“What we had in mind was not financially feasible,” project leader (UM employee) Alan van de Wall explains. “In that proposal, the focus was more on organizing cultural events that required large investments.” So this was crossed out, with the result that an alternative had to be considered. “We have to revert to the core, actually through necessity yes, and that is a good thing. We now know better what we want to stand for: a living room for international students where everyone can walk in and out, where small-scale social activities such as a comedy night or a jam session can take place, where you can drink a cup of coffee, and where other student organisations, such as Alles is Drama and Tuna Femenina, can rehearse, perform or have meetings. Kaleido being the connector and organiser.”
From the first press release, from February 2015, when UM signed a declaration of intent with the city of Maastricht, one would have gotten the idea of a student association for internationals where parties, and cultural and social events would be held. “Through the years, there have been all kinds of ideas and plans,” says Van de Wall, “going from big to even bigger, then to small and back to bigger again. But it was never the intention that Kaleido would become a club for parties and concerts. Maastricht already has other locations for such activities.”
Kaleido was housed in the Timmerfabriek for a while. They were allowed to use the old hall in the Muziekgieterij. Former UM President Martin Paul, the driving spirit behind the foundation of the student club, applauded the “home base” for international students, as he called it at the time. But little was left of those initial intentions. Very soon after that, Kaleido had to leave the Muziekgieterij. They moved around the city and finally were allocated their own place at Tapijn. The city then pulled out as financial partner; they were not about to invest in a building belonging to the university.
Anyone passing by Tapijn building Z today, will see that renovations are unavoidable. It is a miserable sight. Van de Wall: “We are now working on a new proposal (with an emphasis on the living room idea, a place for connection).” For Kaleido to “have some more options” – in the evening, maybe occasionally staying open into the late hours, a small event, with a drink at the bar – would not only require the correct permits from the city authorities, but also a ‘go’ from the Executive Board.