words by NIA TOPALOVA
From 18 to 22 November 2026, Amsterdam Art Week will present its fourteenth edition, coinciding with the Rijksakademie Open Studios. More than 75 galleries, museums, project spaces, and residencies will open their doors, with over 80 exhibitions by more than 250 creatives. For five days, artists, art lovers, curators and collectors will come together to experience a curated programme of exhibitions and talks. For those looking for more depth, there is the Depth Programme, with tours, studio visits and behind-the-scenes conversations.
FESTIVE GALLERY NIGHT
On Thursday 19th of November from 17:00 to 21:00, the city’s galleries will open their doors for an evening, letting us discover a mix of established names and emerging talent, exploring their works in more depth. This Gallery Night is the perfect moment to experience the city’s vibrant gallery scene, connect with others, and enjoy the night. All galleries will be free to visit, with opportunities to meet the artists and move from one opening to the next.
AKINCI, Althuis Hofland Fine Arts, andriesse~eyck galerie, Annet Gelink Gallery, Bildhalle, Borzo Gallery, Bradwolff & Partners, Buro Onrust, Caroline O’Breen, Depth of Field, diez, dudokdegroot, Enari, Galerie Bart, Galerie Fleur & Wouter, Galerie Fontana, Galerie Ron Mandos, Gallery van Fanny Freytag, GRIMM, Gwen Park, Homecoming Gallery, Josilda da Conceição, KERSGALLERY, Lumen Travo, Madé van Krimpen, Martin van Zomeren, m.simons, No Man’s Art Gallery, Slewe Gallery, South Asian Contemporary Art Amsterdam, Stevenson, Stigter Van Doesburg, tegenboschvanvreden, The Merchant House, Upstream Gallery, Van Oosterom Gallery at Brandt Gallery, Vriend van Bavink Gallery, Working Title.
OFFICIAL AAW26 AFTERPARTY CURATED BY LENTEKABINET
ISO and Lentekabinet will join forces for a special evening that connects visual art, performance, and music. The event will take place in a large, new warehouse located right next to the existing ISO site. The evening will open with a performance by Ines Borovac, while *SWARM*, an exhibition featuring over 40 works by artists based at ISO, will remain on view throughout the night. The full music program, including the DJ lineup and more, will be announced soon. This marks the beginning of a new partnership between ISO and Lentekabinet, uniting their respective communities and creating a meeting point for contemporary art and music.
ART CEREMONY: STEPHANIE SCHUITEMAKER, IONA FOUNDATION
The Iona Foundation will present an art ceremony giving us the time and space to reflect on the art that moved us during Amsterdam Art Week. On Sunday, November 22, from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM, Stephanie Schuitemaker, in collaboration with Uno Fujisawa, will host this ceremony in the Garden Room (Tuinkamer) of the Iona House. Stephanie Schuitemaker investigates the value of art and explores how "performative hosting" deepens resonance. Her developed method, EMBED, is rooted in the idea that connection is a two-way street: being moved by an artwork reflects as much about you as it does about the work itself. The ceremony will unfold in harmony with the season, inviting you to taste, smell, and feel; to find stillness and reflect.
51 YEARS OF DE APPEL, FILM SCREENING & PANEL DISCUSSION
During this three-part event, the documentary *Final Cut* (2026) by filmmaker Joeri Pruys will be presented, celebrating the 51st anniversary of de Appel, and marking the conclusion of the exhibition *Lapdogs of the Bourgeoisie 2026: Class Hegemony in Contemporary Art*. The day will begin with a screening of *Final Cut*, a film about censorship that explores various moments from the history of de Appel. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion and a reception at de Appel to close our current exhibition, *Lapdogs of the Bourgeoisie 2026: Class Hegemony in Contemporary Art*.
ARTIST IN MOTION: A HOMMAGE, RENÉ GROEBLI
The Swiss photographer René Groebli will bring together works from different periods of his remarkable career, as the exhibition will highlight the extraordinary diversity of his artistic vision. Groebli’s cinematic, subjective approach was ahead of its time, and largely overlooked upon publication. One of his most celebrated works, The Eye of Love (1954), grew out of photographs he took of his wife Rita in the intimacy of their hotel room during a belated honeymoon in Paris. His experiments produced photographs in which he moved beyond realistic representation, using colour to evoke movement, energy and atmosphere.
THIS QUIET PLACE IS FANTASTIC, SOPHIE SERBER
Together with GDL525, sophie serber will present her exhibition This Quiet Place is Fantastic, drawing from her experience as a performer in the porn industry. sophie works across painting, sculpture and video, researching desire in digital pornography, and its philosophical analogues in postmodern society. Her work explores self control within broader societal structures and power dynamics, experimenting with thresholds of certainty coming from an interest in the connection between belief and denial.
