke kwesties aan te kaarten het risico lopen om vervormd of zelfs pervers te worden.

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During the three days of Het Zuid Manifest: I Love Carlos, a “clandestine” taxi service was run by Charlois residents using their private cars. Drivers acted as both guides and conversation partners for both locals and visitors. Each ride offered a unique journey, shaped by the driver’s personal story and perspective on Charlois. Passengers could choose to be dropped off at one of the Het Zuid Manifest locations.

The taxi service departed from Rib and operated from 28 to 30 March. Rides were free to book.

Taxi Travis was made possible entirely through the participation and input of local residents.

The taxi service was developed in collaboration with artist Parel Strik and researcher and curator Merit Zimmermann. We adapted the existing taxi model by Merit and Parel, naming it Taxi Travis as a reference to Scorsese’s Taxi Driver. The name pays homage both to the socio-economic context in which the project unfolds and to Hollywood itself, highlighting how artistic attempts to engage with such issues risk becoming distorted or even perverse.

Parel Strik is an artist based in Rotterdam whose practice explores the transformative power of encounters and dialogue in public space. With a focus on hospitality, self-care, and sustainability, her work seeks to foster connection and collective reflection.
Her projects often take shape as conceptual dinners and public events, where she acts as maker, host, and programmer. She has worked as a social designer in Oud-Charlois and Wielewaal, community manager for the Rotterdamse Vrijheidsmaaltijden, and guest curator for Paviljoen aan het Water. She is also part of the organisation of South Explorer.
In 2024, Strik earned a Master’s degree in Fine Art from HKU with the project How to Care – Do You Care? Following her bachelor’s studies in Transformation Design at the Willem de Kooning Academy (2022), she investigated the “Ingredients of an Encounter.”
Strik’s practice moves beyond the studio into the public realm, where shared meals become a space for connection, storytelling, and care—for others and ourselves.

Merit Zimmermann is a researcher, curator, and writer. She is a PhD candidate in Digital Heritage at Erasmus University Rotterdam, where she explores the digitalization of heritage and vice versa the heritagization of digital culture. She has presented her research on urban beauty and media tourism at international conferences, including ICA, AAG, ATINER, and S-O-U-P. Her writing has appeared in academic journals (Dichotomy), books (Routledge), magazines (THE DORF, Giddyheft), blogs (The GCHU at Kellogg College), and exhibition texts for galleries such as JVDW, basedonart, and Galería Silvestre. As a cultural practitioner, Merit collaborates with museums, design companies, art spaces and festivals, realizing exhibitions and projects with institutions like the DAM, Vitra, IMPAKT, and TANK Shanghai.