Maria Nemtsova

This summer, Artists Against the Kremlin returns to De Balie with the exhibition VIRUS featuring over 100 works by artists from Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and the global diaspora – including names like Nadya Tolokonnikova (Pussy Riot), Danila Tkachenko, and Sasha Skochilenko. The exhibition brings together artists who, among other themes, speak out against Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. During the opening, international award-winning pianist Maria Nemtsova will give a special performance.

The opening night will feature the premiere of a new concert program by international award-winning pianist Maria Nemtsova. The concert is dedicated to young political prisoners, held in Russian prisons.

The concert stands in support of underage political prisoners in Russia. In today’s climate of repression, young people who dare to speak against the war in Ukraine are being silenced and punished. Despite being minors, many face harsh prison sentences based on flimsy or conflicting evidence. This event is both a protest and an act of solidarity with these brave young voices.

Vladimir Shalamov, curator of Artists Against the Kremlin and founder of All Rights Reversed

For the first time in Amsterdam, the concert will feature excerpts from the diaries of musician and political prisoner Pavel Kushnir – narrated by Gijs Kessler – who died in a Russian prison, alongside compositions by Kate Moore, Frederick Rzewski, and Alexei Skryabin. The program is directed by Vladlena Sandu.

Grand Opening — August 15:  
18:00-19:00 Cocktail, press preview, photography  
19:00-20:00 Curator’s tour of the exhibition Artists Against the Kremlin: Virus  
20:00-21:00 Concert performance by pianist Maria Nemtsova and director Vladlena Sandu  
21:00-23:00 Afterparty in De Balie’s foyer (free entrance)

The Concert:

Music performed by Maria Nemtsova:  
Frederick Rzewski – Dear Diary  
Alexander Scriabin – Vers La Flamme  
Kate Moore – Bestiary

Video installation by Vladlena Sandu

Narrator – Gijs Kessler. During the concert, excerpts from the diaries of musician and political prisoner Pavel Kushnir, who died in a Russian prison, will be read. His words remain a final testimony to a spirit unbroken behind bars.

About the participants

Maria Nemtsova is an Amsterdam-based concert pianist and winner of major international competitions, including the Isabelle Bond Showcase (London), Fort Worth Concerto Competition (USA), and Rosario Marciano Competition (Vienna). She has performed at Carnegie Hall, Concertgebouw, Wigmore Hall, and the National Center of Performing Arts in Beijing. She is the founder of Re:FormersFest and Music for Peace, supporting musicians in conflict zones.

Gijs Kessler is a Senior Research Fellow at the International Institute of Social History (IISH) in Amsterdam, specializing in Russian and Soviet social and economic history. From 2002 to 2016, he worked and lived in Moscow, teaching at the prestigious BA program of the New Economic School. He is also a co-founder of the Electronic Repository of Russian Historical Statistics and author of‘Rusland – land dat anders wil zijn’, a first-hand account of thirty years of change in Russia. 

Vladlena Sandu is a filmmaker and theater director. Raised in Grozny, she survived the Chechen War before being displaced to mainland Russia in 1998. She graduated from VGIK in film directing. Her films explore war, memory, and oppression. Holy God (2017) was censored in Russia but screened internationally. Eight Images from the Life of Nastya Sokolova (2018) won the Silver Eye Award. No Nation Without Culture (2023) won Best Short at GoEast IFF. Her autobiographical play The Rainbow Cinema won Best Amsterdam Fringe 2023. Now based in Amsterdam, she continues her work on themes of war, resistance, and memory.

Shane Koppers

De Balie

Artists Against the Kremlin: VIRUS – Opening

Historicus Hans Goedkoop onderzoekt in deze visueel rijke film hoe 400 jaar gedeelde geschiedenis met Nederlands-Indië de Nederlandse samenleving heeft gevormd.

Dit jaar vieren we 80-jaar vrijheid. De gemiddelde Nederlander denkt daarbij aan 5 mei, maar pas op 15 augustus 1945 komt met de Japanse capitulatie in Nederlands-Indië de Tweede Wereldoorlog voor het hele Koninkrijk der Nederlanden definitief ten einde. In 2025 is het 80-jaar geleden dat Nederlands-Indië werd bevrijd van de Japanners en de Indonesische onafhankelijkheidsoorlog begon. De impact van de oude kolonie op ons huidige land is nog altijd onderbelicht en de Indische invloeden zijn niet meer weg te denken uit onze samenleving. Daarom wordt ter gelegenheid van 80-jaar vrijheid de documentaire Sporen van Indië opnieuw uitgebracht.

Historicus Hans Goedkoop neemt de kijker in deze film op een onafhankelijke en visueel aantrekkelijke manier mee naar 400 jaar gezamenlijke geschiedenis tussen Nederland en Nederlands-Indië. Op zoek naar een antwoord op de vraag: Hoe Indisch is Nederland? Vele aspecten van de Indische en koloniale invloeden op de complete Nederlandse maatschappij komen aan bod: De Indo’s, de Molukkers maar ook de veteranen en de Totoks, de plantages en de pensions.

Na de film verdiepen we ons verder in het onderwerp in gesprek met de makers.

Hans Goedkoop is een Nederlandse historicus, literatuurcriticus, schrijver en televisiepresentator, vooral bekend van het geschiedenisprogramma Andere Tijden. Hij staat bekend om zijn heldere vertelstijl en toegankelijke benadering van historische thema’s.

Reda van der Putten is een zelfstandig theater- en filmproducent. Zijn carrière beslaat een breed spectrum, van het regisseren van documentaires tot het produceren van theatershows zoals Lieve Goede Sint Show en komische speelfilms zoals HalloWiebe.

CinéDialoog: 80-jaar vrijheid: Sporen van Indië

Mani Nickpour

In the aftermath of a war in the Middle East, an innocent Water Carrier falls victim to the violence, her tragic death sending ripples through time. Nima, an ex-soldier now living in Amsterdam, is tormented by guilt and fragmented memories. To find redemption, he must confront his past with the help of a mysterious Dream Machine—while Ahriman, the evil spirit of chaos tries to lure him into darkness. Centuries earlier, Cyrus the Great and Perseus battle Ahriman and his minions, setting into motion events that will resonate with Nima’s journey across time.

Dream Machine is the result of a nine-year journey undertaken by Mani Nickpour and his community of collaborators. The film was produced outside of traditional structures—fueled by artistic conviction and the immense trust of the cast and crew. Partially due to the limited budget, partially thanks to his contagious enthousiasm, Mani took many roles to make this film happen—besides playing the main character, he is also the producer, director, writer, cinematographer, set designer, VFX artist, sound designer, costume designer, and even contributed to the soundtrack (together with Lazerhawk, Jose Acuña and Lavinia Meijer who also stars in the film).

Dream Machine feels like what you would get if Parajanov and Jodorowsky conceived a child in Japan and raised it in the Netherlands, where it was nannied by Ed Wood’s Iranian incarnation, who infused it with his feverish, no-nonsense DIY spirit.

Shot in the Netherlands, Germany, Japan, France and Greece, this film is a living proof that making fantastical films on a shoestring budget is still possible. Told outside of linear time, it is a film founded upon mystic architecture, blending Persian, Greek, Japanese and Egyptian myths. With its richly symbolic and ambiguous narrative, the film remains open to interpretation—but in light of current events in the Middle East and the world’s general state of chaos, its apocalyptic themes feel especially timely.

After the screening, we’ll speak with Mani about his extraordinary creative process, as well as the deeper meanings behind this multifaceted story.


About the speaker

Mani Nickpour is a Dutch-Iranian filmmaker and educator based in Amsterdam. Born in Tehran in 1983, he began his artistic journey as a child actor in a film directed by his father, Saeid Nickpour. After relocating to the Netherlands in 1990, Mani pursued his passion for storytelling, eventually founding the audiovisual company HADOKEN. His debut feature, Death Before Dying, short film YUME (夢) and his latest feature Dream Machine, have garnered international acclaim, winning awards such as Best Fantasy at the Kanazawa Film Festival in Japan and Best Feature Film at the Phenomena International Film Festival in Brazil.

CinéDialoog: Dream Machine

On October 25, 2023, three weeks after the war in Gaza started, Omar El Akkad put out a tweet: “One day, when it’s safe, when there’s no personal downside to calling a thing what it is, when it’s too late to hold anyone accountable, everyone will have always been against this.” Together with Omar El Akkad, Sinan Çankaya and Mohamedou Ould Slahi we talk about moral failure and Western complicity.

Western governments often present themselves as defenders of human rights, international law, and democratic values, but have often held a double standard. El Akkad argues in his latest book One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This that the moral failure in Gaza is not sudden, but an exposure of long-standing contradictions. He describes this from his experiences in war reporting in Afghanistan and reporting on the trials of Guantanamo Bay. Mohamedou Ould Slahi has experienced first-hand what this meant during his 14 years imprisonment in Guantanamo Bay without a trial. Anthropologist Sinan Çankaya analyzed Dutch double standards in his latest book Galmende geschiedenissen. All three voices remind us that history tends to be rewritten after the fact, that silence is often bought with convenience, and that complicity wears many faces.

These failures are not confined to distant battlefields. Under President Trump, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) carrie out mass deportations that tear families apart and subject countless people to detention in inhumane conditions. The EU, at the same time, intends to pursue more migration deals like the controversial agreement with Tunisia, which has been criticized for violating human rights. Where can we look for moral justice today?

One day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This: on Gaza, Hypocrisy and the West

In 2024 gaf Nederland ruim 110 miljard euro uit aan zorg, dat is 10 procent van het bruto nationaal product. Dat bedrag zal de komende decennia fors groeien. Hoe houden we in een vergrijzende samenleving de gezondheidszorg toegankelijk en betaalbaar?

Na veel gesteggel sloot het demissionaire kabinet deze zomer een nieuw zorgakkoord. De ambitie is om het personeelstekort en de bureaucratie terug te dringen. Maar grote financiële koerswijzigingen blijven uit. In aanloop naar de Kamerbehandeling van de zorgbegroting bespreken we met intensivist en internist Armand Girbes en hoogleraar Passende zorg Tijn Kool de toekomst van de zorg. Is het twintig jaar nadat de marktwerking in de zorg werd geïntroduceerd en private verzekeraars hun intrede deden tijd voor een nieuw stelsel?

Armand Girbes ziet van dichtbij hoe het systeem piept en kraakt – op de IC, in de eerste lijn én in het beleid. In zijn nieuwste boek Zieke zorg maakt hij de balans op van bijna twintig jaar marktwerking in de zorg. 

Tijn Kool promoveerde in de jaren op de belofte van marktwerking in de zorg: betere kwaliteit en lagere kosten, dankzij prikkels van concurrentie. Maar inmiddels is zijn toon veranderd. ‘Dit systeem houdt ons met zijn allen een beetje gegijzeld,’ stelt hij. De oorspronkelijke belofte heeft plaatsgemaakt voor bureaucratische spaghetti, perverse prikkels en een zorgveld waarin medisch personeel zich steeds vaker afvraagt: voor wie doen we het eigenlijk nog?

De prijs van zorg: waartoe leidde twintig jaar marktwerking?

Marc Bamuthi Joseph

Shortly after the Trump administration took office, performing artist Marc Bamuthi Joseph was fired. Until then, he had served as the Artistic Director of Social Impact at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. During The State of the World, he reflects on the challenges of making art in times of political tension.

The State of the World is an annual interview series organized by De Balie and the Nederlands Theater Festival (NTF), in which a leading international artist reflects on the role of art in our changing world. This year’s special guest is Marc Bamuthi Joseph. In the media, he has spoken out about the impact of these institutional shifts on artists and staff. His critical stance, along with his sharp vision on the role of art in a divided society, is the reason for his visit to Amsterdam.

During The State of the World, Marc Bamuthi Joseph speaks about his personal experiences within the American arts sector, the challenges of creating art in politically turbulent times, and the power of imagination as a source of healing, resistance, and connection. The interview program The State of the World is a collaboration between NTF and De Balie, as part of Amsterdam Fringe x NTF PRO.

About the speaker
Marc Bamuthi Joseph is a TED Global Fellow and a member of the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has collaborated with major orchestras and opera houses across the U.S., including the LA Philharmonic, the New York City Ballet, and the Washington National Opera. His work—from spoken word to opera—is deeply rooted in themes such as social justice, community, spirituality, and reconciliation. As a performer, he is also widely recognized, having appeared in the HBO adaptation of Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

The State of the World: Marc Bamuthi Joseph

Ekaterina Levental

Andrea Voets

Anastasis Sarakatsanos

Resonate Productions returns to De Balie with a brand new interactive performance including live music by Andrea Voets, Anastasis Sarakatsanos and Ekaterina Levental. Nothing Bigger Than Humanity invites you to feel what it means to be a human in today’s world, sharing one planet with billions of others. In this intergenerational gathering, we revisit recent world history from five continents, told by millennials who witnessed it first hand as children. An absurd war, an industrial tragedy, a mobilisation of musicians and two all-encompassing social experiments.

By joining the gathering, you too become a witness to these stories. Your reactions are the deciding factor in how each gathering unfolds. Like this, no event will ever be the same.  

All voices combined form one testimony of global power dynamics. Forces that disrupt even the most sincere attachments, leaving people torn between deep love and great fear. An untenable state of being that needs to be challenged, for the sake of our souls.

Nothing Bigger Than Humanity is carried by continuous live music, created by Ekaterina Levental, Anastasis Sarakatsanos and Andrea Voets.

About Resonate Productions
Resonate Productions combines in-depth, social journalism with many layers of music, into performance, podcasts and articles. The podcast Millennial History was listed in ‘best podcasts of 2022’ by Avery Trufelman. The performance FOR REAL is ‘art doing what art should do’ according to cultural journalist Gaea Schoeters.

Credits
Artistiek leider: Andrea Voets
Onderzoek, interviews, edit: Andrea Voets
Dramaturgie: Anastasis Sarakatsanos, Burkhard Körner, Andrea Voets
Outside-eye: Burkhard Körner
Muzikanten/componisten/hosts: Ekaterina Levental (mezzo-sopraan, harp), Andrea Voets (harp, electronica), Anastasis Sarakatsanos (piano, qanun)
Lichtontwerp: Vinny Jones
Geluidstechnicus: Hayden Hook
Lichttechnicus: Bea Verbeek, Simon Kelaita
Technische coördinator: Simon Kelaita
Productie: Danai Belosinof  

Mogelijk gemaakt door: Fonds Podiumkunsten, Amsterdams Fonds voor de Kunst
In samenwerking met: De Balie, O., Splendor, Theater De Roode Bioscoop

Nothing Bigger Than Humanity

Resonate Productions returns to De Balie with a brand new interactive performance including live music by Andrea Voets, Anastasis Sarakatsanos and Ekaterina Levental. Nothing Bigger Than Humanity invites you to feel what it means to be a human in today’s world, sharing one planet with billions of others. In this intergenerational gathering, we revisit recent world history from five continents, told by millennials who witnessed it first hand as children. An absurd war, an industrial tragedy, a mobilisation of musicians and two all-encompassing social experiments.

By joining the gathering, you too become a witness to these stories. Your reactions are the deciding factor in how each gathering unfolds. Like this, no event will ever be the same.  

All voices combined form one testimony of global power dynamics. Forces that disrupt even the most sincere attachments, leaving people torn between deep love and great fear. An untenable state of being that needs to be challenged, for the sake of our souls.

Nothing Bigger Than Humanity is carried by continuous live music, created by Ekaterina Levental, Anastasis Sarakatsanos and Andrea Voets.

About Resonate Productions
Resonate Productions combines in-depth, social journalism with many layers of music, into performance, podcasts and articles. The podcast Millennial History was listed in ‘best podcasts of 2022’ by Avery Trufelman. The performance FOR REAL is ‘art doing what art should do’ according to cultural journalist Gaea Schoeters.

Credits
Artistiek leider: Andrea Voets
Onderzoek, interviews, edit: Andrea Voets
Dramaturgie: Anastasis Sarakatsanos, Burkhard Körner, Andrea Voets
Outside-eye: Burkhard Körner
Muzikanten/componisten/hosts: Ekaterina Levental (mezzo-sopraan, harp), Andrea Voets (harp, electronica), Anastasis Sarakatsanos (piano, qanun)
Lichtontwerp: Vinny Jones
Geluidstechnicus: Hayden Hook
Lichttechnicus: Bea Verbeek, Simon Kelaita
Technische coördinator: Simon Kelaita
Productie: Danai Belosinof

Mogelijk gemaakt door: Fonds Podiumkunsten, Amsterdams Fonds voor de Kunst
In samenwerking met: De Balie, O., Splendor, Theater De Roode Bioscoop

Tussen 1890 en 1930 werden meer dan dertigduizend Javanen onder contract naar Suriname gebracht om te werken op de plantages – een systeem opgezet en gecontroleerd door Nederland. Onder het mom van ‘vrijwillige arbeid’ belandden velen van hen in een werkelijkheid van uitbuiting, verlies van vrijheid en cultureel isolement.

Deze geschiedenis is lang genegeerd in het Nederlandse collectieve geheugen en laat tot op de dag van vandaag haar sporen na. Niet alleen in Suriname en Indonesia*, maar ook in Nederland – waar nazaten van Javaanse contractarbeiders generaties later nog altijd te maken hebben met de gevolgen die zich uiten in sociaal-economische ongelijkheid en culturele onzichtbaarheid.

Tijdens een panelgesprek met Hariette Mingoen, Monique Koosman, Reggie Baay en Emillio Kertodikarijo staan we stil bij die vergeten geschiedenis en haar doorwerking in het heden. De discussie wordt geleid door journalist Stuart Kensenhuis. De vraag die op tafel ligt: welke verantwoordelijkheid draagt Nederland in het erkennen en herstellen van deze vergeten bladzijde uit de geschiedenis?

* de officiële naam van Indonesië is Indonesia (Negara Kesatuan Republik Indonesia, afgekort NKRI)

Ik ben geen Indo maar een Javaanse Surinamer

De asielwetten van oud-minister Faber (PVV) zijn op het nippertje aangenomen in de Tweede Kamer. Deskundigen waarschuwen dat het ‘strengste asielbeleid ooit’ het asielproces mogelijk verder gaat vertragen. En dat terwijl het tekort aan opvangplekken al nijpend is. Hoe krijgen we problemen in de asielopvang het systeem uit?

Meer dan 70 duizend mensen verblijven momenteel in asielopvanglocaties, waaronder dure noodopvang als cruiseschepen en leegstaande kantoren. Door langere wachttijden op de woningmarkt en de wachtlijsten bij de IND zal dit aantal naar verwachting de komende jaren verder toenemen. Wat is er nodig voor een duurzaam systeem van opvang voor mensen op de vlucht? 

Deze avond gaan we in de Balie in gesprek met betrokkenen bij het COA, voormalig asielzoekers én de politiek. Ter voorbereiding sprak de redactie van De Balie uitgebreid met diverse betrokkenen binnen de opvangketen, zoals begeleiders, locatiemanagers en (oud)-AZC-bewoners.

Over de reeks het systeem uit
De Balie gaat in gesprek met de instanties die een overheidstaak hebben. We onderzoeken hoe systemen die ooit bedoeld waren om te helpen, soms zijn vastgelopen in regels, wantrouwen en onbedoelde uitsluiting. Van discriminerende algoritmes en structurele tekorten tot het ontbreken van politiek draagvlak: waar loopt het mis? Wat gebeurt er wanneer het systeem niet meer werkt voor de mensen die er deel van het uitmaken – zowel voor de professionals binnen de instantie als voor de burgers voor wie zij zorg dragen? En vooral: hoe kunnen we eruit breken?

Het systeem uit: COA

Lectures and debates

Fatma Aydemir, one of Germany’s most influential writers, will present the fourth State of European Literature. With her prize-winning debut novel Elbow (Ellbogen, 2017) and her family saga Djinns (Dschinns, 2022) Aydemir has become one of Europe’s leading literary voices and a chronicler of diasporic life; of Germany as a conflicted, sometimes hostile and at the same time inspiring country, and Turkey as a reluctant and troubled home country. Fatma Aydemir will give this year’s lecture and share her ideas on the State of Europe through a literary perspective.

After the lecture, Fatma Aydemir will meet with the Dutch writer and poet Simone Atangana Bekono, who won multiple prizes for her works such as the Libris Literatuurprijs 2021.

The State of European Literature is a yearly lecture given by an internationally renowned author or poet. Today, Europe’s languages continue to write and tell stories about the continent, its intimate lives, its neighbours and its development in the present, the past and the future. Because of political polarization, there is a new impulse for the truth of literary fiction and the power and precision of poetic expression.

The state of European literature raises awareness of the central role of literature in the current and future state of Europe. Previous speakers were Philipp Blom (2020), Nelleke Noordervliet (2021), and Alain Mabanckou (2022).

The 2023 edition of the State of European Literature is hosted by the UvA-Faculty of Humanities and SPUI25, and supported by ACES (the Amsterdam Center of European Studies), ARTES (Amsterdam School for Regional, Transnational and European Studies), and OSL (Onderzoeksschool Literatuurwetenschap).

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Fatma Aydemir: The State of European Literature

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De Balie is The Netherlands’ foremost venue for contemporary arts, politics and culture. We produce our programmes often in Dutch, but we also have plenty to offer to non-Dutch speaking visitors, for example our film screenings and lectures by foreign guests in our series De Balie Icons. On this page you’ll find our English programme and information about our café-restaurant and venue rental.

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Fatma Aydemir: The State of European Literature