words by DEBORAH DRENOFCI
“To make living itself an art, that is the goal,” said Henry Miller. There are many ways to do this, and Amsterdam Art Week 2026 is a good place to start. For the fourteenth year, Amsterdam turns into a kingdom of contemporary art. From 18 to 22 November, more than 75 venues across the city host over 100 exhibitions, talks and public events. Be ready to go gallery hopping and get inspired. Here are our picks, but there is plenty more to discover.
images courtesy of AMSTERDAM ART WEEK
OPEN STUDIOS | RIJKSAKADEMIE
From 19 to 22 November, the Rijksakademie opens its studios to the public, the only moment of the year it does so. Its artists in residence and five tech fellows share what came out of a period of experimenting and research. It’s a rare look behind the scenes.
FESTIVE GALLERY NIGHT
On Thursday 19 November, galleries across the city stay open late. Hop from one opening to the next, then end the night at the official after party hosted by Minor Attractions.
HEAVING ROOM | GUIDED TOUR AND ARTIST TALK
Initiated by Rustan Söderling, this group show opens on 20 November and runs until 7 February. It looks at how we improvise connection when shared structures start to fall apart. Think personal rituals, odd ways of cataloguing and accidental communities. The space becomes a dimly lit waiting room. On Saturday 21 November, artists Jame St Findlay and Rosa Klerkx walk visitors through the show and talk about their work. St Findlay works between film, sculpture and composition. Klerkx works with slow, repetitive choreographies set in vast landscapes and overlooked interiors.
FORGET-ME-NOT | HARRISON ARMSTRONG
In Harrison Armstrong’s large oil paintings, everything looks familiar, until it doesn’t. A figure, a gesture or a room slowly becomes strange, funny or tense. Armstrong starts from drawings and lets the paint take over. He gives you just enough to hold on to, and just enough to doubt. The show is on from 18 to 22 November, with free entry.
PLUCKING THE BROOM
We love a good witch. This group show pulls apart the stereotype twig by twig, until there’s no pointed hat or crooked nose left. The witch hunts appear here as a systematic attack on anyone outside the norm, not a medieval superstition. What remains is a story of care, resistance, spirituality and community. New work comes from Müge Yilmaz, Shani Leseman, Venus Jasper and Ginevra Petrozzi, among many others. It’s on until 29 November, and it’s free.
INDEBT X DIEZ INVITES
From 18 to 21 November, INDEBT and diez, with Minor Attractions, invite international galleries from London, Berlin, Copenhagen and Italy into one building. The building itself is the draw. It was once a school, later a mosque, and is now mid-renovation and not yet open to the public. For four days, you can wander rooms normally off limits. Entry is free with an RSVP. It closes on Saturday 21 November with an evening of performances, ambient sound and music.
PARALLEL PROCESSES
The opening show of Amsterdam’s new children’s art museum puts the creative process first. Artists Brian Elstak, Willem Harbers and Roos van Haaften worked alongside nearly 70 children aged 4 to 15, from the same starting point but without seeing each other’s work. The surprise is how often their ideas meet.
NATUROCENE | EXHIBITION WALKTHROUGH
On Thursday 19 November, curator Alessandra Laitempergher leads a walkthrough of Naturocene, a group show imagining a future where humans and nature coexist. Over twenty artists take part, including Richard Long, Katie Paterson and Alicja Kwade. She shares the ideas behind the show and the research of the artists. The exhibition itself runs until 14 February.
