HABITS
Forget tradition. Rituals are biological tools for survival. We are staying open for 12 consecutive hours to test if these bodily regulations can also heal a city.
HABITS provides an Open Stage for the rituals that find no host.
Tickets - RSVP Free Entrance
Open Ritual Stage Day Program
Your body never performs a ritual by accident. Far from just being symbolic, these habits are a biological defense to fight a stressful environment.
Amsterdam is, literally, designed for movement, not for a sense of belonging. We are rushing through the public space, in a world where we are more informed (yet more paralysed) than ever. We are drowning in an overflow of information we cannot process, and in that noise, we risk becoming numb to the very things that should move us.
We are creating new rituals to reclaim this ground. In a landscape reshaped by climate change, AI, war, and genocide, these rituals offer an alternative, a way to stop the rush, process the weight of the world, and finally begin to arrive.
HABITS provides an Open Stage for the rituals that cannot find a home in the rest of the city. We are hosting artists, neighbours, researchers, anthropologists, witches, scientists, monks, more-than-humans... essentially anyone—or anything—that wants to perform a ritual within our space.
On Friday, May 15th, we are hosting 15 makers across four different Open Ritual Stages throughout our Biotope. Submit your application via this FORM before April 30th at 12:00 PM. (Note: The form goes live on April 15th.)
HABITS Evening Program
At Mediamatic, our artists-in-residence are testing these boundaries and putting these questions into practice. They are exploring what it means to hold space in the modern city and how a ritual, no matter how small, is a powerful way to redefine where we belong.
Step into Livia Rita’s Dystopia Wetlands for a live concert, join the Al-Wah’at Collective in the restaurant for a collective natural dyeing performance, or collaborate with eco-architect Ikram Hamdi Mansour to reimagine our bond with the more-than-human through soil.
Don't forget to build within Luca Conte’s pillow castle in the Clean Lab, immerse yourself in the depths of the canal with Marjolijn Boterenbrood, or experience the HotBox through the nose of olfactory artist Frank Bloem.
Timeline:
19:00 - 19:30: Marjolijn Boterenbrood
19:30 - 20:00: Join the artists in the restaurant as we welcome the visitors! / Open Round Table with the artists-in-residence
19:30 - 21:30: Ongoing installations with Frank Bloem and Luca Conte
20:00 - 20:30: Al-Wah'at Collective الواحات
20:30 - 21:00: Ikram Hamdi Mansour
21:00 - 21:30: Livia Rita & Avantgardeners Community
21:30 - 00:00: Drinks & Music in the restaurant!
About the makers
Wild Hedges with Al-Wah'at Collective الواحات
The Al-Wah’at Collective invites you into a sensory performance of care and repair, using the mythology of the native plants of Amsterdamcollectively dye, cook, and reaffirm our entanglement with the landscape surrounding us.
Performance Time: 20:00 - 20:30
Location: Haeckel Room & Restaurant
Matter in Reciprocity by Ikram Hamdi Mansour
Through an intimate mix of storytelling and tactile immersion, Ikram zooms out from the raw element of soil to reveal how nature is inextricably woven into our cultural and communal architecture.Performance Time: 20:30 - 21:00
Location: Mediamatic Office (1st Floor)
Dystopia Wetlands with Livia Rita & Avantgardeners Community
Livia Rita and the Avantgardeners Community transforms our space into a shifting landscape of soft nature and digital magic, merging pop-avant-garde music with a visceral performance that blurs the identity of the performer into a more-than-human collective.
Performance Time: 21:00 - 21:30
Location: Sluisdeurenloods
Experience the work of our year-long artist in residence
From 19:30 to 22:00, year-long residents Frank Bloem, Marjolijn Boterenbrood, and Luca Conte will occupy the Biotope. Experience their performances, installations, and rituals as they take hold of the space.
We’re ending the night by the water with a special guest DJ set from 21:30 until midnight. Come dance until the 12 hours are up.
The HotBox with Frank Bloem
Olfactory artist Frank Bloem invites you into The Hotbox to reclaim the ceremonial calm of tobacco, where you can roll a "shagje" infused with scents ranging from pure botanicals to the synthetic ambergris once used by Dutch whalers.
Open Installation: 19:30 - 21:30
Location: Aroma Lab
Future Skin of the City by Marjolijn Boterenbrood
Marjolijn Boterenbrood is a multidisciplinary artist whose works primarily revolve around the concepts of space and places through sensory impressions. Boterenbrood works through these subjects to reveal the hidden intrinsic aspects of the certain places that she visits. Meet her at the quay to plunge into the canal or navigate the water by raft, exploring the question: what will the future skin of our city look like?Performance Time: 19:00 - 19:30
Location: Restaurant & WaterSolve et Coagula by Luca Conte
Could play be something for adults? How would your dream pillow castle look like? Transdisciplinary artist Luca Conte focuses on spatial ecological dynamics in social interactions. His work navigates the intersection where the authentic nature of food collides with cultural customs, offering viewers an opportunity to experience and reconnect with the context of the acted space.
Open Installation: 19:30 - 21:30
Location: Clean Lab
Habits - Year Long Residencies -
De Sering Centraal
What space holds more ritual than a kitchen? Fuel the community at De Sering Centraal. They’re staying open for the full 12-hour stretch, serving affordable lunch from €7.50 (12:00 - 14:00) and a communal kitchen dinner from €2.50 (17:00 - 20:00). Sit down by the water, eat, and join the community!
Program Timeline:
Day Program:
Open Stage Ritual / 12:00 - 17:00
Stage 1: Sluisdeurenloods Entrance (Ritual shifts every hour)
Stage 2: Tuinkamer (Ritual shifts every hour)
Stage 3: Border Lab (Ritual shifts every hour)
Stage 4: Confessionary (ongoing)
Lunch by De Sering Centraal: 12:00 - 14:00
Dinner by De Sering Centraal 17:00 - 20:00
Bar & Cafe open from 12:00 - 00:00
Evening Program:
19:00 - 19:30: Marjolijn Boterenbrood
19:30 - 20:00: Join the artists in the restaurant as we welcome the visitors! / Open Round Table with the artists-in-residence
19:30 - 21:30: Ongoing installations with Frank Bloem and Luca Conte
20:00 - 20:30: Al-Wah'at Collective الواحات
20:30 - 21:00: Ikram Hamdi Mansour
21:00 - 21:30: Livia Rita & Avantgardeners Community
21:30 - 00:00: Drinks & Music in the restaurant!
Information
Mediamatic Biotoop, Dijksgracht 6, AmsterdamFriday May 15th / 12:00 - 00:00
Language: English
Tickets
Free Entrance Event - RSVP
Mediamatic Supporter Ticket - €5 or €15
For questions, please send an email to program@mediamatic.nl.
Credits
Curator: Laura Rosal Communication: Skaiste Venckeviciute Production: Kalina Efremova Production & AV Assistant: Braidon Hobzek Graphic Design: Lisa Schiemann Illustration: Kexin Hao AccessibilityIf you have any questions about the accessibility of this event, please get in touch with mail@mediamatic.nl
This event is made possible by:
Livia Rita and the Avantgardeners Community transforms our space into a shifting landscape of soft nature and digital magic, merging pop-avant-garde music with a visceral performance that blurs the identity of the performer into a more-than-human collective.
Performance Time: 21:00 - 21:30
Location: Sluisdeurenloods
Experience the work of our year-long artist in residence
From 19:30 to 22:00, year-long residents Frank Bloem, Marjolijn Boterenbrood, and Luca Conte will occupy the Biotope. Experience their performances, installations, and rituals as they take hold of the space.
We’re ending the night by the water with a special guest DJ set from 21:30 until midnight. Come dance until the 12 hours are up.
The HotBox with Frank Bloem
Olfactory artist Frank Bloem invites you into The Hotbox to reclaim the ceremonial calm of tobacco, where you can roll a "shagje" infused with scents ranging from pure botanicals to the synthetic ambergris once used by Dutch whalers.
Open Installation: 19:30 - 21:30
Location: Aroma Lab
Future Skin of the City by Marjolijn Boterenbrood
Marjolijn Boterenbrood is a multidisciplinary artist whose works primarily revolve around the concepts of space and places through sensory impressions. Boterenbrood works through these subjects to reveal the hidden intrinsic aspects of the certain places that she visits. Meet her at the quay to plunge into the canal or navigate the water by raft, exploring the question: what will the future skin of our city look like?Location: Restaurant & WaterSolve et Coagula by Luca Conte
Could play be something for adults? How would your dream pillow castle look like? Transdisciplinary artist Luca Conte focuses on spatial ecological dynamics in social interactions. His work navigates the intersection where the authentic nature of food collides with cultural customs, offering viewers an opportunity to experience and reconnect with the context of the acted space.
Open Installation: 19:30 - 21:30
Location: Clean Lab
