Iron and art at De Fotohal
If you like photography as much as I do, September is your lucky month. With workshops, fancy openings and fairs all over town, there are many things to do and see. Since the 20th of September we've even been living in the official Fotoweek, and together with that the Fotohal kicked off. My original plan yesterday was to quickly drop by and take some photos for this piece you're reading, but I ended up wandering around for a couple of hours and leaving this unconventional exhibition truly impressed. (..more)
Artificial Happiness does blurred lines at the Fringe Festival
Are you also grieving the fact that we have to wait another year before De Parade perches back on Amsterdam ground? Whether you did a performance marathon or only sipped on some Sangria, you might also think that this theatre festival is one of your nicest summer memories. But I’ve got news for you, there’s also a fall version. The Fringe Festival holds 80 shows at 33 different venues around the city. To make it a bit easier for you this week there’s just one you can’t miss: The Cult of Matter by Artificial Happiness. (..more)
Kick off the cultural season with FOAM’s film nights in De Balie
Oh those first days of September, still not much cloudy days but for me it means holiday is officially over. Not in a sad way, because together with my academic year, the cultural season starts this week. While a handful of festivals dance the last shiny afternoons away, I’m moving indoor again for some proper fun. My kick-off will be an inspiring collaboration between FOAM and De Balie, who present you four special film nights around the artist Tim Hetherington. (..more)
Shoeless at Ruigoord in 12 pictures
Shoeless and Ruigoord created a beautiful dream last weekend. The 40-year-old village was turned into a forest where every corner held a little surprise. From an Alice in Wonderland show to the Berlin-based artist Madmotormiguel, this fairytale was one of the best festival experiences I’ve ever had. If there’ll be a 2014 edition, put on your smile and take off your shoes for some neo-hippie playing around. (..more)
Good grey areas at Foam Lab’s Photo Town
Do you already know what my favourite events and places are? The mix-and-mingle ones. Say Hutspot because of its triangle of coffee, concept and creativity. Or Nachtlab Overhoeks because the DJ was also the painter. Herein are the vague grey areas not a weakness but a limitless pride. This weekend is going to be one of the summery Amsterdam kind, where there’s so much to do you’ll get stuck in the middle between an outdoor festival and a rooftop BBQ of your BFF. So let me make it easy for you: Foam Lab’s Photo Town this Saturday has everything you desire. (..more)
Masculine men in WIJ by Project Wildeman
Tarzan is back. What? I mean the metro-man is officially stuck in the year 2010 and the masculine archetype is back on track. He can lift us girls with one hand and occasionally makes a proper oeh-ah sound. I’m sorry Wouter Bos, but leaving politics to take care of the dishes is no longer a go. In our Amsterdam streets this sex is drinking beer or whiskey again, and making filthy boob jokes with his male company. (..more)
Give your tongue a treat at Emilie’s Alley
I’m a terrible cook. Seriously. I think it’s one of the most complicated missions one can undertake. Through years of frustration I discovered that vegetables each have a different boiling time, and that tossing fish fillet is the reason mine always crumbles. It’s one of the labours I like to avoid. Luckily I have talented friends who are more than able to soften my freezer food fate, and create the most amazing dinners. There’s one in particular: Emilie. She’ll open a one-day restaurant this Saturday as a part of the Dutch Restaurant Day. (..more)
Soul searching at EGOSPHERE in FOAM
My mega wish when I moved here a couple of years ago was a Dutch version of a city that never sleeps. And my metropolitan desire appeared to be true: even on Monday mornings there still some smudgy parties and I can get my cigarettes any time I want to. it’s nice that our capitol doesn’t need her bed but I do need some horizontal ours now and then. Finding a little rest in this survival we call city life I find quite hard sometimes. This contradiction is the theme of the first 2013 edition of the young laboratory of FOAM. (..more)
Nachtlab Overhoeks inaugurates the former Shell tower
Have you already heard about the massive project Twenty4Amsterdam, planned in the former Shell tower at the IJ-banks? This skyscraper will host a panorama bar, hotel, studios and a dance bunker all by itself. Together with the beloved 24 hours license, rumour has it this can be one of the greatest make-over the city has seen in years. (..more)
Revival of the readers: Music meets poetry in Perdu
How narrow is the gap between fantasy and reality? Pretty thin, according to Luuk Imhann, who wrote several poems about this blur. A youngster creating poems might be an exception, but a youngster who creates a musical play around his rhymes is even more special. He tells the story of a boy who slightly disappears in fictional thoughts, instead of starting an actual conversation with a mysterious girl. Mix this high grade lyrics with a clarinet and a piano and you have the ingredients of De onverschilligheid van rozen (‘The indifference of roses’). (..more)
