FROM 1 NOV 2025 | An immersive installation by artist Mandy El-Sayegh will open this November in the Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen. The presentation marks the start of a new multi-year exhibition series showcasing experimental contemporary art.

Mandy El-Sayegh brings layered installation to Depot

From Saturday 1 November 2025, the Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam will host a large-scale installation by the London-based artist Mandy El-Sayegh. The exhibition marks the artist’s first solo project in the Netherlands and inaugurates the institution’s new Depot Solo series.

El-Sayegh, born in Malaysia in 1985, is known for a multidisciplinary approach that spans painting, collage, installation, video and performance. Her work is often structured around the deconstruction and reconstruction of language, material and meaning. For this commission, El-Sayegh has transformed one of the Depot’s halls into a fragmented and immersive installation that exposes her creative process.

Deconstructing meaning through material

The installation includes newly created work in which El-Sayegh dissects the anatomy of her paintings. Visitors can expect collages composed of silkscreens and hand-painted elements that reference both art history and contemporary culture. Notably, the exhibition incorporates reproductions of old master drawings from the collection of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen.

The space functions simultaneously as a laboratory and exhibition: an environment where the development of the work remains visible and active. Layers of newspaper clippings, scientific diagrams, anatomy books, grids, latex sheets and Arabic calligraphy—drawn from her father’s handwriting—are fused into intricate compositions. Through this layered process, the artist examines how information is structured and how meaning can shift depending on context.

Performance during Museumnacht 2026

As part of Rotterdam’s Museumnacht on 7 March 2026, a performance will take place within the installation. This live event will reinterpret the exhibition in a new format, emphasising the fluid relationship between body, text and space in El-Sayegh’s practice.

A platform for contemporary experimentation

The Depot Solo initiative aims to offer contemporary artists, who have not yet held a solo show in the Netherlands, the opportunity to develop site-specific immersive installations. The series, made possible in part by Ammodo Art, positions itself as an analogue alternative to the trend of digital immersive experiences, providing space for physical and material experimentation.

Directions to the Depot

Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen is located in the Museumpark, a central cultural hub in Rotterdam near the Kunsthal and Het Nieuwe Instituut. The area is accessible by public transport and offers nearby parking for bicycles and cars. The building’s iconic mirrored facade is within walking distance from Rotterdam Central Station.

FROM 19 JUL to 7 DEC 2025 – A newly declassified U.S. Army archive has inspired Kunsthal Rotterdam’s latest exhibition, revealing how military uniforms influenced modern fashion. French image researcher Matthieu Nicol brings this rare visual collection to the Netherlands.

_{Kunsthal Rotterdam presents Fashion Army, a photo exhibition exploring the influence of military attire on fashion, running 19 July–7 December 2025.}

Declassified military archive inspires Kunsthal exhibition

From 19 July to 7 December 2025, Kunsthal Rotterdam will host Fashion Army, an exhibition showcasing over fifty photographs from a declassified archive of the United States Army. The images, spanning from the late 1960s to the early 1990s, were originally part of a systematic documentation process conducted by the Natick Soldier Systems Center.

French visual researcher Matthieu Nicol discovered the archive in 2022 during an online investigation. He was drawn to the images’ structured approach and ambiguous purpose. The photographs feature men and women wearing prototype uniforms in stark studio settings, resembling fashion catalogue photography. According to Nicol, the collection serves as a visual study of how clothing contributes to the image and function of military power.

From research to exhibition

Initially stumbled upon by chance, the images evolved into the basis for a larger research project. The Natick Soldier Systems Center, which operates under the U.S. Department of Defense, specialises in studies relating to clothing, nutrition, shelter, and airdrop systems. Despite repeated queries, the institute declined to clarify the original aim behind the photography sessions. The likely explanation is that they were used to document garment prototypes designed for various military roles—from secretarial staff to combat soldiers.

The full collection was later compiled by Nicol in a 2024 publication titled Fashion Army, which now serves as the foundation of the exhibition in Rotterdam. The photographs not only capture a period in military design but also reflect the long-standing influence of military aesthetics on civilian fashion. Items such as camouflage patterns, cargo trousers, and trench coats have become commonplace, blurring the boundaries between battlefield attire and high-street style.

Aesthetic unease

Despite the artistic composition of the photos, the exhibition acknowledges an underlying tension. The carefully posed subjects, dressed in gear linked to defence and potential conflict, invite reflection on the dual nature of military power—protection and force. This aesthetic contrast may leave viewers with a sense of unease, reinforcing the layered meaning of clothing in society.

About Matthieu Nicol

Born in 1978 in Paris, Matthieu Nicol is a Paris-based curator, iconographer, and founder of the consultancy Too Many Pictures. His previous experience includes working for Le Monde and contributing to the publishing house delpire & co, situated in Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Nicol continues to explore photographic archives and their cultural relevance through both print and exhibition work.

Exhibition publication

The English-language book Fashion Army includes 192 pages and is available for purchase at Kunsthal Rotterdam and online via kunsthalshop.nl from 19 July. The ISBN is 978-1-915743-57-2, and it retails for €50.

Directions to Kunsthal Rotterdam

Kunsthal Rotterdam is located in the Museumpark, a central cultural hub in the city. Designed by architect Rem Koolhaas, the building is a short walk from the Erasmus Medical Centre and Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen. Visitors can reach the venue easily via tram line 7 or metro station Eendrachtsplein.

OPENING 10 October 2025 | The Wereldmuseum Rotterdam will soon present a major solo exhibition by Rotterdam artist Marlou Fernanda, exploring a decade of her creative work. The exhibition will open on 10 October 2025 and will trace her artistic journey through paintings, sketches, notes, and installations.

Exhibition explores ten years of Marlou Fernanda's work

On 10 October 2025, Marlou Fernanda: A time for everything will open at Wereldmuseum Rotterdam. The multidisciplinary exhibition marks the first large-scale solo presentation of the Rotterdam-born artist (1996). It reflects on ten years of independent artistic practice, inviting visitors into a personal and at times confrontational world where themes of self-expression and the right to claim space take centre stage.

The exhibition is structured as a journey through four ‘seasons’ in Fernanda’s life and work. It will feature her large-scale paintings alongside never-before-shown sketches and handwritten notes, offering a layered insight into her development as a maker and individual.

The role of alter ego Nu-Nu

A recurring figure in Fernanda’s oeuvre is Nu-Nu, an expressive alter ego that for years served as a key outlet for her artistic voice. The exhibition charts Nu-Nu’s emergence, its role in helping Fernanda assert her presence, and her eventual decision to move away from it.

This narrative touches on questions of identity, family, and the process of finding one’s place in a society that does not always grant space willingly. Through handwritten texts and an interactive installation, visitors will be encouraged to reflect on their own associations and stories related to the themes of ‘self-expression’ and ‘claiming space’ (ruimte innemen).

Marlou Fernanda’s first major solo exhibition opens 10 October 2025 at Wereldmuseum Rotterdam, exploring a decade of her artistic journey.

Artist’s perspective

In her own words, Fernanda describes claiming space as an act of resistance, especially as a young woman of colour and self-taught artist. She notes that she has often had to create opportunities in places where they were not readily offered. The exhibition, she explains, is intended not only as her own space but as a space for anyone questioning where and how they can truly exist as themselves.

Linked documentary

Marlou Fernanda: A time for everything coincides with the release of the documentary Los van Nu-Nu (directed by Denise Janzée), which follows Fernanda over three years. The film will premiere at the Nederlands Film Festival this autumn and will also be screened at Wereldmuseum Rotterdam on 8 November 2025 in collaboration with Roffa Mon Amour.

Practical information

The exhibition opens on 10 October 2025 at Wereldmuseum Rotterdam and will run for a limited period.

Location and directions

Wereldmuseum Rotterdam is located at Willemskade 25, in the Scheepvaartkwartier area, close to the Erasmus Bridge. The area is known for its historic waterfront, cultural institutions, and easy tram and metro connections. Parking is available in nearby garages, and the location is a short walk from Leuvehaven metro station.

FROM 13 SEPT–14 DEC 2025 | A new exhibition by Afghan-born artist Narges Mohammadi is set to open this September at Brutus. Her installation explores memory, poverty and resilience through a deeply personal lens.

Narges Mohammadi returns to her roots in solo exhibition at Brutus

The Rotterdam art space Brutus will host a solo exhibition by artist Narges Mohammadi from 13 September to 14 December 2025. Titled Er kraait geen haan naar, the show features a site-specific installation exploring childhood memories, economic insecurity and the resilience of the human spirit.

Exploring the poetics of memory and poverty

Mohammadi, born in Kabul in 1993, revisits spaces from her early youth in a large-scale installation specially developed for Brutus' underground Barbarella space. The work incorporates sculptural elements crafted from sand and alabaster, alongside enlarged family photographs recreated in clay. These are set against the recurring sound of a ticking sewing machine—both ominous and comforting.

The exhibition considers the layered meaning of ‘home’—not as a fixed structure, but as something shaped by memory, presence and absence. By hollowing out alabaster from within until it becomes almost transparent, Mohammadi employs a sculptural technique that also functions as a metaphor: the way poverty can erode individuals quietly, from the inside out.

About the artist

Narges Mohammadi studied art history in Utrecht and visual arts at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague. Her work has previously been recognised with awards such as the Volkskrant Visual Art Prize (2024) and the Stokroos Sculpture Prize (2022). In 2025, she also designed Rotterdam's monument against femicide, unveiled on International Women’s Day.

Brutus as a platform for artistic freedom

Brutus, located in a former port complex in Rotterdam-West, is known for offering artists room to experiment. With over 6,000 m² of raw industrial space, it supports a wide range of contemporary art forms. The venue continues to be a space where established and emerging artists can create without conventional constraints.

Location and directions

The exhibition Er kraait geen haan naar takes place at Brutus Space, Keileweg 10-B in Rotterdam. The area, part of the Keilekwartier in Rotterdam-West, is known for its creative and industrial character, housing studios, cultural events, and food spaces. The venue is easily accessible by bike, tram, or car.