HAPPENING 5-7 JUN 2026 | The third edition of Levenslust Festival takes place at Brutus Art Space from Friday 5 to Sunday 7 June. The festival brings together art, music, fashion and performance, with makers from the Levenslust Academie working alongside professional artists inside the wider AUTONOMOUS exhibition.
Image: Levenslust Festival at Brutus Art Space in Rotterdam. Photo: Laura Siliquini.
The festival is a collaboration between Levenslust Academie, Stichting Pluspunt Rotterdam, CVD and Brutus Art Space. It is part of AUTONOMOUS, an exhibition curated by Ine Gevers that asks what “normal” actually means and creates space for different ways of thinking.
Art gives makers a voice
Levenslust Academie is there for Rotterdammers in vulnerable situations who use art to make their voices heard. By working with professional artists, makers connected to the academy develop their talent and present themselves through the festival as artists in the city.
The collaboration is based on equality. The point is not to place one group of makers above another, but to let all participating artists strengthen each other. That also makes the creative process just as important as the final work visitors see.
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Festival celebrates new perspectives
During the festival, the creative, personal and social development of the makers is celebrated. Levenslust Academie approaches artists through their vision and talent, rather than through their background.
That distinction matters. It shifts the focus away from labels and towards what people create, imagine and contribute. Very simply put: the artwork comes first, and the assumptions can wait outside.
Meeting through art
CVD supports people who temporarily do not have a stable living or housing situation. Pluspunt has worked for 20 years on daytime activities in Rotterdam, with art at the centre of its approach.
At Levenslust Festival, the meeting between different artists is central. These are makers who might not normally cross paths, but who find each other through a shared passion for art.
Temporary autonomous zone
This year, the festival forms an important part of AUTONOMOUS. For the festival weekend, Brutus becomes a Temporary Autonomous Zone, or T.A.Z., a temporary free space where everyday rules are loosened and there is room for experiment and imagination.
The idea fits the exhibition’s wider question: what is “normal”, and who gets to decide? Levenslust Festival answers that by placing different ways of thinking, making and being at the centre.
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Brutus becomes creative playground
During the weekend, the outdoor area and entrance of Brutus change into a lively creative free space. Visitors step into a setting where music, fashion and visual art come together.
Levenslust Academie embraces a broad mix of disciplines and perspectives. In that sense, the festival does not ask you to stand neatly at a distance and observe. It invites you in. During Levenslust Festival, everyone, including the visitor, is treated as an artist.
Many makers take part
The participating artists are Arturo, Barbara, Billie Turbo, Charlton, Denise, Floor Spits, Franky Vanity, Gilles, Guus, Heike, Ivon, Jolanda, Kenneth Letsoin, Lars, Mal, Mario, Mena, Milan, Marianne Kouwenhoven, Martijn, Marto, Meo Bhola, Nada van Dalen, Nelo, Nourdine, Peter, Ramsingh, Remy, Robbert, Robin, Sena Nyaku, Sigmond, Sillieman, Skillfulmatic, Sjoerd Labega, Theo and Ulrich Oron.
Together, they shape a festival that treats art not only as something to look at, but as something that connects people and contributes to wellbeing.
Brutus offers raw setting
Brutus is an artist-driven playground in Rotterdam-West, located in a former port complex on Keileweg. The organisation has around 6,000 m² of raw industrial space, making it one of the largest independent exhibition spaces for contemporary art in the Netherlands.
This is not a spotless white cube, and thank goodness for that. Brutus is all rough edges, scale and experimentation, which makes it a fitting home for a festival about autonomy, imagination and stepping outside the usual frame.
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Festival programme
The festival opens on Friday 5 June from 15:00 to 18:00 with a festive opening. On Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 June, the programme continues from 13:00 to 17:00 with the exhibition and live performances.
Event details
Event: Levenslust Festival
Dates: Friday 5 to Sunday 7 June 2026
Location: Brutus Art Space, Keileweg 10b, Rotterdam
Friday 5 June: 15:00 to 18:00, festive opening
Saturday 6 June: 13:00 to 17:00, exhibition and live performances
Sunday 7 June: 13:00 to 17:00, exhibition and live performances
Tickets are available via https://brutus.stager.co/shop/autonomous/events/111657755.
How to get there
Brutus is located on Keileweg in the Merwe-Vierhavens area of Rotterdam-West, close to the creative and industrial edge of the city. The main entrance is at Keileweg 10b, next to the new Roodkapje location. Tram lines 21, 23 and 24, and metro lines A, B and C stop at Marconiplein, about a five-minute walk from Brutus.
Parking is available in the area or at Bigshops Car Park on Vierhavensstraat 197, though Brutus notes that parking on Keileweg is now paid from Monday to Saturday.
