FROM 17 OCT 2025 – How prepared is Rotterdam for a crisis? That’s the question Museum Rotterdam explores in its new temporary pop-up presentation Het Rotterdamse Noodpakket (The Rotterdam Emergency Kit), opening 17 October at the museum’s Coolhaven location.

Preparing for the unexpected

From pandemics and flooding to cyberattacks and even war, emergencies feel closer than ever. The Municipality of Rotterdam is encouraging residents to prepare an emergency kit — but what should go in it? Where do you store it? And how can solutions work for everyone in the city?

The Rotterdam Emergency Kit examines these questions through conversations with both experts and local residents, combining personal perspectives with professional insight.

Experts and residents share their views

For this presentation, the museum collaborated with experts including Arjen Littooij (Director of Safety Region Rotterdam-Rijnmond), Ruud van Os (Editor-in-Chief, Rijnmond), Guusje Enneking (Erasmus University / Pandemic & Disaster Preparedness Center), and Sergeant-Major Emil and Captain Ritchie from the Marine Corps at the Van Ghent Barracks.

Alongside expert advice, the museum also gathered input from Rotterdammers themselves — asking whether they already have emergency kits and what they consider essential. The result is a collection of model kits, ranging from a luxury ready-made option to a family-sized version and a basic starter kit that visitors can adapt to their own needs.

Documentary and historic self-protection game

The exhibition includes a short documentary featuring these discussions, as well as real emergency kits on display for visitors to explore.

For children and adults alike, there’s also a rare object from the museum’s collection: a self-protection board game from 1940, created during the Second World War as part of a national awareness campaign. Designed by advertising agency Arend Meijer for the Head Inspectorate for Air Protection, the game was used to teach civilians how to prepare for emergencies — through play.

Third pop-up towards the new city museum

The Rotterdam Emergency Kit is the third pop-up in Museum Rotterdam’s ongoing series of experimental displays, following The Bishop’s Dollhouse and The Laughing Gas Man of Rotterdam. These projects allow the museum to test new ways of presenting urban heritage while engaging directly with the city and its people.

The exhibition is free to visit, with the option to explore Museum Rotterdam ’40–’45 NOW afterwards at regular admission rates.

Getting there

Museum Rotterdam is located at the Coolhaven, easily accessible by metro (Coolhaven station) and tram lines 8 and 18.

HAPPENING 12 SEP & 12 OCT | A series of guided cycling tours will highlight the hidden gems of artist Leendert Bolle in Rotterdam. The next tours take place on 21 September and 12 October, starting at 11:00 AM.

Who was Leendert Bolle?

Leendert Bolle (1879–1942) was a Dutch sculptor and designer whose work helped shape Rotterdam’s public spaces in the interwar years. He created decorative sculptures, monuments and architectural details that blended traditional craftsmanship with modern influences. Although some of his works were lost in the bombing of 1940, others remain in the city and offer a glimpse of pre-war Rotterdam’s artistic character.

Leendert Bolle’s work in the city

Many Rotterdam residents may be surprised to learn that Bolle’s work can still be found at several iconic sites. Examples include the columns at the old entrance to Diergaarde Blijdorp, the ironwork of the G.J. de Jongh monument, and the keystones on the Statensingel bridge bearing portraits of Henry Ford and Charlie Chaplin.

Some of Bolle’s sculptures, often integrated into architecture, were destroyed in the war. Yet others remain intact and continue to add character to the cityscape. The cycling tours offer the chance to see these works in their original setting.

Guided tours with Astrid Steijger (in Dutch)

City and museum guide Astrid Steijger leads the tours, sharing insights about Bolle’s techniques, artistic language and his contribution to Rotterdam’s cultural heritage. Each ride lasts about 75 minutes, evoking the atmosphere of pre-war Rotterdam. Please note that the guided tours will be in Dutch. 

The route also highlights connections to other artists such as Chabot, complementing the exhibition currently on view at the Chabot Museum.

Practical information

• Dates: Sunday 31 August, Sunday 21 September and Sunday 12 October
• Time: 11:00 AM start (please arrive on time)
• Duration: approx. 75 minutes
• Tickets: €19.50 / €17.50 with Museumkaart / €15 with Rotterdampas (includes entrance to the Chabot Museum)
• Starting point: Old entrance of Diergaarde Blijdorp, Van Aerssenlaan 47, 3039 KE Rotterdam
• End point: Chabot Museum, where participants can visit the exhibition independently with their ticket
• Note: Bring your own bicycle or rent an OV-fiets at the station; no bikes are provided by the organisers

Location and directions

The tour begins at the old entrance of Diergaarde Blijdorp, located on Van Aerssenlaan in Blijdorp. The starting point is accessible by bicycle from Rotterdam Central Station, where OV-fietsen are available for hire.

10 OCT 2025–19 APR 2026 | From protest chants to whispered verses, poetry in West Asia and North Africa speaks across generations. The new exhibition Poetry of the People at Wereldmuseum Rotterdam explores how poetry shapes lives, challenges power and connects communities.

_{Image: Poetry of the People. Credit: Kaka Lee.} 

Poetry as collective memory

Poetry has long held a central place in societies across West Asia and North Africa. Passed down through centuries and across borders, it remains a living art form recited from memory by millions. Poetry of the People highlights influential works that continue to resonate today — showing how poems can inspire joy, resistance and solidarity.

The exhibition runs from 10 October 2025 to 19 April 2026 at Wereldmuseum Rotterdam, following its successful debut in Amsterdam. In a city known for its diversity and international outlook, the show feels right at home.

The power of words

Among the featured works is a 16th-century poem by Pir Sultan Abdal, a revolutionary Turkish poet who spoke for the people and defied the Ottoman Empire. His poem Ötme Bülbül Ötme (“Do not sing, nightingale”) is reinterpreted in song by Dutch-Kurdish artist Meral Polat, who also performs the piece on video within the exhibition.

I became like rivers
separated from the sea,
of an extinguished fire.
I became like roses
that bloomed before their time.
I'm burning, my friend,
from the pain you caused me.
– Pir Sultan Abdal, 16th century

Social impact and creative freedom

The exhibition explores the social impact of poetry from the late 19th century to the present day. More than thirty poems are presented through text, sound, performance, video and installation. Some celebrate love and beauty; others call for freedom and equality.

From the intimacy of a single voice to the collective rhythm of protest chants, Poetry of the People captures the way language unites individuals and movements alike. Visitors will encounter the voices of change-makers, bridge-builders and freedom-seekers — and gain insight into the region’s creativity and cultural richness.

Image: Mohammad Ebrahim, Anthology of Persian Poetry, Qajar period, Iran, 1847. Collection of Wereldmuseum Rotterdam.

A timeless art

The exhibition features works by poets such as Abu al-Qasim al-Shabbi, Dunya Mikhail, Forough Farrokhzad, Mahmoud Darwish, Nazim Hikmet and Rumi. Written in languages including Arabic, Greek, Hebrew, Persian, Tamazight and Turkish, the poems demonstrate the depth and diversity of the region’s literary traditions.

Contemporary artists have also responded to these legacies, including Sara Rajaei, Nour Jaouda, and the collective Slavs and Tatars. Together, they show how poetry continues to inspire new generations of writers, performers and visual artists.

How to get to Wereldmuseum Rotterdam

FROM 8 NOV '25 – 12 APR '26 | Kunsthal Rotterdam presents Kudzanai-Violet Hwami. They Have Always Been Here, the first solo exhibition in the Netherlands of the Zimbabwean artist. The show runs until 12 April 2026 in Hal 4.

New works exploring identity and heritage

Born in 1993, Kudzanai-Violet Hwami creates layered paintings that combine deep colours, AI-edited photographs and, for the first time, bronze sculptures. For this exhibition, she has produced an entirely new series of works. Her practice amplifies voices that have often been marginalised in history, particularly queer people of colour within the African diaspora.

By weaving together personal photographs and archival material, Hwami addresses themes of identity, heritage and belonging. Her work reflects on the tension between personal freedom, family ties and societal expectations, offering viewers an intimate and complex perspective on lived experience.

Collaboration with Victoria Miro

The exhibition has been developed in close collaboration with the artist and with Victoria Miro gallery in London. For Rotterdam audiences, it provides an opportunity to encounter Hwami’s practice on a significant scale and to engage with pressing themes through her distinctive visual language.

Practical information

• Dates: 8 November 2025 – 12 April 2026
• Location: Kunsthal Rotterdam, Hal 4
• Organised with: Kudzanai-Violet Hwami and Victoria Miro, London

Location and directions

Kunsthal Rotterdam is located on the Museumpark, close to Het Nieuwe Instituut and Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen. It is easily reached by tram or metro (Eendrachtsplein), and within walking distance from Rotterdam Central Station.