Casa de Fado Amsterdam
Founded in January 2024, Casa de Fado Amsterdam brings together a new generation of musicians whose paths converged in Amsterdam through a shared passion for fado. What began as informal sessions has grown into a professional initiative: a dynamic community in which each performance features a changing constellation of young fado musicians based in Amsterdam. Rooted in the 19th century, fado is a musical genre that conveys both the joys and sorrows of Portuguese identity. Casa de Fado Amsterdam aims not only to preserve this rich tradition but also to reinterpret it within a contemporary and inclusive framework. In doing so, it fosters meaningful cultural dialogue between Portugal and the Netherlands, while offering fresh perspectives on a centuries-old art form and ensuring its continued relevance for new generations of listeners.
Art Uncurated
Art Uncurated, founded in 2023 by scientist and Kathak dancer Proteeti Bhattacharjee, is a dynamic platform for dialogue and collaboration in the performing arts. Rooted in India’s classical traditions and now based in Amsterdam, Proteeti brings a global lens to projects that blend heritage with innovation. Art Uncurated connects performers, mentors, emerging artists, and audiences through international programs, creative exchange, and community engagement. In a rapidly shifting cultural and technological landscape, it asks: What does it mean to be an artist today? How do audiences shape the future of performance? Reflecting Proteeti’s personal journey, the initiative fosters meaningful connections and celebrates diverse, living art forms worldwide.
Artists
Joana Almeida, guitarist
Joana Almeida, guitarist and composer from Portugal, is recognized as one of the first women to professionally accompany fado with classical guitar. Dedicated to fado since the age of 11, Joana broadened her musical horizons by studying jazz, non-Western rhythms and konnakol. She performed in various concert halls and festivals including the Sharq Taronalari Folk Music Festival (UZ), Ethnos Festival (IT), Hidden Kingdom World Music Festival (BT), Visa For Music (MA), She Arts Festival (EG), Bimhuis (NL), Hyderabad Jazz Festival (IN), LAC Lugano (CH), and more. Joana is driven by the desire to take fado beyond its geographical and sonic borders, exploring new instruments within the genre and focusing on projects that feature a majority of women musicians.
Sofia Pedro, singer
Graduated cum laude in the Early Music Singing class of Xenia Meijer at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, after completing her bachelor degree in Classical Singing in the same institution, Sofia is one of the voices of Casa de Fado Amsterdam. She has performed in some important european festivals, as Festival d’Ambronay, Festival du Sablé (FR), Innsbrucker Festwochen der Alten Musik (AU), Sevicq Brezice (SLO), Oude Muziek Festival (NL), Internationale Händel-Festspiele Göttingen, Händel Festspiele Halle, Tage Alter Musik Regensburg (DE), AMUZ Laus Polyphoniae (BE), Stockholm Early Music Festival (SE) and in concerts in Japan, Estonia, Latvia, Spain, Italy, Argentina and Portugal. Her continuing research into the expression of human emotion through musical styles and centuries has brought her closer to the songs of her hometown, Lisboa, with a voice that is both refined and deeply moving.
Raquel Lima, guitarist
Raquel Lima is a Portuguese saxophonist from Porto, currently pursuing her Bachelor’s degree in Classical Saxophone at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam under the guidance of Arno Bornkamp. A former student of the Conservatório de Música do Porto and the Escola Profissional de Música de Espinho, she has performed with ensembles such as the Banda Sinfónica Portuguesa, Orquestra Clássica de Espinho, and Orquestra de Jazz de Espinho, sharing the stage with artists including Cristina Branco, Mário Laginha, and Wayne Marshall. Recipient of several prizes, among them the FISP International Saxophone Competition “Vítor Santos” (2025), Raquel combines technical precision with a lyrical approach to sound. Beyond her classical career, she explores Portuguese traditional music as co-founder of Casa de Fado Amsterdam, seeking to intertwine the introspective soul of Fado with the expressive voice of the saxophone.
Proteeti Bhattacharjee, Kathak Dancer
Proteeti is a Kathak dancer and scientist, crafting a life and career that celebrate both cultural heritage and intellectual discovery. Trained from age four under Guru Smt. Vaswati Misra, she holds a Diploma from Kathak Kendra and a Visharad from Pandit Shambhu Maharaj Kathak Academy, New Delhi, India. She has performed in major Indian dance festivals and toured internationally with her guru’s repertory “Dhwani” with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), performing across Asia, Europe, and South America. Now based in Amsterdam, Proteeti choreographs, performs, and teaches Kathak across the Netherlands. Her growing presence in the Dutch cultural scene includes collaborations with artists like Niti Ranjan Biswas, Siddharth Kisna, Shaswathi Jagadish, Satayakam Mohkamsing and Kaviraj Singh. Highlights include Rudra (Amsterdam, 2023), Raga in de Polder (Almere, 2023), the Gandhi Lecture (The Hague, 2022), and Korzo India Dans Festival (2020). In 2023, she launched Art Uncurated—a platform for cross-cultural dialogue and performance—celebrating the transformative power of creativity across disciplines and borders.
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