Second wave of Arts & Culture program: films, immersive installations, and creative communities

Friday, 22 September 2023
This year's ADE Arts & Culture program represents a launch pad for makers who combine club culture and other art forms, next to serving as an appreciation to icons and making way for experiment. With the addition of one-off film screenings, audacious installations, and development platforms for talent and underrepresented groups, the program is shaping up rapidly. Dive into the fusion of disciplines below.

Film-focused fusions

Above and Beyond: The Global Rise of Afro House (2022)

Melkweg Cinema kicks off its ADE programming on ADE Wednesday with a keynote talk by producer and researcher Josephine Zwaan called Decolonizing The Loop: 'What African Philosophy Can Teach Us About Electronic Music'. The talk focuses on what African philosophy can teach us about electronic music. Later that evening, Melkweg hosts the Dutch premiere of 'Above and Beyond: The Global Rise of Afro House' in collaboration with Africadelic during ADE. This music documentary traces the origins of Afro-house and explores the past, present, and future of this global network of musicians. Featuring Osunlade, Louie, Anané Vega, and many others.

Onzichtbaar / Invisible

This heartfelt documentary by Gabriëlle Provaas shows people who clean for a living. We generate countless amounts of garbage in the Netherlands. What if we take the viewer with the camera into the dirty underbelly of the Netherlands in its fullness? Imagine looking at ourselves through the eyes of the cleaners - that's what 'Invisible' conveys. The film will be screened in Eye Filmmuseum on ADE Saturday. Fatima Yahama made the compelling soundtrack and releases it at Parallel afterwards. He plays an 'Invisible' inspired live set at the pop venue and club at walking distance.


Remembering Ryuichi Sakamoto: Gohatto


Eye Filmmuseum screens the mysterious cult film Gohatto (1999) by Japanese director Nagisa Oshima on ADE Sunday as an ode to Ryuichi Sakamoto, who wrote the beautiful film score. Before Gohatto starts, Helena Basilova pays homage to the late Sakamoto on piano.

Film-focused fusions

Above and Beyond: The Global Rise of Afro House (2022)

Melkweg Cinema kicks off its ADE programming on ADE Wednesday with a keynote talk by producer and researcher Josephine Zwaan called Decolonizing The Loop: 'What African Philosophy Can Teach Us About Electronic Music'. The talk focuses on what African philosophy can teach us about electronic music. Later that evening, Melkweg hosts the Dutch premiere of 'Above and Beyond: The Global Rise of Afro House' in collaboration with Africadelic during ADE. This music documentary traces the origins of Afro-house and explores the past, present, and future of this global network of musicians. Featuring Osunlade, Louie, Anané Vega, and many others.

Onzichtbaar / Invisible

This heartfelt documentary by Gabriëlle Provaas shows people who clean for a living. We generate countless amounts of garbage in the Netherlands. What if we take the viewer with the camera into the dirty underbelly of the Netherlands in its fullness? Imagine looking at ourselves through the eyes of the cleaners - that's what 'Invisible' conveys. The film will be screened in Eye Filmmuseum on ADE Saturday. Fatima Yahama made the compelling soundtrack and releases it at Parallel afterwards. He plays an 'Invisible' inspired live set at the pop venue and club at walking distance.


Remembering Ryuichi Sakamoto: Gohatto


Eye Filmmuseum screens the mysterious cult film Gohatto (1999) by Japanese director Nagisa Oshima on ADE Sunday as an ode to Ryuichi Sakamoto, who wrote the beautiful film score. Before Gohatto starts, Helena Basilova pays homage to the late Sakamoto on piano.

Communal spaces and thought-provoking topics

OSCAM Speak Session BOUT IT #4

OSCAM has invited artists Khtek, Luanda, and a soon-to-be-announced producer to enroll in a seven-day writers' camp organised by the Open Space Contemporary Art Museum and the Pince Claus Fund. The writers' camp takes place in the week before ADE and challenges the participating producers to write and launch a song that they'll perform on ADE Wednesday. The program is curated to highlight female and non-binary hip-hop artists and their major contributions to the genre. Visiting the sessions is free but does require an RSVP via this link.

Dana Lixenberg | Tupac Biggie XXX MAQAM

Foam, Dutch photographer Dana Lixenberg, and the community centre MAQAM in Amsterdam-West, unite to unveil Tupac Biggie XXX MAQAM in a distinctive collaboration. The exhibition has a festive opening on ADE Thursday, where DJ Cutnice and Don Dev play tunes at the hip-hop block party at MAQAM. Lixenberg’s famed portraits of Tupac Shakur and Notorious BIG are the central point of the exhibition that dives into the ongoing evolution of these iconic images.

Club Culture Gathering with Clubcommission Berlin x VibeLab

Clubcommission Berlin partners up with VibeLab for a series of discussions and workshops on ADE Thursday and closes with a BBQ to connect about action-based solutions for the problems that all clubs and collectives face. Are you interested in collaborating with other clubs/collectives from Europe or further afield to share resources and best practices? Join this event as part of the 'International Club Exchange' project.

Communal spaces and thought-provoking topics

OSCAM Speak Session BOUT IT #4

OSCAM has invited artists Khtek, Luanda, and a soon-to-be-announced producer to enroll in a seven-day writers' camp organised by the Open Space Contemporary Art Museum and the Pince Claus Fund. The writers' camp takes place in the week before ADE and challenges the participating producers to write and launch a song that they'll perform on ADE Wednesday. The program is curated to highlight female and non-binary hip-hop artists and their major contributions to the genre. Visiting the sessions is free but does require an RSVP via this link.

Dana Lixenberg | Tupac Biggie XXX MAQAM

Foam, Dutch photographer Dana Lixenberg, and the community centre MAQAM in Amsterdam-West, unite to unveil Tupac Biggie XXX MAQAM in a distinctive collaboration. The exhibition has a festive opening on ADE Thursday, where DJ Cutnice and Don Dev play tunes at the hip-hop block party at MAQAM. Lixenberg’s famed portraits of Tupac Shakur and Notorious BIG are the central point of the exhibition that dives into the ongoing evolution of these iconic images.

Club Culture Gathering with Clubcommission Berlin x VibeLab

Clubcommission Berlin partners up with VibeLab for a series of discussions and workshops on ADE Thursday and closes with a BBQ to connect about action-based solutions for the problems that all clubs and collectives face. Are you interested in collaborating with other clubs/collectives from Europe or further afield to share resources and best practices? Join this event as part of the 'International Club Exchange' project.

Immersing installations

High-rise camping: Nature City

Artist Willem de Haan showcases the pressure on public space and sanctuaries in his work 'High-rise camping: Nature City' from ADE Wednesday to ADE Sunday. Stichting NDSM-werf has invited the artist to set up eleven tents of different sizes as efficiently as possible. Furnished in De Haan's hyperreal way with towels, folding bikes, and canoes, the NDSM area addresses the livability of Amsterdam, where places for greenery, relaxation, and recreation are becoming increasingly scarce. Visitors are welcome to explore the work and the area between 11 in the morning and 11 at night.

Door Open Space presents Ekatā by Gizem Öz

Join the opening event of 'Ekatā', which means unity in Sanskrit. Door Open Space has invited contemporary artist and electronic music composer Gizem Öz to bring her multi-sensory interactive installation to ADE, combining light, scent, sound, and movement. The installation consists of multiple sensors detecting data from the visitors’ motions that trigger scent dispensers, sound and visuals. Öz brings the work to life together with audiovisual designer Wes Broersen and spatial sound engineer Marijn Cinjee. After visitors have experienced the work during the opening night on ADE Friday, they have the opportunity to engage in conversations and share ideas over a listening session and drinks.

SouRCe; The Soil We Live On

SouRCe is an annual series of audiovisual artworks in which multimedia artist Victor Dissel and light artist Emanuel Nijkerk explore the elements of nature together with ADE visitors on ADE Sunday. The audience gets transported to the hidden world beneath their feet. Using of unconventional recording techniques, such as dug-in microphones and macro cameras, the earth's element is captured in a new light. The artwork is part of Into the Woods festival on ADE Friday and ADE Saturday (ticketed), and is freely accessible on ADE Sunday during ADE Hangover at the NDSM.

Discover the full Arts & Culture program

Immersing installations

High-rise camping: Nature City

Artist Willem de Haan showcases the pressure on public space and sanctuaries in his work 'High-rise camping: Nature City' from ADE Wednesday to ADE Sunday. Stichting NDSM-werf has invited the artist to set up eleven tents of different sizes as efficiently as possible. Furnished in De Haan's hyperreal way with towels, folding bikes, and canoes, the NDSM area addresses the livability of Amsterdam, where places for greenery, relaxation, and recreation are becoming increasingly scarce. Visitors are welcome to explore the work and the area between 11 in the morning and 11 at night.

Door Open Space presents Ekatā by Gizem Öz

Join the opening event of 'Ekatā', which means unity in Sanskrit. Door Open Space has invited contemporary artist and electronic music composer Gizem Öz to bring her multi-sensory interactive installation to ADE, combining light, scent, sound, and movement. The installation consists of multiple sensors detecting data from the visitors’ motions that trigger scent dispensers, sound and visuals. Öz brings the work to life together with audiovisual designer Wes Broersen and spatial sound engineer Marijn Cinjee. After visitors have experienced the work during the opening night on ADE Friday, they have the opportunity to engage in conversations and share ideas over a listening session and drinks.

SouRCe; The Soil We Live On

SouRCe is an annual series of audiovisual artworks in which multimedia artist Victor Dissel and light artist Emanuel Nijkerk explore the elements of nature together with ADE visitors on ADE Sunday. The audience gets transported to the hidden world beneath their feet. Using of unconventional recording techniques, such as dug-in microphones and macro cameras, the earth's element is captured in a new light. The artwork is part of Into the Woods festival on ADE Friday and ADE Saturday (ticketed), and is freely accessible on ADE Sunday during ADE Hangover at the NDSM.

Discover the full Arts & Culture program