Slavs and Tatars brings Mouthfool to Fenix Rotterdam

FROM 19 NOV '26 TO 9 MAY '27 | ROTTERDAM, updated 6 November 2026 - Fenix will open its new 650-square-metre temporary exhibition space on 19 November with Slavs and Tatars: Mouthfool, the collective's first major solo presentation in the Netherlands. Running until 9 May 2027, the Rotterdam exhibition explores how language travels across borders, generations and cultures. An accompanying public programme will feature artist talks, introductions in six different languages and creative workshops for families.

Image: Tongue Twist Her, Slavs and Tatars, 2013. Palazzo Capris, Turin, 2016.

Slavs and Tatars turns to language

Berlin-based art collective Slavs and Tatars is celebrating its twentieth anniversary in 2026. Its work focuses on the vast area between the former Berlin Wall and the Great Wall of China, including Eastern Europe, Anatolia and Central Asia.

Rather than approaching this region primarily through wars, conflicts and national borders, the collective looks at language and the encounters between Slavic and Turkic linguistic and cultural traditions. Its name reflects centuries of exchange involving languages, ideas and customs across the region.

Slavs and Tatars has previously presented work at institutions including MoMA in New York and Tate Modern in London. Mouthfool now brings its work to Rotterdam in what will be the collective's first major solo exhibition in the Netherlands.

Fenix director Anne Kremers describes the exhibition as a playful and often humorous way of examining migration, identity and the world around us.

Language becomes physical in Mouthfool

Mouthfool examines the ways language migrates from mouth to mouth and from one generation to the next. Sculptures, tapestries and installations turn alphabets, speech and the physical act of making sounds into tangible subjects.

In Mother Tongues and Father Throats (2012), an open mouth becomes a landscape of language. Arabic, Hebrew, Persian and Cyrillic characters appear at the points in the mouth and throat where their corresponding sounds are produced.

The three-metre-high tongue in Tongue Twist Her (2013) coils around a dance pole. The work refers to the ways languages and alphabets change as political power shifts.

Alphabet Abdal (2015) gives Arabic letters arms and legs, turning written characters into moving figures. The work reflects the way languages and writing systems travel with people and acquire new meanings along the way.

Mother Tongues and Father Throats by Slavs and Tatars, 2012

Molla takes over Fenix Plein

One of the new works has been created specifically for Plein, Fenix's freely accessible indoor city square. Molla's Reverse Ride (2026) takes inspiration from Molla, a legendary trickster and folk philosopher who is also known in different cultures as Hodja or Nasreddin.

Stories about the character have circulated for more than 700 years. In Rotterdam, visitors will be invited to sit backwards in bright red racing cars and travel around a course, referring directly to depictions of Molla riding backwards on his donkey.

Commissioned especially for Fenix, the installation reflects the collective's interest in the ways old stories continue to acquire new meanings.

The work also connects closely with Fenix's wider focus on migration. Throughout Mouthfool, language appears as something people carry with them through stories, rituals, recipes, myths and everyday speech.

Opening evening on 19 November

Fenix will celebrate the opening of Mouthfool on Thursday 19 November 2026 with a free evening programme from 19:00 to 22:30.

Visitors will be among the first to experience Molla's Reverse Ride, while Rotterdam's Operator Radio provides music from DJs Klapsalon and Katayoun. The musical selection draws on pop, funk, dance music and recordings from the regions explored by Slavs and Tatars.

Admission to the opening evening is free, but advance registration is required through the official opening event page.

In Other Words: conversations about language and migration

The exhibition is accompanied by In Other Words, a series of four artist talks exploring how language, cultural identity and migration influence contemporary art.

Each presentation takes place in English, followed by an opportunity to explore relevant artworks with the participating artist.

• Saturday 21 November 2026: Payam Sharifi of Slavs and Tatars discusses Molla, the legendary folk philosopher, and the stories behind Molla's Reverse Ride.
• Sunday 24 January 2027: Aitan Ebrahimoff explores the history of Bukharian Jews through family stories and his film lecture Hungry Host.
• Sunday 21 February 2027: Darya Andijan discusses Uyghur language, cultural identity and the importance of preserving stories that face the threat of disappearing.
• Sunday 14 March 2027: Dina Danish examines translation, misunderstandings and the ways meaning changes when words move between languages and writing systems.

The talks take place from 14:00 to 15:00 on Plein at Fenix. Tickets cost €15 and include access to the museum's exhibitions.

Programme details and reservations are available through In Other Words at Fenix.

Experience Mouthfool in your mother tongue

One particularly interesting addition is Mouthfool in your mother tongue, a series of short exhibition introductions offered in six languages.

Instead of presenting the exhibition exclusively in Dutch or English, Fenix invites visitors to discover the artworks in languages that also feature in the exhibition itself.

During each introduction, a museum guide discusses a favourite artwork in their mother tongue, explaining the stories behind its letters, images and cultural references.

The programme follows this schedule:

• 29 November 2026: Turkish
• 20 December 2026: Russian
• 31 January 2027: Ukrainian
• 28 February 2027: Mandarin Chinese
• 28 March 2027: Farsi
• 25 April 2027: Arabic

Introductions take place at 11:00, 13:00 and 15:00 and last approximately 25 minutes. Participation is free with a valid museum ticket, although visitors must reserve their place beforehand.

The programme is also an invitation to Rotterdam's many linguistic communities to experience the exhibition through familiar words and cultural references.

Visit the Mouthfool in your mother tongue programme for registration and further details.

Pickle-making workshops for families

Language is not the only thing that travels across borders. Food, recipes and culinary traditions also move with people, adapting to new places and ingredients along the way.

That idea forms the basis of Fermenteren kun je leren (Learning to Ferment), a hands-on workshop for children aged six and older and their families.

Working with Rotterdam artist Jip van der Hek, participants create their own jars of pickled vegetables using herbs and brine. They can then take their creations home and discover how the flavours develop over time.

The workshop connects everyday food preparation with the exhibition's wider themes of migration, cultural exchange and transformation.

Sessions are scheduled for 19 and 23 December 2026, 24 and 28 February 2027, and 25 April 2027, from 11:00 to 12:00.

Participation costs €5 per child, while accompanying parents and carers can join free of charge. The workshop is conducted in Dutch and takes place on Plein, Fenix's freely accessible indoor square.

Afterwards, families can explore Mouthfool using a special family route. A separate exhibition ticket is required for museum admission, although visitors aged 18 and under enter Fenix free of charge.

Workshop dates and booking information are available on the official fermentation workshop page.

Fenix opens a new exhibition space

Mouthfool will be the first exhibition presented in Fenix's new 650-square-metre gallery on the ground floor. The space will host changing exhibitions offering contemporary artistic perspectives on migration.

It adds another layer to Fenix's existing presentations, including All Directions (Alle Richtingen), The Family of Migrants and The Suitcase Labyrinth (Het Kofferdoolhof). An exhibition by visual artist Shilpa Gupta is scheduled to follow in 2027.

Fenix is housed in a historic harbour warehouse on Rotterdam's former quays of departure and arrival. The museum presents migration stories from across the world through work by more than a hundred artists.

With Mouthfool, visitors can explore how migration affects something we all use every day: language. The accompanying talks, multilingual introductions and creative workshops give different audiences an opportunity to engage with those ideas beyond the exhibition galleries.

Visiting Slavs and Tatars: Mouthfool at Fenix

Slavs and Tatars: Mouthfool runs from 19 November 2026 until 9 May 2027 at Fenix in Rotterdam's Katendrecht neighbourhood.

• Exhibition: Slavs and Tatars: Mouthfool
• Dates: 19 November 2026 to 9 May 2027
• Location: Fenix, Paul Nijghkade 5, Rotterdam
• Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 17:00
• Adult admission: €15
• Ages 19 to 25: €7.50
• Ages 18 and under: Free admission
• Rotterdampas and ICOM: Free admission
• Museumkaart: Not accepted

Some public programme activities take place on Plein, accessible via Dolf Henkesplein 1. These have their own ticketing arrangements, so visitors should check the individual event pages before attending.

For exhibition information and museum tickets, visit the official Mouthfool exhibition page.

How to get to Fenix

Fenix is located at Paul Nijghkade 5 on Katendrecht, across the Rijnhaven from Rotterdam's Wilhelminapier.

Visitors travelling by public transport can take the metro to Wilhelminaplein and continue on foot, a walk of approximately 12 minutes. The museum is also accessible by bicycle and water taxi.

Fenix does not have its own car park. Visitors arriving by car can use nearby paid parking facilities, although public transport is generally recommended.