HAPPENING 19-20 SEP '26 | Around 700 artists, makers and creatives will open their workspaces across Rotterdam on Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 September during the seventh edition of the Groot Rotterdams Atelier Weekend (GRAW). Around 90 locations take part, giving visitors two days to explore studios, meet the people working there and see how art is actually made.
Artworks and installations fill one of Rotterdam’s creative spaces during GRAW. Photo: Bas Czerwinski.
GRAW takes place from 12:00 to 18:00 on both days and is free to visit. Rather than bringing hundreds of artists together in one exhibition hall, the event sends you across Rotterdam to the places where they normally work, many of which are rarely open to the general public.
Step inside Rotterdam’s studios
GRAW started in 2020 with a simple idea: much of Rotterdam’s creative life happens behind doors most people never walk through. Open those doors for a weekend and the city becomes one enormous, scattered exhibition.
This year, around 700 artists and makers are taking part. Visitors can enter studios and creative complexes across Rotterdam, look at work in progress, speak directly with artists and, in many cases, buy work from the people who made it.
That direct contact is central to the weekend. GRAW is deliberately less focused on presenting polished final results than a traditional gallery or art fair. The studio itself becomes part of the experience, including the materials, experiments and unfinished pieces that normally remain out of sight.
“Many people know the art that Rotterdam produces, but not the places where it is made,” says GRAW director Annejet Gosselink. “During GRAW, you meet the makers in their own environment. That is what makes this weekend so special.”
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A creative city in constant motion
The participating locations also provide a snapshot of where Rotterdam’s creative communities currently live and work. Some studio buildings return each year, while others disappear, move or find new uses. New creative spaces emerge elsewhere.
That changing map has become part of what GRAW documents. Studios are not simply rooms where individual artists work. They can also become communities where makers share equipment, ideas and opportunities, and where new creative clusters develop around the city.
The vulnerability of those spaces has become a larger issue for GRAW. Rising pressure on affordable creative workspace led the organisation to establish the Coalitie Creatieve Ruimte Rotterdam (CCRR) in 2025.
The coalition brings together makers, cultural organisations, property developers, construction companies and departments of the Municipality of Rotterdam. Its aim is to find ways to retain creative workspaces as neighbourhoods and development areas change.
Artworks and installations fill one of Rotterdam’s creative spaces during GRAW. Photo: Bas Czerwinski.
From one weekend to a wider network
The CCRR now includes organisations such as Dura Vermeer, Heijmans, VORM, HD Groep, RED Company, PlaceBASED, engage Rotterdam and AIR, alongside makers, cultural entrepreneurs and several municipal departments.
The coalition is also becoming involved in current urban development discussions, including the Stadiondriehoek area. The broader question is familiar in a fast-changing Rotterdam: how do you make room for new homes and development without gradually pushing out the artists and creative communities that helped give an area its character?
GRAW therefore operates on two levels. During one weekend in September, it is a very accessible way to discover art and explore parts of Rotterdam you might normally walk straight past. Behind the scenes, the network around the event is increasingly involved in the longer-term discussion about where artists will actually be able to work in the future.
The weekend itself is largely made possible by the participating community. Hundreds of makers voluntarily open their studios, while volunteers, local promotion teams, studio organisations and partners help connect the many locations across the city.
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Tickets and practical information
Groot Rotterdams Atelier Weekend takes place on Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 September 2026, from 12:00 to 18:00 on both days.
Admission is free, but visitors can reserve a free ticket in advance through Eventbrite:
https://www.eventbrite.nl/e/tickets-groot-rotterdams-atelier-weekend-26-1993922773691
With around 90 participating locations spread across Rotterdam, GRAW is better approached as a route than as a single destination. Check the participating studios before setting off and combine several locations in the same part of the city rather than attempting to see everything in one afternoon.
The current list of locations, artists and programme information can be found at:
