Cultural tips for Amsterdam this spring

ART & EXHIBITIONS

David Leventhal: American myth and memory

In his first major exhibition in the Netherlands, the American photographer reconstructs iconic moments from American history and culture through toys and figurines, questioning the construction of these narratives of power, heroism, and identity. From the wild West to baseball and Barbie, his subject matter is as varied and diverse as America itself. 

American Identities: David Levinthal - H’ART Museum | until 6 September 2026, H'ART Museum

Judy Chicago: Revelations

A beautiful and prominent museum located across four monumental synagogues, the Jewish Museum gives a multifaceted picture of Dutch Jewish life – including the interactive Children’s Museum. With a range of exhibitions on covering both identity and art, catch the current Judy Chicago exhibition, dubbed Revelations, which showcases her work on gender, power, and social justice, as well as forgotten histories closely linked to her Jewish background.

Judy Chicago: Revelations | until 23 August 2026, Jewish Museum

Amsterdam Art Week

An essential date for art lovers, Amsterdam Art Week, is the place to discover what the capital offers in contemporary art. In its 13th edition, Amsterdam Art Week transforms the city into an international meeting place for art enthusiasts, collectors, and emerging and renowned artists. Discover the latest developments and debates at more than 50 participating galleries, project spaces, museums, and residencies dotted around the city’s top independent galleries and contemporary art spaces for five days.

Amsterdam Art Week | 19-24 May 2026, various locations

ARTZUID Biennale

The ninth edition of Amsterdam's renowned sculpture biennale, ARTZUID, will feature 60 outdoor artworks along a picturesque five-kilometre path. Right in the heart of iconic Dutch architect Berlage's expansive Plan Zuid –which spans the tree-lined boulevards of the Apollolaan, the Minervalaan and the Churchilllaan –the exhibit will display works curated by prominent names such as Rudi Fuchs and Roberto Meyer. Celebrating the beauty of outdoor sculpture and the surrounding landscape, ARTZUID is a public art experience like no other.

ARTZUID | 17 May - 21 September 2026, various locations

CONCERTS & CLUBBING

Festival season

Amsterdam’s music festival season opens in mid-April with DGTL, a three-day event dedicated to underground electronic music, which takes place at the NDSM Docklands. Next up is Awakenings, the country’s most legendary techno event, which will return to the stunning Spaarnwoude Park this year with another exceptional line-up full of surprises and special guests. Later, Lente Kabinet (the little sister festival to Dekmantel) unfolds in the stunning surroundings of Het Twiske, simultaneously with the Amsterdam Open Air Festival, which lights up the stunning Gaasperpark with a versatile agenda of electronic music, pop, Latin and Afro genres across ten stages.

DGTL | 3-5 April 2026, NDSM Docklands
Awakenings Up Close | 16-17 May 2026, Spaarnwoude Park
Lente Kabinet | 23-24 May 2026, Het Twiske
Amsterdam Open Air | 6-7 June 2026, Gaasperpark

Record Store Day

This annual event honours Amsterdam’s independent record stores, with many special vinyl releases and in-store performances across the city. Spend the Saturday hopping between stores, digging for never-before-released gems, new songs, remixes and more unique items. Various shop floors will be turned into intimate stages, with more than 250 performances throughout the day.

Record Store Day | 18 April 2026, various locations

THEATRE & STAGE

Opera Forward Festival

Returning with a week-long program of bold and exploratory performances and talks, Opera Forward Festival (OFF) represents the best of operatic innovation. Among the program’s highlights is the poignant We Are The Lucky Ones, a musical portrait of a generation born between 1940 and 1949. Based on over seventy interviews, the opera reflects on the memories and struggles of these individuals as society shifts around them.

Opera Forward Festival | 6-15 March 2026, various locations

A Streetcar Named Desire

Award-winning director Rebecca Frecknall brings her adaptation of Tennessee Williams’ work to Amsterdam, after sold-out runs in London and New York. ITA’s ensemble brings a new life to this acclaimed show, while maintaining their predecessors' raw, blistering honesty of portrayal, tackling themes of domestic violence and fragile masculinity head-on. Throbbing drums accompany the actions on stage, pulse-like in the energy they lend to the proceedings. And while the play is performed in Dutch, English subtitles are available.

A Streetcar Named Desire | 4-22 March 2026, ITA

FESTIVALS & EVENTS

National holidays

Spring in the Netherlands is packed full of national holidays. On King's Day (27 April 2026), over a million orange-clad revellers descend onto the streets and canals for markets, parties and family events across the city. A few weeks later, Amsterdam’s citizens will pause to pay their respects to civilians and members of the armed forces who have died in conflicts (4 May) with a national Remembrance Day ceremony at Dam Square. Then it's time for a national party (5 May), as the crowds take to the streets to celebrate the liberation of the Netherlands (Bevrijdingsdag) at the end of World War II.

CINEMA & FILM

Kaboom Animation Festival

A dreamy two-day festival that celebrates the animated world in all its forms and colours, Kaboom is for animation lovers and makers alike, with award-winning shorts and feature-length films on show. The festival also runs a competition for best animated films.

Kaboom Animation Festival | 13-22 March 2026, Eye Filmmuseum

Roze Filmdagen

Amsterdam’s annual queer film festival returns in March, celebrating pioneering cinema, actors and directors from the community. The longest-running and largest LGBTQI+ film festival in the Netherlands, expect everything from shorts to documentaries, panel talks, and in-depth analysis, all within the industrial but cosy confines of Westerpark Cultural District's Het Ketelhuis.

Roze Filmdagen (Pink Film Days) | 18-20 March 2026, Het Ketelhuis