Black Achievement Month comes to Fenix Rotterdam

OCTOBER 2026 | Fenix joins Black Achievement Month as a new Rotterdam venue this October, with a programme spanning performance, Sudanese food, art and the return of the African Food Festival. The programme begins with Space of Becoming on 3 and 4 October and continues through the African Food Festival Winter Edition on 31 October and 1 November.

Fenix joins Black Achievement Month

Black Achievement Month takes place across the Netherlands each October, highlighting the work, stories and contributions of people from the African diaspora. The 2026 theme is Turning Black Excellence into Change, with particular attention on how talent, art and storytelling can lead to wider cultural and social change. Black Achievement Month was established in 2016 following an initiative by NiNsee, the National Institute for the Study of Dutch Slavery and its Legacy.

This year, Fenix on Katendrecht joins the programme as a Rotterdam location for the first time. The choice fits closely with the museum's wider focus on migration, identity and the movement of people and cultures. Its public ground-floor space, Plein, was specifically created as a freely accessible place for community programmes, food, performances and encounters.

During October, Fenix will also draw attention to works in its collection by Laetitia Ky, Seyni Awa Camara and Omar Victor Diop, connecting questions of identity, representation, heritage and strength with the Black Achievement Month theme.

Space of Becoming moves through Fenix

The first major event is the Rotterdam premiere of Space of Becoming by Sites of Memory during Afrovibes Festival on Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 October.

This is not a performance where you simply take a seat and watch from a theatre chair. Instead, you move through Fenix with the performers during an approximately 60-minute route combining dance, music, visual art and spoken word.

Scenes unfold around works already inside the museum, including Ugo Rondinone's The Sun, an eighteenth-century coromandel cabinet from Sri Lanka and Thania Petersen's tapestry Rampie and Layer II. The performers bring different languages, memories and artistic traditions into the work while examining how colonial power structures continue to affect people's lives.

Performances take place at 12:30 and 15:30 on Saturday 3 October, followed by a 15:30 performance on Sunday 4 October. The route is wheelchair accessible. Tickets cost €15 to €20 and provide access to the performance itself rather than the wider Fenix exhibitions.

Sudanese food becomes a shared story

On Thursday 15 October from 18:00 to 20:00, the programme moves to the table with Crossing Tables #14: Sudan Unbound on Plein.

Chefs Ranya and Abdelrahman from Napata invite guests to eat around the Al Seneia, a traditional shared serving platter. The way the food is served is as important as the dishes themselves, reflecting ideas of hospitality, generosity, equality and conversation.

The menu includes Sudanese dishes such as ta'amiya, a herb and spice falafel, agashi grilled chicken, slow-cooked aubergine and a seasonal vegetable dish with peanut sauce. Sudanese sweets and spiced coffee with cardamom and ginger complete the meal. Fenix

Napata was founded by Ranya and Abdelrahman Adam and presents Sudanese and Nubian-Sudanese cooking through family recipes and communal dining. At Fenix, the dinner adds stories, music, visual art and performance around the food, turning the meal into a wider introduction to Sudanese cultural heritage.

African Food Festival returns to Fenix

The month closes with a winter edition of the African Food Festival on Saturday 31 October and Sunday 1 November at Plein.

Eight chefs will represent different African and diaspora cuisines, using their food to share stories about family, migration, memories and traditions. The programme extends beyond eating, with musicians, artists and performers contributing live music, spoken word, workshops and other activities.

Visitors will also be encouraged to participate rather than simply watch. Previous editions have combined food with creative workshops, talks, music, design and spaces devoted to African and Caribbean voices. The 2026 winter edition at Fenix is free to visit. Black Achievement Month's official programme confirms the African Food Festival at Fenix beginning on 31 October.

The return is particularly fitting after Fenix hosted a previous winter edition of the festival in 2025. This year's programme gives it a larger role within Black Achievement Month, connecting food directly with the month's focus on cultural expression and the African diaspora.

African Food Festival at Fenix in 2025. Photo: Houcem Bellakoud

Art adds another layer

You do not necessarily need to attend one of the scheduled events to encounter the Black Achievement Month theme at Fenix.

Among the works being highlighted is Omar Victor Diop's Diaspora 2014–2016. Diop's photographic series is already part of the Fenix collection and uses carefully staged portraits to explore the histories and representation of Africans in Europe. Fenix also features work by Laetitia Ky as part of its wider collection.

That gives October's programme several ways in: you can follow performers through the galleries, share Sudanese food around one table, spend a weekend exploring African cuisines and creativity, or encounter the month's themes through the artworks already inside the museum.

Diaspora 2014–2016 by Omar Victor Diop at Fenix. Photo: Titia Hahne

How to get there

Fenix is located on Katendrecht at Paul Nijghkade 5, 3072 AT Rotterdam. The museum's exhibitions are normally open Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 17:00, while the freely accessible Plein stays open until 20:00 from Tuesday through Friday and until 17:00 at weekends. Individual Black Achievement Month events have their own times and ticket conditions.

Check the Fenix programme for tickets and the latest information.