Featured Events in Amsterdam in September, 2025 (June Updated)

Widely regarded as one of the most important sculptors of the 20th century, American artist Isamu Noguchi (1904–1988) has left an indelible mark on the art world with his innovative approach to sculpture. He made his modernist work using a variety of materials, including stone, marble, bronze, steel and ceramic. Isamu Noguchi also designed lamps, gardens, playground equipment and radios. The exhibition in the gardens comprises stone and bronze sculptures. Additionally, a ‘cloud’ of his washi paper Akari lamps will be hanging in the Atrium, and a chess table and selection of the artist’s sculptural ceramics will also be on display inside the museum.

For Eye, the iconic British actor Tilda Swinton is making an exclusive, immersive exhibition featuring new works. This exhibition will explore her autobiography, using as a starting point the artistic collaborations that have been integral to her career. Swinton pushes the boundaries of the sometimes limited role of the actor, inviting visitors on a sensory journey that celebrates co-creation, the synergy between director and actor, and the influence of various art forms. This project pays tribute to the spirit of ‘renewal through connectivity’ that has defined Swinton’s remarkable career. The Eye cinemas will screen a selection of short and feature-length films in which Swinton plays a leading role. Additionally, the programme will reexamine the work of Derek Jarman, who was pivotal to Swinton’s artistic development, and Joanna Hogg, a childhood friend with whom she has recently collaborated. The selection will also include masterclasses and ‘Eye on Art’ performances exploring her collaborations with Derek Jarman, Pedro Almodóvar and Apichatpong Weerasethakul, focusing on the dynamic between actor and director in collective artistic processes.

The Dutch museum Nxt Museum opened five years ago in the industrial area of ​​Amsterdam's northern port area. It has attracted many new media art enthusiasts by rotating large-scale cutting-edge exhibitions. The current exhibition is "Still Processing", curated by Belgrade-born curator and artist Bogomir Doringer, which aims to explore the dynamic relationship between humans and machines and study how data shapes meaning and changes sensory experience in the digital age. The exhibition lasts until October 5.

Ezequiel Pini also known as Six N. Five, is an award-winning Argentinian designer based in Barcelona. Over the last few years, Pini has pioneered the use of 3D and different media to create imaginary, dreamlike worlds with his signature clean, modern aesthetic, making Six N. Five one of the most recognized digital creative practices.

The Rijksmuseum’s collection of more than 500,000 prints and drawings is one of the largest in theworld. With work spanning from 1442 to today, it includes engravings, etchings, woodcuts,lithographs and photographs. Due of the fragility of the material from which they are made wechange the selection of works in the print cabinets every six months, to tell new stories. This time weare giving particular attention to three topics: the 750th anniversary of Amsterdam, the print collagesof Michael Snijders and the drawings of Gerard de Lairesse.

The Suit Yourself display reveals how fashionable men in the 18th and 19th centuries would flaunt themselves dressed in flamboyant striped velvet, floral embroidery and rich silk fabrics. This use of vibrant colours and contrasting textiles flourished during the ‘macaroni’ period from 1750 to 1770. The style evolved in the 19th century with industrialisation, which increased the availability of fabrics and ready-to-wear garments. A highlight of the display is the evening coat decorated with 4,000 rhinestones that would have sparkled in the candlelight with every movement.

In 2025, wewillcelebrate the 750th anniversary of Amsterdam. In the summer exhibition, you will see the city through Rembrandt’s eyes. He lived most of his life in Amsterdam and often captured the city and its residents in his prints. He made portraits ofAmsterdammersandobservedeverydaylife in the city. From street vendors to the city council – Amsterdam comes alive innearly 50etchings by Rembrandt from the Rembrandt House Museum collection.

The Rijksmuseum has given artist Fiona Tan carte blanche for her own exhibition. She will draw on the museum’s collection to explore her fascination for psychiatry, classification and the representation of mental disorders in the 19th century. This summer Tan will present her exciting selection from the collection alongside loaned objects and examples of her own work. Tan’s video installation Janine’s Room, which she made especially for the exhibition, examines the mutability of identity and the deceptive nature of representation.

Sandra Mujinga will present a monumental exhibition in the museum’s lower-level gallery. Mujinga’s practice draws on speculative fiction and worldbuilding to investigate alternatives to our current society. She addresses topics like visibility and dis/appearance combined with socio-political realities, sustenance, posthumanism, perception, and blackness. This ties into the ways in which we live in a world we barely understand, since both technology and nature are beyond our comprehension and control. Mujinga addresses this condition through metaphors and physical perceptions to convey experiences through sound, light, ambiences, and imposing sculptures that often create unsettling effects and affect. Her solo at the Stedelijk will focus on the relationship between the viewer and space to emphasize the reciprocal nature of our environment.

Now on display at Moco Amsterdam, Frankey’s art takes center stage in the exhibition "Planet Positive Disruption," a vibrant showcase of humor, lightheartedness, and the transformative power of creative disruption. This collaboration reflects Moco’s dedication to elevating street art as a dynamic form of artistic expression, while championing the creativity rooted in the museum’s very own city.

On 1 July 1863, the Netherlands abolished slavery in Suriname on paper. In reality, the ‘freed’ in Suriname are obliged to continue working on the plantations for another ten years. In order to compensate for the shortage of labor after this period, the Netherlands starts recruiting so-called ‘contract workers’. These people are often recruited with false promises in China, India and Indonesia, among others. Sometimes they leave their country of their own accord, sometimes they are forced or abducted. They hardly get any wages and work under horrible conditions on the plantations. Very few people had the opportunity to return. Many stayed in Suriname and never saw their homeland again. Artist and researcher Sarojini Lewis came across the person of Soerdie in the archives of the Royal Library in The Hague: the first female ‘contract worker’ who was shipped from India via Barbados to Suriname. Based on books, letters and travel reports from that time, Lewis imagines what the life of Surdie might have looked like. Sarojini Lewis hides in the skin of Surdie. Her self-portraits at historical locations respond to the energy present on the abandoned plantations in Suriname and archival material she has previously discovered. She uses Critical Fabulation: a creative reconstruction of Surdie’s life, based on the few transmitted data from archives. She connects the story of this woman with the history of her own Hindustani ancestors who worked in the same area in Commewijne. In the exhibition, Sarojini Lewis speaks. In a series of Atlantic Windows, contemporary artists reflect on the exhibition Shadows on the Atlantic Ocean and the impact of the colonial past in this area. The windows were performed by Kevin Osepa and Sites of Memory: Decoding the Atlantic World. Atlantic Window III: Sarojini Lewis - Silence of the Sea: A trail of Surdie can be seen from 31 March to 1 October.

Korean artist Kimsooja gained international fame with poetic installations about migration, uprooting, longing for a home and identity. Especially for the Oude Kerk she made her most extensive series of bottari: iconic textile bundles inspired by Korean wraps, filled with clothing from Amsterdam communities. She also covered the 44,000 panes of the meter-high windows with transparent foil that breaks sunlight into rainbow colors. To Breathe – Mokum offers a meditative experience about coming home and what we take with us or leave behind. Invite someone to join you

Dutch designer Karel Martens has been a major influence in the landscape of graphic design for the past five decades. His playful and visual approach to design and typography has had a tangible impact on contemporary graphic design, book design, and typography. His body of work spans books, autonomous printing, textiles, kinetic sculptures, and 3D objects. At the age of 85, he is still active as a graphic designer, and still gives lectures and teaches worldwide. In 2025, the Stedelijk will showcase an extensive overview of his body of work in a comprehensive exhibition.

For Rembrandt, his house was very important. It was not only where he lived, but also where he worked. It all came together here. The house and its inhabitants appear regularly in his work. But what about contemporary artists? What role does this house, and the feeling of home, play in their art? A selection of contemporary artists reflects on this theme and share their unique “feeling of home.”