Het Nieuwe Instituut

Wey dey move is a Nigerian Pidgin term with multiple interpretations. It can mean “the path changes”, or describe the cultural phenomenon of things changing. It’s also the title and heartbeat of this exhibition. Wey Dey Move celebrates the important role movement and dance play in the spiritual, social, and ecological cultures of Lagos, Nigeria, and other major cities in West Africa. 

Based on the short film of the same name by artists Mandy El-Sayegh and Helena Hunter and curator Renan Laru-an, Sourcebook is an exhibition that expands on methods of artistic research, notably within archival collections, exploring and showcasing research impulses through their “conceptual, material and structural coincidences”. The exhibition can be seen until the end of 2022 in Het Nieuwe Instituut’s Research Centre and is shown together with archival material from the National Collection of Het Nieuwe Instituut.

Together with Sound & Vision and the International Institute of Social History, Het Nieuwe Instituut is organising the third edition of Open Archive, in which four makers search open digital heritage collections for new stories, with new media works as the end result.

An ode to nature and the conscious practice of being in the moment, This Too Shall Pass is a personal project by photographer Rein Kooyman. It documents a journey of self-discovery and acceptance through the nature of the French Alps. The exhibition in Gallery 3 presents a series of photographs in which he captures the process of painting giant boulders using natural pigments. 

The prototype installation Alison’s Room explores the possibilities of virtual and augmented reality technologies in relation to archival studies and design research. Paula Strunden has recreated the original workroom of British architect and author Alison Smithson to experiment with new narratives, offering a fresh combination of immersive experience and the communication of history-based design knowledge.

Based on their experiences as Asian artists and exhibition makers in the Netherlands, the members of the NeeNee Collective aim to create projects that allow space for new perspectives and dialogues between different cultures. For Dreamers of the Playscape, initiators Dae Uk Kim, Kurina Sohn and Soyoun Kim have invited fellow artists Jonathan Vervoort, Joppe Venema and Marijn Ottenhof to join them in their search for a genuinely inclusive approach to inclusivity.

The project De Huttenbouwers by Pepelsenkrepels invites us to play. Last year, Myrthe and Nadia built several living-room huts with adults in Rotterdam, challenging people to let their imaginations run wild and co-creating special places inside the home.

How can Indonesian researchers, artists and architects enjoy better access to the ex-colonial archives stored in Rotterdam as part of the Dutch National Collection? Het Nieuwe Instituut joins forces with Indonesian platforms Gudskul and arsitekturindonesia.org for a series of workshops and a public exhibition exploring ways to improve accessibility and future collaboration.

In line with this year’s UABB main theme ‘Urban Cosmologies’, Have we met? promotes new ways of understanding our planet as a shared space for plants, microbes, humans, and other animals. The exhibition was developed as the official Dutch contribution to the 23rd Triennale Milano and opened in July of 2022. Both condensed and expanded, Have we met? will be shown at Shenzhen's Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture from 25 November to 25 February 2023.

Paul Gerretsen of the Deltametropool Association discusses metropolitan developments with a guest speaker from Ukraine. What lessons learned since the reconstruction of Rotterdam could inform the future reconstruction of metropolitan areas in Ukraine? How to build on an initial recovery to create a stable, sustainable and innovative spatial practice? Which policy reforms in the field of spatial planning would help?

Put your best foot forward, bring your best friends along and (re)experience the most exciting adventures at our best FamilieFest ever!

How can Indonesian researchers, artists and architects enjoy better access to the ex-colonial archives stored in Rotterdam as part of the Dutch National Collection? Het Nieuwe Instituut joins forces with Indonesian platforms Gudskul and arsitekturindonesia.org for a series of workshops and a public exhibition exploring ways to improve accessibility and future collaboration.

Celebrate the launch of the Atlas of Imagination. Initiated by Floris Alkemade, this new publication takes a distinctly different look at vast landscapes, agriculture, industry, logistics, entrepreneurship and innovation through the eyes of photographer Riccardo de Vecchi and the imagination of artist Cédric Van Parys. Narrated by Hella van der Wijst and designed by Lu Liang, the Atlas of Imagination reveals the identity of a particular area in the Netherlands, while simultaneously suggesting scenarios for the future.

Het Nieuwe Instituut has been appointed Artistic Director of the fourth edition of the London Design Biennale, which takes place from 1 to 25 June 2023 at Somerset House. Led by its General and Artistic Director, Aric Chen, Het Nieuwe Instituut aims to experiment with the biennale’s format of national and territorial pavilions through the theme The Global Game: Remapping Collaborations.