Welcome to the third edition of the Groot Rotterdams Atelier Weekend, which will take place on 24 and 25 September 2022. This event provides art lovers a unique moment to meet artists in their studios and to buy work directly from them, but also to explore the many studio complexes located throughout Rotterdam.
Since the first edition of the Groot Rotterdams Atelier Weekend in 2020, the event has quickly grown to become the city’s most extensive studio route. As attendance continues to grow, so does the enthusiasm among Rotterdam’s artists. This year, the number of participating artists has more then doubled compared to the first edition. The number of locations has also increased enormously: this year, more than 640 artists will now be showing their work in more than 80 locations in all districts of the city.
The Groot Rotterdams Atelier Weekend highlights the diversity of Rotterdam’s art studio complexes. Artists within a wide variety of disciplines work at many different locations, often in beautiful former school buildings. Since these locations are spread throughout the city, every Rotterdammer has at least one studio they can visit in their own neighbourhood. The diversity of studios, artists and artworks reflects that of the city: from graduating students to well-established artists, working with all imaginable techniques and media.
Though the Groot Rotterdams Atelier Weekend guides visitors to interesting locations with charming studios, it also exposes the extremely unsuitable conditions in which many artists must work, or the fact that some artists are unable to afford a studio at all. Some Rotterdam artists working in anti-squat locations pay as much in service costs as tenants of SKAR locations, yet they can be evicted within two months. This happened this year, for example, to the 48 artists working in a school building on the Vondelweg.
It is becoming increasingly difficult to find new studio spaces in Rotterdam. Artists play a crucial role in the social fabric of the city: they provide colour and meaning to the urban structure, they ask questions that are sometimes uncomfortable but always relevant, questions that help us think. Rotterdam presents itself as a ‘working city’, but often fails to recognise that artists are also entrepreneurs, who collectively ensure the value of culture as an economic factor.
This booklet provides an overview of all participating artists and studio complexes. The complexes are classified by district, with the locations and participating artists listed alphabetically. The complexes for each district can be found on the map. The description of each location also includes cross-references to three other nearby studio complexes. All of this information can be found on our website, where visitors can also run a targeted search, for example by technique and medium, allowing everyone to map out their own route.
We wish all visitors a pleasant adventure as they explore the diversity of Rotterdam’s artist studios. Finally, we wish to express our heartfelt thanks to the many artists for their enthusiastic cooperation, and to Stichting Droom en Daad for once again helping make the Groot Rotterdams Atelier Weekend possible, with free access to the public and financial compensation for all participating artists.
Piet de Jonge
Carly Rutten
Ayse Karssen
Pelin Bicen