Curated by Titus Nouwens
“For millennia humans used stories to transform their surroundings according to their needs. Alongside evolving bodies and technologies, stories evolved at an ever-faster pace, to a point where each new day required a new narrative, a new mouth, and a new technology to tell it.” – The Book of Flowers, Agnieszka Polska

A voice weaves through a collection of images; somewhere between memory and imagination a story emerges. For this edition of Prelude, artists Pedro Barateiro and Agnieszka Polska bring their video work to the theatre – and with it their worlds, their language, their ways of seeing and thinking. The World As You Know It is an evening on the frontier between what we know and what we can imagine, between personal and collective memories, between fiction and reality. The evening is part of Prelude: a series of live programmes focusing on the interplay between performance, moving image and collective experience, with the theatre acting as a space for time-based visual art. 

Pedro Barateiro's Love Song (2024) is a film-performance full of echoes: of his teenage years, of encyclopaedias and the internet, of letters between his parents during Portuguese fascism. And of a love song that played on the radio one night in 1974, starting the Carnation Revolution – a shift from authoritarianism towards democracy. The film moves between the personal and the political, between poetry and protest, technology and tenderness, autobiography and autofiction. Between a painting made at the height of German Romanticism, a time of industrialisation, and the artificial Love Lake in a Dubai desert, Barateiro asks the question: how deep is neoliberalism embedded in our imagination? And how is the word “love” used, misused, and appropriated? 

During this evening, Love Song will be accompanied live by artist Lou Vives (voice/performance) and musician Frederik Daelemans (cello/electronics). 

Agnieszka Polska approaches language as fundamentally shaping and defining both our communication and our imagination. In Watery Rhymes (2014), language is driven by the same forces and rules as physics, representing the universe as a space that exists only insofar as it can be described in words. Her more recent film The Book of Flowers (2023) depicts an alternative evolution in which humans and plants live in symbiosis for centuries. A voice from another world narrates this history with such obvious authority that it slowly settles into our own frame of reference. The video ends with the question: ‘what if, at some point, human technology is able to tell our story better than we can?’ 

Perhaps that is the core of Barateiro and Polska's work: that stories become real once we take them seriously. Together, they bring imaginative voices that use language and narrative not to describe the world, but to rethink it – with images, with words, with each other. 

About Prelude
Prelude is a series of live events emphasising the interrelations and influences between moving image and performance, and between visual artists of distinct generations. The concept is inspired by musical preludes, originally intended for musicians to tune their instruments before a concert, and show off their virtuosity for incoming audience members. 

Prelude invites artists and audiences to 'attune to one another' and consider the theatre as a site for time-based visual art. In contrast to the individual viewing experience of the exhibition format, Prelude emphasises the audience’ collective presence and the theatre’s physical space as integral to the experience of the work.

The name Prelude suggests an opening to something new, something that is to come. Through encouraging collaboration and providing support, Prelude promotes new avenues for the invited artists and fosters new perspectives on their work. 

The first series draws on diverse narrations of past, present and future, through themes of language and the body, power and imagination, beauty and interconnectivity. Starting with a collaborative work by Billy Morgan and Sands Murray-Wassink at Perdu in May, the series continues with re-activations of works by Pedro Barateiro and Agnieszka Polska at de Brakke Grond in June.

Prelude is an initiative by curator Titus Nouwens, with visual identity by Edoardo Ferrari. The series is supported by Perdu, de Brakke Grond and Amsterdam Fonds voor de Kunst.

About the artists
Pedro Barateiro (1979, Almada) is an artist based in Lisbon. He works with sculpture, film, performance, writing and drawing. Barateiro explores how what happens around us is influenced by fictional narratives, and how these narratives shape our perception and can be used as a strategy for social and personal reflection. His work has been shown among others at P///AKT in Amsterdam; NW, Open Huis voor Hedendaagse Kunst en Film in Aalst; M HKA in Antwerp; Kunsthalle Lissabon and Galeria Filomena Soares in Lisbon; Batalha Centro de Cinema in Porto; Kunsthalle Basel; and the biennials of Berlin, Havana, São Paulo, Sharjah and Sydney. 

Agnieszka Polska (b. 1985, Lublin) is a video artist based in Berlin. Polska translates the ethical and social challenges of our time into immersive, meditative films and installations, using cinematic narratives and affective technologies to address the ongoing negotiation between humans and technology. Polska's films make us reflect on language, history and science and activate a critical awareness of our social and individual responsibility in a ‘post-truth world’. Her work has been shown at the New Museum and MoMA in New York; Centre Pompidou and Palais de Tokyo in Paris; Tate Modern in London; Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin; and M HKA in Antwerp. She also participated in the biennials of Gwangju, Istanbul, Shanghai, Sydney and Venice. In 2018, Polska received the German Preis der Nationalgalerie. Polska was a resident at Rijksakademie in 2014-2015. 

Lou Vives (b. 1999, Lisbon) is an Amsterdam-based artist with a performance practice in which repetition functions as a form of translation. These performances use the codes of music to reflect on transience and resilience as tools to move through contemporary life. Vives' work is an attempt at remembering - a process the artist describes as ’recognising that my life was lived by many people.’ Vives' work has been shown at Kunsthalle Lissabon and Galeria Zé dos Bois in Lisbon; La Casa Encendida and Matadero in Madrid; Woonhuis de Ateliers and Perdu (Voice as Landscape) in Amsterdam. Vives publishes in the Netherlands-based art criticism platform Tangents. 

Frederik Daelemans (2001, Duffel) is a musician-producer based in Brussels, trained as a classical cellist. He is known for his dynamic contributions both live and in the studio with acclaimed artists such as Tamino, Beirut and Meskerem Mees. In addition, Daelemans is also on stage with his own musical project, the experimental band Cesar Quinn. He is now embarking on a new solo venture, mixing his vocals with the atmospheric sounds of his cello, enhanced by effects pedals. Daelemans has also collaborated with several artists as a record producer and songwriter.

Prelude: The World As You Know It

Five contenders. Five rounds. Your vote. Only one will survive. The stakes: your attention, your love, your approval, your laughter, your compassion, your weak spot, your guilty pleasure, your heart, your support, your choice. We help you to decide through random checks, voting signposts, coalitions, campaigns, debates, consultants, exit polls, spin doctors, opinion gauges, list pushers, referendums. We’ll do anything to make the best not win.

Fight Night has been touring the world, playing from Australia and Belgium to Canada, from Hong Kong to Swiss. Remakes have been made in Russia and Turkey, whilst a French version was touring Europe. Fight Night remains one of the most popular Ontroerend Goed shows, making audiences vote since 2013.



Fight Night, created in 2013, has traveled the world, from Australia to Hong Kong to Canada, from Aalst to Switzerland. There have been remakes in Russia, Kazakhstan, and Turkey, and the French version toured Europe. Fight Night is one of the most popular shows in the Ontroerend Goed repertoire and has been reworked for the Belgian election year 2024, ready to let the audience vote again for a decade.

The language of this performance is English.

Read here an interview about this performance in De Morgen: https://www.demorgen.be/tv-cultuur/ontroerend-goed-herwerkt-het-politieke-spel-fight-night-2024-is-wereldwijd-het-verkiezingsjaar-en-we-zijn-allemaal-doodsbang~b7aa9aea/

and in Knack: https://www.knack.be/nieuws/cultuur/theatermaker-angelo-tijssens-de-zevende-dag-zit-vol-met-zogenaamde-underdogs/

Fight Night

This year, Museumnacht at de Brakke Grond revolves around the theme of transformation, spanning a wide range of artworks, performances, installations, and workshops. Museumnacht 2024 promises an evening of profound transformation and exploration, inviting visitors to reflect on the fluid nature of identity, gender, and the mind. We present artists who challenge conventional norms, proposing new frameworks for thinking and envisioning alternative futures.

Discover artists who create new worlds through their work.

Stef Van Looveren, CONFESSIONS

For their new live performance, CONFESSIONS, the Antwerp-based artist Stef Van Looveren works with their body and a variety of emotional and social stages as a means to question and explore the layers of identity construction. Van Looveren’s work cannot be defined under a single heading. Their work fuses video with performance art that activate sculptural installations. Van Looveren’s exploration of the body draws upon a hybrid mixture of diverse elements such as religious iconography, technology, popular culture and BDSM. Their materials of choice including silicone, metal, epoxy and wax, among others, represent figures of passage and transformation. The transition and the in-between is central to the artist’s work. Reflecting processes such as coming into being and decay, human existence and taboos.

Younes van den Broeck & Sarah Jawla, NeuroSporia
Sarah Jawla & Younes van den Broeck research a neurodiverse Utopia where all your senses are stimulated and where you are invited to explore, experience, get lost and most importantly just be. An ever-changing Jungle with an afro futuristic filter in which alternative perspectives are celebrated such as not pigeonholing yourself and freeing yourself from imposed rules. In this, Fokovism & Black a queer aesthetic form the DNA as the  
building blocks for NeuroSporia. During Museumnacht you will be introduced to the very first being Worminatou AKA the Queen of NeuroSporia. Through an interactive installation you will be invited to rediscover yourself.

Julia Töscher, Yes/Emotion and There was a Never, there was Yes
In the film Yes/Emotion (2023) from Julia Töscher we follow the figure of a fish human stands as a metaphor for the genealogy of the universe as well as that of the artist. We follow the journey of a ceramic fish as it travels from one hand to the next, from place to place, from one time to another. We encounter grandmothers, mothers and daughters, experiencing a poem about the past, present, and future of human and more-than-human inhabitants of the planet. Shifting between lines of individual genealogy and cosmic creation, this work reflects on the private and broader relations we foster with our surroundings. Separate yet interconnected narratives converge to contemplate history, humanity, ecology, including themes of fish, phones, mothers, spaceships, and the sea.

Melissa Mabesoone, Gentle Boys Club
During Museum Night, Melissa Mabesoone invites the public to a Gentle Boys Club. Together with Lisa Vereertbrugghen, Dagmar Dirckx and others, she will create a space and soiree where stereotypical gender roles are given the footing. You can come dressed up or dress up on site, participate in a non-patriarchal slow dance lab and learn more about the history of drag kings and their link to lesbian history. Gentle boys take it slow.

Museumnacht Amsterdam 2024

Een overvloed aan radicale ideeën, toffe performances en botsende visies. Van 24 tot en met 27 oktober 2024 is het tijd voor Brainwash Festival! Dit jaar staat het festival in het teken van Truth & Doubt. Ook dit jaar doen verschillende performers, componisten en theatermakers aan Brainwash Festival mee. Speciaal voor het festival gaan makers de Grote Vragen van het leven te lijf.

Wij programmeren Lieselot Siddiki, Erien Withouck en Ahilan Ratnamohan die scènes uit hun werk tonen en vertellen over de denkers die hun kunstpraktijk inspireren.


Lieselot Siddiki
De jonge theatermaker Lieselot Siddiki is gefascineerd door geloof, waanzin en waarheid. Met gevaarlijk realistische inzichten, gebaseerd op de verhalen van haar oom, prediker Dr. Nasir Siddiki, verbeeldt Lieselot religie en waarheid. Ze belicht kleine wonderen en grootschalige (religieuze) conflicten. Ze deelt met ons haar theatrale onderzoek en duikt in de aantrekkingskracht van alt-right denken en devotie als fenomeen binnen politiek en popcultuur.

Lieselot Siddiki is multidisciplinair kunstenaar en theatermaker. Ze onderzoekt en streeft naar een vorm van totaaltheater dat zoekt naar een geestelijk-lichamelijke beleving, intuïtief – niet cerebraal. In 2021 maakte Lieselot de voorstelling Nachtzwemmen samen met Jarne van Loon gevolgd door Up Your Ass in 2023, in samenwerking met Nona Demy Gallagher. Lieselot toont op ons festival haar onderzoek voor haar nieuwe voorstelling The Truthful.


Erien Withouck
‘Love potions’, of liefdesdrankjes, raken verschillende thema’s in de geschiedenis, zoals heksenvervolging en feminisme. Maar ze worden ook gezien als een antikapitalistische praktijk: liefde en zorg als tegengif voor individualisering en vereenzaming. Kunstenaar Erien Withouck onderzoekt oude verhalen, namen en rituelen rond inheemse planten in de Lage Landen door middel van archief- en veldonderzoek. Tijdens Brainwash Festival deelt ze haar bevindingen: de verhalen en rituelen die verbonden zijn met bepaalde planten, en de waarde die magie kan brengen.

Erien Withouck is beeldend kunstenaar. Ze onderzoekt hoe we de geschiedenis van onkruid kunnen gebruiken als verzet tegen kapitalisme, binnen de thema’s spelen, liefde en tijd. Er werd werk van haar getoond in De Brakke Grond, WIELS en FOMU. Daarnaast ontwikkelt ze ook sociaal artistieke projecten als duo met Renée Lorie. 


Ahilan Ratnamohan 
Wat als de taal van je moeder niet je moedertaal is? Wat doet dit met je identiteit en begrip van de wereld? Tijdens zijn jeugd heeft Ahilan Ratnamohan nooit Tamil, de taal van zijn ouders, geleerd. De afgelopen zeven jaar probeert hij deze ongrijpbare taal, via skype gesprekken met zijn moeder, te leren. Ahilan deelt zijn verhaal over herinnering, verlies, taalfascinatie en identiteit. Hij traceert de wortels van zijn taalverlies en legt het raadsel van diaspora op tafel.

Ahilan Ratnamohan is een performancekunstenaar die werk maakt met onconventionele vormen en performers. Hij laat zich inspireren door sport, film en taalkunde. Ahil probeert begin jaren twintig carrière te maken als profvoetballer in Nederland, Duitsland en Zweden. Vanaf 2017 concentreert hij zich op hedendaagse performances, waarbij hij samenwerkt met verschillende gezelschappen.


Over Brainwash Festival
Op Brainwash Festival verzetten we ons tegen doemdenken en zetten we koers uit. In meer dan 60 programma’s komen de meest baanbrekende filosofen, wetenschappers, theatermakers en schrijvers samen om met ons door deze onzekere tijden te navigeren. Brainwash Festival is het grootste denkfestival van Nederland en België.

Brainwash Festival

Van 16 t/m 20 oktober vindt het Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) weer plaats. Hét evenement voor de elektronische muziekindustrie. Dit is het uitgelezen moment om de blik van dance-lievend Nederland op Vlaanderen en de rest van België te richten. Tijdens ADE zijn er in de Brakke Grond en de rest van Amsterdam verschillende (Vlaamse) programma’s te ontdekken. 

Belgium Booms en de Brakke Grond bundelen al meerdere jaren de krachten samen om tijdens ADE een programma neer te zetten. Ook dit jaar zal er weer een mooi programma worden neergezet. Houdt onze website in de gaten! 


Over Belgium Booms

VI.BE ondersteunt artiesten in het buitenland onder de noemer ‘Belgium Booms’, samen met de collega’s van Wallonie-Bruxelles Musiques, met de steun van Sabam For Culture, PlayRight+ en Visit.Brussels. Lees hier: https://www.belgiumbooms.be/

Belgium Booms

Baile Night is a vibrant cultural party experience created by the Baile Project, an independent initiative dedicated to producing performing arts activities that celebrate and explore Brazilian and Latin American culture. Our mission is threefold: to connect Dutch locals and immigrants through artistic expression, to combat racism and gender inequality, and to provide a platform for the in-depth study of dance, theatre, and cultural practices beyond stereotypes, with a strong anti-racism approach.

A Party Made to Dance
At Baile Night, we emphasize that this is a party made for dancing. We are committed to creating an environment where everyone can feel safe and free to express themselves through dance. The music, performances, and atmosphere are all crafted to inspire movement, joy, and connection on the dance floor. Baile Night is a dance party event designed to celebrate the richness of Brazilian and Latin American culture. Set in the lively SEXYLAND venue, the evening will feature a diverse lineup of performances, music, and culinary experiences, offering attendees a holistic cultural journey.

Live Per­for­mances
– Anna Marques will be our host cheerleader for the night, presenting all our performances and she will also give a pocket dance workshop of Brazilian Funk on the party to break the ice and get you on the mood for dancing  
– Jovana Franca will captivate the audience with a unique Carnaval mix Dance performance  
– Rafael Quintas with a Surprise Dance Performance  
– Baile Project Students: Our talented group of students will perform a mashup of Reggaeton and Funk music, blending two powerful Latin genres into an energetic dance routine.

DJ Lineup
– DJ Neillor  
– DJ Pyraña  
– DJ Vincent Oosterveld

Zero Tol­er­ance for Ha­rass­ment
We are dedicated to ensuring that Baile Night is a safe and welcoming space for all attendees. We have a strict zero-tolerance policy for any form of sexual harassment. Our team will be vigilant in maintaining a respectful and inclusive environment, so everyone can enjoy the night without concerns. We encourage attendees to report any issues, and we will take immediate action to address them.

About Baile Pro­ject
Founded with a passion for cultural exchange and social justice, Baile Project is more than just an arts initiative; it’s a movement. We believe in the power of art to bridge gaps between communities, challenge societal norms, and foster a deeper understanding and appreciation of diverse cultures. In our second year, we are expanding our reach and impact by offering a full cultural experience to a broader audience in Amsterdam. Through this event, we aim to create a space where art and culture serve as tools for connection, education, and celebration.

Baile Night

Veelbelovend fotografietalent uit België, gepresenteerd door FOMU en de Brakke Grond.

.tiff reist naar Amsterdam

In het najaar reist .tiff 2024 naar de Brakke Grond. In deze fototentoonstelling is werk te zien van een nieuwe selectie van veelbelovende kunstenaars, samengebracht door FOMU – het fotografiemuseum Antwerpen. 

Selectie voor .tiff 2024: Romain Cavallin, Elise Dervichian & Lina Wielant, Romane Iskaria, Ksenia Kuleshova, Catherine Lemblé, Nathan Mbouebe, Angyvir Padilla, Marcel Top, Marens van Leunen en Laure Winants.

Curator: Muhiba Botan  
Assistent curator: Hugo Roger

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Event source:
https://amsterdamart.com/agenda/tiff-2024/

.tiff 2024

Op zaterdag 7 september zetten culturele instellingen in het hart van de stad hun deuren gratis open voor alle Amsterdammers. Tussen 11:00 en 16:00 uur kun je bij alle deelnemende instellingen terecht voor een rondleiding, voorstelling, expositie, workshop, concert of lezing. Kom langs en (her)ontdek het creatieve hart van de stad!

Op vertoon van je plattegrond
Het collectief wordt gelanceerd op 7 september met een Culturele Wallen Route. De deelnemende instellingen bieden Amsterdammers een rijk en veelal gratis programma aan met tentoonstellingen, rondleidingen, voorstellingen, exposities, workshops, concerten en lezingen. De officiële opening vindt om 11.00 uur plaats in Waag Futurelab op de Nieuwmarkt. Daarna ben je welkom bij Huis De Pinto, Museum Ons' Lieve Heer Op Solder, de Oude Kerk, Frascati, de Brakke Grond, Museum Rembrandthuis en W139 voor een rondleiding, voorstelling, expositie, workshop, concert of lezing. Je mag starten waar je wilt, de plattegrond met alle locaties kun je overal ophalen.

Extra programma de Brakke Grond
Bij ons kun je de net geopende foto-expositie .tiff 2024 bezoeken, met om 14:00 een speciale rondleiding. En ons Eetcafé doet natuurlijk ook mee, daar krijg je op die dag en op vertoon van je plaategrond, maar liefst 15% korting.

Culturele Wallen Route

Free Heri Heri For All nodigt het hele land uit om samen het Surinaamse gerecht Heri Heri te eten om Keti Koti te herdenken en te vieren. Samen met onze buren van Frascati doen we mee. Je bent op zaterdag 30 juni van harte welkom tussen 12:00 en 16:00 om op het Nesplein aan te schuiven.

Heri Heri is ontstaan op de Surinaamse plantages waar tot slaaf gemaakten kookten met de ingrediënten die ze kregen en wat ze zelf konden verbouwen. Dit resulteerde in het eenpansgerecht zoals we dat nu kennen met gekookte zoete aardappel, cassave, gele en groene banaan, gezouten vis (bakkeljauw), ei en garnering. Heri betekent ‘helen’ of ‘heel’. Het gerecht wordt vaak geserveerd bij vieringen of speciale gelegenheden.

Ter nagedachtenis en ter herdenking van de afschaffing van de slavernij door het Nederlandse Koninkrijk, is Free Heri Heri in het leven geroepen om aandacht te vragen voor deze historische dag, de geschiedenis en de gevolgen ervan die vandaag de dag nog steeds voelbaar zijn.

Let op:
De maaltijd kan sporen bevatten van noten, gluten en/of lactose. Tevens is de maaltijd niet vegetarisch (bevat vis). Je kunt aanschuiven op het Nesplein, maar een bakje meenemen mag natuurlijk ook.

Free Heri Heri For All

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Event source:
https://brakkegrond.nl/agenda/640/free-heri-heri-for-all

Free Heri Heri For All

In collaboration with STUK and the Brakke Grond, FIBER presents Sound Art | Neighbouring Frequencies. An afternoon showcasing the rich development and presentation of sound art filled with sound art performances and installations.

Programme:
- Phantom Limb: A project exploring the enigmatic and poetic relationship between a human being and a black box that is our interior by transforming a medical ultrasound machine into an instrument.
- Maria Komarova with Krɑjïnɑ: An alluvial gathering of various materials creating a place where things become forces, and sounds become tales.
- Suzan Peeters: An experimental accordionist who expands the acoustic sound spectrum of the accordion using objects, transducers, and live electronics.
- Aernoudt Jacobs with “Akoetrope”: Presents a rotating sound machine inspired by Phénakisticope/Zoetrope devices to understand the persistence of sound cognition.
- Myra-Ida van der Veen with Second Breath: A delicate and breath-centred performance that delves into the physicality of sound as it moves through the primal essence of the voice: the breath.

Doors open at 12:45. Event starts at 13:00 and ends at 18:00.

Phantom Limb | Maria Komarova | Suzan Peeters | Aernoudt Jacobs | Myra-Ida van der Veen

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Event source:
https://fiberfestival.nl/soundart

Sound Art | Neighbouring Frequencies

Adam

Maggie

Christie

Eric

Anna

Standard

Just before the start of the Sri Lankan civil war, Ahilan Ratnamohan's parents emigrated to Australia. Ahilan's parents deliberately choose to speak only English - and no Tamil - to their sons. That way the boys do not stand out in Australia because of their language.

But what if years later it turns out that the curiosity about your parents' language is too great?
What if your mother's language is not your mother tongue?

During his childhood in Sydney, Ahilan never learned Tamil. For the past seven years, he has improved his spoken Tamil through Skype conversations with his mother, allowing them to communicate in “their” native language for the first time. But it soon became clear to him that he would have to spend hours studying to master written Tamil perfectly. Unfortunately, you can't learn Jaffna Tamil in textbooks or by watching the news. It is passed down through (grand)parents and through the community. It continues through diaspora meetings around the world. That makes it beautiful and at the same time elusive.

The Tamilization of Ahilan Ratnamohan is a story of a son and a mother. A personal story of memory, loss, language fascination, identity and diaspora. Ahilan plays the performance entirely in Tamil. His mother - next to him on stage - is his language teacher who corrects him, prompts him and operates the English/Dutch surtitles. In this way, Ahilan traces the roots of his language loss.

🎨 Cultural

Vlaams Cultuurhuis de Brakke Grond

The Tamilization of Ahilan Ratnamohan | Met Prikkelarme Ontvangst

guestList

De Brakke Grond is er voor Vlaamse kunstenaars en Nederlandse kunstliefhebbers die hun grenzen willen verleggen. We initiëren en realiseren programma’s en samenwerkingen in ons huis in Amsterdam.