There is always something fun to do in Amsterdam, but what shall we do in January 2025? Check out our latest cultural tips here. My name is Annabelle Hinam. I am 26 years old, born and raised in Amsterdam. I graduated from the theater academy in Utrecht in July 2021 and am currently working as an actor, writer, voice-over artist, and cook. In addition to working in the cultural sector (and not just in the theater world), I also enjoy visiting other forms of art. Museums, films, exhibitions, local neighborhood initiatives, and more. Every month, I write a series of tips that I think are worth visiting. Questions or tips? Email me! You can do so at: hinamannabelle@gmail.com. At the bottom of my tip, you will always find the website and/or Instagram of the place for more information.
Broersma, art calendar January 2025
Museums and exhibitions
Underground – Eye Film Museum (until January 5)
This exhibition focuses on American avant-garde cinema of the 1960s. Works by Jonas Mekas, Maya Deren, Stan Brakhage, and others are on display. In addition, there is visual art from that period by well-known artists such as Bruce Conner, Yayoi Kusama, Yoko Ono, and Andy Warhol. The exhibition provides a good picture of the turbulent 1960s and is a true ode to the experimental work of that period.
Website & tickets:www.eyefilm.nl
The worker's paradise: garden villages and garden cities – Museum Het Schip (until July 27, 2025)
At the end of the nineteenth century, the garden city concept emerged: a form of public housing and urban development that originated in England. It was a dream for workers, an escape from the slums and shacks in which many lived. The garden city concept offered a beautiful and healthy living environment with lots of greenery. Ebenezer Howard, an English social reformer, played an important role in this development. Because the current debate also revolves around sustainable living and healthier lifestyles, this exhibition is very relevant to today's issues. Informative and inspiring!
Website & tickets:www.hetschip.nl
And don't be late for these current exhibitions!
The Call of the O'o. Nature Under Pressure, Allard Pierson and Artis Library – Allard Pierson Museum (until January 26)
Over the years, Allard Pierson and the Artis Library have collected beautiful drawings, books, and prints depicting nature. This exhibition shows how nature has been studied and depicted by Western Europeans since the 16th century, and why this happened in this way. Genuine curiosity went hand in hand with depletion and destruction. It explores why we as humans have always placed ourselves outside of nature.
Website & tickets:www.allardpierson.nl
Ongekend Zeedijk, Collecting the City #4 – Amsterdam Museum (until January 5)
In the Amsterdam Museum's Collecting the City series, the museum collaborates with communities and organizations from the city to paint a vivid portrait of a neighborhood, street, or district. This series focuses on Amsterdam's Zeedijk, an old street in the heart of Amsterdam that is bursting with stories.
Website & tickets:www.amsterdammuseum.nl
Unravel, The Power and Politics of Textiles in Art – the Stedelijk Museum (until January 5)
Unravel Services and installations both large, compelling, colorful Services and installations as well as small, intimate works about love and resistance. It is a group exhibition, where big names such as Tracy Emin, Louise Bourgeois, and Sheila Hicks share the exhibition space with new young artists. Textiles form the main theme here. It is an underexposed part of art history, but with Unravel , the Stedelijk Museum shows that textiles, like all other art, tell incredible stories about our history, politics, and much more. Go see it!
Website & tickets:www.stedelijk.nl
Asian Bronze – The Rijksmuseum (until January 12)
Bronze has played an important role in Asian tradition for centuries. The Asian Bronze exhibition puts this material in the spotlight. From the making of bronze to its mythical significance, the sound of bronze, and its history: it's all covered in this exhibition. We travel 4,000 years back in time and see more than 75 masterpieces from India, China, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan, Nepal, and Korea. The works are on loan from various museums around the world. Fun fact: one of the statues, Buddha (protected by the Naga), is leaving its home country of Thailand for the first time ever.
Website & tickets:www.rijksmuseum.nl
Women of Amsterdam – Amsterdam Museum (until January 7, 2025)
The Amsterdam Museum has come up with something fun. Because they find it strange that so many women are invisible in history, they have set up 'odes'. You can pay tribute to a woman who has meant something to Amsterdam on their website, thereby adding to history. The tribute becomes part of the Amsterdam Museum's collection, and there are already many to admire!
Website & tickets:www.amsterdammuseum.nl
Viviane Sassen – FOAM (until January 12)
Discover the boundary between dream and reality in Viviane Sassen's new exhibition at FOAM. Her images balance on the cutting edge of fashion photography and contemporary art, full of surreal compositions and intense colors. A visual journey full of unexpected twists and turns that you won't want to miss!
Website & tickets:www.foam.org
Shadow Self, Portal to a Parallel World – Huis Marseille (until February 9)
This exhibition offers an introspective look at the duality of our existence, with work by Shuang Li (1990), Charmaine Poh (1990), Heesoo Kwon (1990), Xiaopeng Yuan (1987), Diane Severin Nguyen (1990), and others. "Where does an image begin and where does it end?" InShadow Self, five artistsexplorethis essential question from a personal perspective that explores the dividing line between ourselves and a possible parallel reality.
Website & tickets:www.huisvanmarseille.nl
Theater, dance, opera
Anatomy of a Suicide, Lenz – Frascati (January 7–18)
Based on the novel of the same name, this story by Alice Birch is now being brought to the stage. Three generations of women become entangled in the invisible threads of intergenerational trauma. We follow Bonnie, the youngest daughter, who lives in the family home and discovers that the ghosts of the past will not leave her alone. Anatomy of a Suicide was previously staged in London, directed by Katie Mitchell (2017), to great acclaim. Now LENZ, a young collective, in collaboration with Frascati Productions, is adapting this fascinating and important play.
Website & tickets:www.frascatitheater.nl
The Doctor, ITA Ensemble – International Theater Amsterdam (January 8–19)
Directed by Robert Icke, the ITA Ensemble performs this powerful, thought-provoking play , The Doctor. This version is loosely based on Arthur Schnitzler's 1912 play. The Jewish doctor from the original is a woman in this adaptation, and Icke adds the complexity of contemporary opinions and prejudices. In 2022, The Doctor was selected as one of the twelve best performances of that season. The play tackles important topics and encourages discussion, so that after the performance, you simply have to talk about it with each other in the foyer.
Website & tickets:www.ita.nl
Circus Nights, Blond & Cynisch – Theater Bellevue (January 3 and 4)
Fere, a world-famous trapeze artist with wings, plays the leading role in this absurd, grotesque play by Blond & Cynisch. We follow Fere and Jack Walser, a journalist who wants to expose Fere in an in-depth interview. Circus Nights is an adaptation of the book by Angela Carter. Both the novel and the performance by Blond & Cynisch are, through their themes, acting, and physicality, an ode to women who take up space and to our own imagination. The final direction is by Jessie L'Herminez.
Website & tickets:www.theaterbellevue.nl
Die ersten Menschen, Rudi Stephan – National Opera (January 22 to February 2)
This opera tells the story of the first two humans on earth, Adam and Eve, and their sons Cain and Abel. The biblical story revolves around love, jealousy, and murder. During the pandemic, we saw some of Rudi Stephan's work, but now he returns with this spectacular interpretation of an ancient story.
Website & tickets:www.operaballet.nl
Music
Concertgebouw Orchestra plays Bruckner and Messiaen – Het Concertgebouw (January 16)
Conductor Simone Young and the Concertgebouw Orchestra combine Bruckner's Sixth Symphony and Messiaen's L'Ascension in this concert. Both Anton Bruckner and Olivier Messiaen were ahead of their time in terms of sound and style. Young forges these two masters together into a fluid, beautiful whole.
Website & tickets:www.concertgebouw.nl
Ode to Art – Tram Harmony with Ellen Deckwitz, Amsterdam's city poet, among others – Paradiso (January 26)
The title says it all: on Sunday, January 26, Paradiso will host an ode to art. Various forms of art will be showcased, from classical music to young talent, expressive dance, exhibitions, and poetry by city poet Ellen Deckwitz. It promises to be a unique experience, bringing together various art forms.
Website & tickets: www.paradiso.nl
Festival
Amsterdam Winter Paradise – RAI Amsterdam (December 18 to January 4)
At this cozy winter event, you can enjoy attractions, nostalgic activities for young and old, and of course plenty of skating and ice fun. New this year is the Symphony of Lights: an audiovisual experience that transports you to another world. Just like last year, there will also be a Light Paradise, where you can experience the magic of light and darkness.
Website & tickets:www.hetamsterdamsewinterparadijs.nl
Films in various arthouse cinemas
Kneecap
This Irish protest film is based on the true story of the rap group Kneecap. They sing in Irish, which causes quite a bit of protest. This playful, funny, cheerful, energetic film makes you realize that language is so much more than words and communication. In this (true) story, every word, as Naoirse's father beautifully puts it in the film, is a bullet for Irish freedom. Apart from all the underlying messages in the film, it is also simply a joy to watch. In addition, it is well acted (Kneecap plays itself), it is full of zest for life, and it is delightfully grotesque and over the top. Highly recommended for these dark days!
Bird
Nykiya Adams plays the lead role in Bird, a beautiful absurdist coming-of-age film set in the rugged north of Kent. Bailey (Adams) grows up in a squat with her brother Hunter and father Bug (a fantastic role for Barry Keoghan). Bailey receives little attention at home and then one day meets Bird. They strike up a friendship in which Bailey experiences for the first time what it means to be seen. The film is beautifully poetic, partly due to the rugged, realistic images of life in Kent, which are interspersed with Bailey's own images. Franz Rogowski also plays a strong role as the idiosyncratic Bird.
Babygirl
Halina Reijn previously directed the film Instinct, and now there is this mega Hollywood film: Babygirl, starring Nicole Kidman, Harris Dickinson, and Antonio Banderas. We already knew she could direct, but the success that Babygirl is already enjoying is phenomenal. This erotic thriller tells the story of a successful CEO who has an affair with her intern. Together they discover their love and their sexuality. The film is both liberating and empowering, with unparalleled performances by all the actors. Halina Reijn makes a tremendous impression as a director.
