What's On in March 2012
Amsterdam is a city that always has something going on. From music festivals to museum exhibits, theatre nights to street parties, you can be guaranteed to find something on the horizon that will be fun to visit during your trip to the city. This section lists the events to look out for this month, while our Amsterdam News page aims to keep you informed about the most exciting upcoming events in the near future. For more regular events, our Annual Events page lists the major festivals and holidays that come around every year in Amsterdam.
NDSM Kids' Studio - NDSM, 1 April –13 May
The squatted former shipyard to be found north of Amsterdam city along the river Ij opens its doors and creative processes to children for the month of April. Ordinarily the haunt of activists, artists and other denizens of the subculture, the level of creativity to be found at NDSM is high at any time. In April the creativity spreads and children can take part in carpentry, painting and other forms of artistic expression, helping to build and create their own works of art. Workshops take place on Sundays and entrance costs EUR 10. To get to NDSM take the free ferry from behind Amsterdam Central Station
http://ndsm.nl
National Museum Weekend - Various Museums, 14–15 April
On this weekend, the museums of Amsterdam open their doors for free, or reduced cost, admission. This being the one weekend a year that the Netherlands goes museum mad, special events are organised in a number of museums to take advantage of the extra publicity. With about 500 museums participating throughout the country and over 20 in Amsterdam alone, there is sure to be something to interest any visitor. Details of the events on offer differ from museum to museum, with each having a slightly different approach to the weekend.
http://www.museumweekend.nl
Kleinkunst Festival - Theater Bellevue, 17–28 April
This theatre, found just off the popular Leidseplein nightlife area, plays host to a unique Dutch festival with ten evenings of cabaret performances. The culmination of a series of competitions, the festival features previous finalists as well as new talent and is presented by Dutch critic, Ruud Buurman. The style and language of many of the performances are distinctly Dutch, offering a great look at the culture, though not all English speakers may find it up their alley. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Amsterdam Kleinkunst Festival.
http://www.amsterdamskleinkunstfestival.nl
The Chamber of Levantine Trade - The Amsterdam Museum, 18 April – 26 August
During the 17th Century, much trade occurred between what is now the Netherlands and the Levant, the area east of the Mediterranean that surrounds modern day Turkey. The organisation set up to foster this trade operated out of a special chamber in what is now the Royal Palace on Dam Square. As part of the celebrations of 400 years of trade between Turkey and the Netherlands, a selection of paintings from this historic office is being presented by the Amsterdam Museum. These paintings depict life in the Levant as it was seen by the Dutch, featuring the exotic inhabitants of the Ottoman Empire.
http://amsterdammuseum.nl
World Press Photo - Oude Kerk, 20 Apr–17 June
The iconic organisation presents its collection of press photographs taken throughout the last year and painstakingly assembled into a powerful collection of images. The internationally recognised competition begins its world tour as it always does, in Amsterdam's Oude Kerk. With over 200 images on display, the collection covers most of the major events of the last year, as well as a number you may not have heard of, and the images are always arresting and thought provoking. The travelling exhibition will visit over 40 countries during its tour, with the Amsterdam event being the first glimpse many will get of the images.
http://www.worldpressphoto.org
Yales along the Bosporous, Living in Historical Splendour - Museum Geelvinck, 16 Mar–11 Jun
As part of this year's celebration of 400 years of diplomatic relations between the Netherlands and Turkey, Museum Geelvinck presents an exhibition of photographs by Dutch artist Martin Paternotte. These works celebrate the grandeur of city palaces, or yales, found along the Bosporous and close to Istanbul with a series of interior photographs that have never been exhibited before. The Ottoman atmosphere is continued in the museum by the presence of a Turkish tea pavilion as well as a number of traditional carpets and other items of furniture and art on loan from private collections.
http://geelvinck.nl
Else Berg and Mommie Schwarz - Jewish Historical Museum, 23 Mar–24 Jun
These two avant-garde artists were a part of the Dutch art scene at the turn of the 20th Century. While only one half of the duo, Else Berg, was well known during her youth, her partner Samuel Leser "Mommie" Schwarz has seen a rise in popularity in recent years. The couple's influential career was cut short by the Second World War and both artists sadly died at the hands of Nazi aggression in Auschwitz. This exhibition celebrates the couple with a collection of more than eighty of their paintings and drawings as well as works by some of the artists that most influenced them, including Jan Sluyters and Leo Gestel.
http://www.jhm.nl
Beauty in Abundance - Van Gogh Museum, 02 Feb–23 Sep
At the turn of the 20th Century, prints of any description were the craze in Paris. At this time, any artist worth their easel was producing woodcuts, lithographic prints or etchings, and the Van Gogh Museum holds a sizeable collection of these. Limited edition prints by well known artists such as Bonnard, Denis, Gauguin and Toulouse-Lautrec are on display, some of which are very rarely shown to the public. In addition, a wide variety of posters, mass produced prints and even sheet music produced by some of the finest artists of the time can be seen.
http://www.vangoghmuseum.nl
Science Live - Science Centre NEMO, 18 Feb–04 Mar
The always fun and educational Science Centre NEMO, found in the big ship-shaped building east of Central Station, gets the audience one step closer to living, breathing science by asking members of the public to participate in real scientific experiments! Researchers from a Dutch university are looking for test subjects willing to help them push back the boundaries of scientific knowledge. Don't worry though, all the experiments are safe and the chances of developing super-powers are disappointingly low. Subjects of all ages are needed, so mum and dad can take part just as much as the kids.
http://www.e-nemo.nl
Klee and Cobra: A Child's Play - Cobra Museum of Modern Art, 28 Jan–22 Apr
The Swiss artist Paul Klee may have died in 1940, eight years before the foundation of the Dutch artistic movement, Cobra, but his work has had a profound impact on the group. Klee provided some of the inspiration that brought this group of young Dutch poets and painters together, inspiration that is celebrated by this exhibition. Works by Cobra artists are displayed alongside Klee's own work, demonstrating the common themes and ambitions of both, centred around ideas of children and childlike thought. The University of Amsterdam also presents a programme on the psychology of children's drawings to go alongside the exhibition.
www.cobra-museum.nl
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