HAPPENING 18 JUL–30 AUG 2026 | Brutus is bringing back Wild Summer of Art this summer with a new edition called The Treasure Hunt Edition. From 18 July to 30 August, the Rotterdam exhibition space will hand over its raw industrial halls to 50 local artists, each showing a less familiar side of their work.
Photo credit: Laura Siliquini
Wild Summer of Art returns to Brutus this July
This year’s edition does not revolve around one grand theme. Instead, curators Hajo Doorn and Cokkie Snoei chose a looser and more intuitive approach, building the line-up with help from 14 scouts from across the Rotterdam art scene. The result is a broad selection of artists, with each participant invited to show something unexpected, underexposed or surprising.
That idea is what gives the exhibition its title. Rather than spelling everything out with long wall texts and conceptual framing, Brutus is leaning into discovery. You are meant to move through the spaces, look closely and piece things together for yourself, which suits both the title and the venue.
A treasure hunt through Rotterdam art
The curators are deliberately stepping back and giving the works room to speak on their own terms. That means fewer explanations and more trust in the experience of wandering through the show. In a city that already likes its culture with a bit of edge, that approach feels very Rotterdam.
The setting matters here too. Brutus has built its identity around large, rough-edged industrial spaces rather than polished museum calm, and that makes a difference for an exhibition like this. The venue’s former harbour-site atmosphere turns the whole thing into more than a straight gallery visit. It becomes something closer to a search through a temporary landscape of ideas, materials and visual surprises.
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Wild Summer of Art 2024. Photographer: Laura Siliquini
Fifty artists across all spaces
The participating artists include well-known Rotterdam names as well as newer voices, among them Anton Vrede, Ari Versluis, Bent Lochtenberg, Chris Nelck, Cindy Jansen, Cristal De La Cruz, Dineke van Huizen, Domas van Wijk, Elise 't Hart, Fatima Barznge, Ferdows Fhakir, Gamze Öztürk, Gyz La Rivière, Hulya Yilmaz, Ieke Trinks, Inge Aanstoot, Iris van Gelder, Jaasir Linger, Jaïr Roosveld, Jochem Mestriner, Jozef van Rossum, Koen Taselaar, Linhuei Chen, Luca Tichelman, Maarten Janssen, Mats Mingus, Maurice Meeuwisse, Merijn Haenen, Nada van Dalen, Natalia Sorzano, Nicky Assmann, Peter Fengler, Renske Maria De Raad, Rowan van As, Serana Angelista, Shertise Solano, Sonia Rijnhout, Studio Ossidiana, Tessa Biemans, Thomas & Jurgen, Toine Klaassen, Tyler Chan, Vanessa Jane Phaff, Werner van der Zwan, XR Art Group, Yesum Yoon, Yoana Buzova & Matthias Hurtl, Young-Ju Yoo and collective De Brandende Kat.
The scout list also says something about the show’s local roots. Names including Florian Cramer, Herman Lamers, Vincent van Velsen, Aya Musa and Zineb Seghrouchni helped shape the selection, pointing to a format that is less about one institutional voice and more about a networked snapshot of what is happening in Rotterdam now.
Wild Summer of Art 2024. Photographer: Laura Siliquini
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Brutus Takeover returns this summer
Alongside the main exhibition, Brutus Takeover will return in a new form. Over seven weeks, artists will be invited to respond to the exhibition and activate it with new interventions. The focus is on experimentation, with room for makers who want to test ideas in public rather than arrive with something fully fixed in place.
That experimental streak runs through the wider summer programme too. Brutus says the season will also include performances, live interventions, music, workshops and talks, keeping the site active well beyond a standard exhibition visit. If you already think of Brutus as one of Rotterdam’s more unpredictable cultural spaces, this summer looks set to lean even further into that role.
What Brutus is planning this summer
Brutus describes itself as an artist-driven playground, and that still feels like the clearest way to understand the place. Spread across 6,000 square metres in a former harbour complex in Rotterdam-West, it has become one of the Netherlands’ largest independent spaces for contemporary art. It was founded by Joep van Lieshout in 2008 and has operated as an independent foundation since 2022 under the direction of Sanne ten Brink.
For Rotterdam, Wild Summer of Art 2026 looks like another reminder that some of the city’s most interesting art happens in spaces that are willing to stay rough around the edges. Not every summer exhibition needs a neat thesis. Sometimes it is enough to follow the clues and see what turns up.
Brutus. Photo credit: Tamara Cieremans
Practical information
Wild Summer of Art 2026 opens on Friday 17 July 2026 from 19:00 to 01:00.
The exhibition runs from 18 July to 30 August 2026 at Brutus.
Registration for the opening:
Brutus.stager.co/shop/wsoa26
About Brutus
Founded in 2008 by artist Joep van Lieshout, Brutus describes itself as an Artist Driven Playground rather than a traditional museum. Located in the west of Rotterdam, it offers large-scale spaces for experimentation in all disciplines, from sculpture to immersive installations.
Brutus comprises two foundations: Brutus Base, which handles projects related to Atelier Van Lieshout, and Brutus Space, which manages broader collaborations. In addition to exhibitions, the organisation runs a residency programme and the Brutus Prijs.
Directions to Brutus
Brutus is located at Keileweg 10 in the M4H port area in western Rotterdam. This industrial area is known for its creative and cultural spaces. Visitors can reach Brutus by public transport or car, with parking available nearby.
