Kunsthal Rotterdam

PROGRAM SATURDAY 2 OCTOBER 

Ivan Words will inspire you with a spoken word performance, especially written for the exhibition We Are Animals. During a workshop he will also help you make your own spoken word creations. Immerse yourself in the art of taxidermy (mounting dead animals) with a talk by Kees Moeliker, director of the Natural History Museum Rotterdam, and find out more about the application of animal materials in bio art during a lecture by Jalila Essaïdi. ‘Plant Based Dennis’ Vink, a biologist specialised in animal behaviour, will give a talk on animal ethics and veganism. And the Doelenensemble will be playing a special version of Le Carnaval des Animaux. You can also join guided tours of We Are Animals and the Museumpark and follow a workshop in realistically drawing animals. To conclude the day we will pay tribute to the lives of animals with a screening of the film Gunda.

Participation in the activities is free on presentation of a valid Kunsthal admission ticket. Please always book an e-ticket with start time, also for (free) children and ticket holders. For some of the activities you can register in advance, read more below.

Spoken Word met Ivan Words

The Rotterdam-based artist Ivan Words is not only a spoken word performer, but also an author, actor, and theatre maker. On Saturday he will first read a poem that he especially wrote for We Are Animals, and then give a workshop. Learn how to write the most wonderful poems and present these to an audience in an inspiring way. 

The (dead) animal in art and natural history 

TALK BY KEES MOELIKER
It is obvious that animals are the stars of We Are Animals, but the fact that the exhibition also features mounted dead animals prompted Kees Moeliker to contemplate the emergence of dead animals in art. Does he – as a biologist and the director of the Natural History Museum Rotterdam – consider dead animals an exclusive domain that artist are violently trespassing on, or does he think of the artists as comrades in arms in a joint struggle to raise more awareness for the natural world? Kees Moeliker will discuss Julius von Bismarck’s squashed stork, the skeleton of TINKEBELL’s cat, the mounted hedgehog that even caused McDonalds to think, and other famous dead animals in art and natural history.

Plant Based and AnimalKIND: Talk by Dennis Vink

Dennis Vink, aka Plant Based Dennis, is a biologist specialised in animal behaviour, animal welfare and animal ethics. Since 2020, he has been sharing tips and inspiration for a vegan lifestyle on his platform Plant Based Dennis. Especially for the Kunsthal, on the occasion of the exhibition We Are Animals, he is giving an inspirational talk on achieving a truly animal-friendly lifestyle and its benefits for nature, the climate, your fellow human beings, and yourself.

Realistically Drawing Animals with Medy Oberendorff

During this workshop for adults you will learn how to make a realistic drawing of an animal. Medy Obendoff will teach you the finer points. You can already register via aanmelden@kunsthal.nl. Please mention: ‘Workshop Medy Obendoff Saturday’. 

Le Carnaval des Animaux with a twist by the Doelenensemble  

Have you seen the elephant floating upside down in the exhibition We Are Animals? Inspired by this artwork, the Doelenensemble will perform the famous musical composition Le Carnaval des Animaux with a twist. 

Tours We Are Animals 

Enter the animal kingdom of art with a tour of the exhibition We Are Animals, together with a guide from UrbanGuides. Works by such artists as Maurizio Cattelan, Candida Höfer, Paul McCarthy, and David Shrigley show the relationship between human beings and animals, and reveal how we, as humans, see ourselves and try to understand ourselves better through animals. An exciting exhibition that forces us to look in the mirror. You can sign up for one of the tours at the Kunsthal on the day.  

Tours Museumpark by Natuurmonumenten 

Find out more about urban nature and the animals at the Museumpark during a tour by a representative of Natuurmonumenten (the Society for the Preservation of Nature Monuments in the Netherlands).

Filmvertoning Gunda

The much-praised Russian director Victor Kossakovsky has been a vegetarian since early childhood. With Gunda he has fulfilled a long-cherished wish: making a film about pigs. Without comments or dramatic music, this film aims to inspire people to develop a sense of empathy and awe for animals.
With supporting roles for ecstatic cows and a chicken with one leg, this black and white film is a tribute to the lives of animals. The viewer is immersed in the daily life on an idyllic farm. Here the sow Gunda and her new-born offspring were sympathetically filmed at eye level, with the set-up of special 360-degree cameras in the pigsty resulting in intimate and wonderful natural images.

PROGRAM SUNDAY 3 OCTOBER

Sunday will be Kunsthal FAMILYday during which everyone can join in and get creative. The youngest children can start the day with a Pim & Pom workshop where they can star in a music video. TORI will lead you through the most beautiful animal stories. During the entire afternoon you can drop by and participate in the silkscreen printing workshop, and there are Family tours of We Are Animals and the Museumpark, and Bee tours on the Kunsthal roof. Become totally zen during a class in animal yoga. Or do the exact opposite and get your adrenaline kick during the show of Sterrin Smalbrugge, known from television programmes like De Grote Reptielenshow (the great reptile show). Real animals will be present! 

Participation in the activities is free on presentation of a valid Kunsthal admission ticket. Please always book an e-ticket with start time, also for (free) children and ticket holders. For some of the activities you can register in advance, read more below.

Pim & Pom workshop for pre-school children

This Sunday, the Kunsthal will be opening its doors thirty minutes earlier than usual for the Pim & Pom workshop for pre-school children. During this workshop the children can feature in a music video that they will make themselves, based on the ‘alley cat song’ from the movie Pim & Pom - Het Grote Avontuur (Pim & Pom’s great adventure). Hurry up and register via aanmelden@kunsthal.nl. We will let you know if we have a spot available as soon as possible.

Bookreading and workshop by TORI

Children’s books are much more fun when they are meant for everyone. TORI is an organisation that promotes inclusive children’s books in which ethnicity, orientation, background, and various life events and cultures are discussed. During the Kunsthal LIVE Weekend they will lead you through the colourful animal stories of Donnie, a book by Lisa Maschhaupt. After the book reading you can get to work yourself during a cool workshop. 

Animal yoga

Downward facing dog, cat-cow pose, cobra: yoga is full of animal poses. During the Kunsthal Weekend you can roll out your mat in the exhibition We Are Animals. This yoga class by Balansz Yoga is meant for people of all ages. You can sign up for the class at the Kunsthal on the day. 

Sterrin’s Reptile Journey

Sterrin Smalbrugge is an ecologist and an expert on reptiles. She knows everything about these special animals – from huge crocodiles to deadly snakes. Especially for the Kunsthal Weekend, she will be presenting her new theatre show, Sterrin’s Reptile Journey, in the Kunsthal Auditorium. Prepare yourself for some animal madness!

Family tours We Are Animals (30 min.)

Brightly coloured polar bears with feathers, gigantic paintings of cats, and a floating elephant: at the Kunsthal you can enter the animal kingdom of art! Go on a family tour of the exhibition We Are Animals with UrbanGuides. You can sign up for the tour at the Kunsthal on the day. 

Museumpark Tours by Natuurmonumenten (30 min.)

Find out more about urban nature and the animals at the Museumpark during a tour by a representative of Natuurmonumenten (the Society for the Preservation of Nature Monuments in the Netherlands).

Bee tours on Kunsthal Roof

Bees are important animals for the world. Since 2014, two bee colonies have been living on the Kunsthal roof. From that location they take care of pollinating the surrounding flora in the Museumpark. During the Bee tour hosted by a beekeeper from the Odin apiary, you can find out more about why these tiny creatures have such a big influence on us humans.

Silkscreen printing workshop (continuous between 11:00 and 16:00 hrs)

During this silkscreen printing workshop you will learn how to make the most wonderful animal creations. Find some inspiration in the exhibition We Are Animals and get busy yourself. You can just drop by.

Look&Do-tour (continuous)

Discover the animal creations in the exhibition We Are Animals during the Look&Do tour. 

KunsthalLAB (continuous)

Unleash your inner beast at the KunsthalLAB.