Museumnacht

Performance by resident Chathuri Nissansala and guest resident Ro Buur

19.30 – 19.45

The Haunting Presence of Queered Motherhood explores the divine figure of Pattini – Sri Lanka’s goddess of fertility, justice, and healing – through the lens of finding traces of the queered existence. Finding the connections to the community called Nachchi or an indigenous queer existence, who were part of these rituals as performers and healers. Rooted in these inquiries, how they navigate on alliances, activation, resilience, care, love and healing through transmission as an embody of queer motherhood.

Intro by resident Hamza Badran
19.30 – 23.30

On 2 November, the anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, Filmlab Palestine is organising Palestine Cinema Days. More than 500 screenings of Palestinian films will be organised worldwide to show solidarity with Palestine. On the initiative of resident Hamza Badran, we are participating together with Hotel Maria Kapel in Hoorn with a programme running from 1 to 3 November. During Museumnacht, we will screen the feature film The Dupes (1972) and the documentary A State of Passion (2024). Hamza will give a short introduction at the start of The Dupes.


19.30
The Dupes, Tewfik Saleh, 1972, drama, 107 min
Based on Ghassan Kanafani’s novella, three Palestinian refugees—Abu Qais, Assad, and Marwan—attempt to escape Lebanon’s refugee camps for Kuwait. Hiding in a water tanker under the desert sun, they suffocate when the smuggler fails to release them in time. The tragedy ends with a haunting question: “Why didn’t they knock on the walls of the tank?”

22.00
A State of Passion, Carol Mansour & Muna Khalidi, 2024, doc, 90 min
British-Palestinian surgeon Dr. Ghassan Abu Sittah spent 43 days under Gaza’s bombardment, treating the wounded without rest. Facing horrific injuries, targeted hospitals, and orphaned children, his work became a symbol of resistance. This film explores his sixth and most harrowing Gaza war, his family’s fears, and the shared passion for Palestine that fuels his relentless humanitarian mission despite the danger.

Check the full programme of the Palestine Cinema Days here. Entrance for the screening at Hotel Maria Kapel on 2 November, and at the Rijksakademie on 3 November is free.

alumni Natalia Papaeva, Moe Satt, Ohad Ben Shimon, Martin Toloku and Daniel(le) Vorthuys

ongoing between 20.00 – 21.30

Performance Club brings together artists who explore presence, gesture, and encounter through live actions. For this edition, the group invites visitors into an evening of intimate experiments with touch, sound, costume, and subtle participation. From tactile encounters on a massage table, to spoken words woven with the resonant tones of a Mongolian instrument, to a sculptural costume that swings like a window between open and closed, each act invites attention to movement, relation, and the small negotiations between performer and audience. Together these pieces shape a shared space where touch, rhythm, and delicate gestures coincide.

resident Abdo Zin Eldin, Jochem Zaag and others
21.30 – 22.30

'Walls Got Ears Vol. III: Remembrance' is a series of sound and music improvisations organised by Abdo Zin Eldin during his residency at the Rijksakademie, in collaboration with staff and residents. Led by Galalalive, featuring Abdo Zin Eldin, Jochem Zaag, and other musicians, the performance invites the audience into a world of shared listening, breathing, and rhythmic trance. Inspired by Egyptian Sufi Zikr and Mawlid celebrations, collective participation through music, sounds, words, and breath transforms the space, creating a dynamic, immersive, and transcendent experience that blends ritual, memory, and improvisation.

minor jam, major rupture performance by alum DiAMETR

22.45 – 23.00

Flight risk. Liability. Your favorite tantrum. DiAMETR vibrates with the echoes of a jam session, tracing noise in your veins in grids and lines which move and itch. Mixing vocals, guitar and choreography, THREAT PIECE channels bodily sensations from within disturbed relationships and cut-throat communities in a sudden, severe and unpredictable show of emotion.

Rijksakademie residents invite you to take a look inside their studios to show you what they are working on.

Participating artists: Ro Buur, Joanne Igbuwe, Chathuri Nissansala, Ashfika Rahman, Abdo Zin Eldin and alum Thierry Oussou

Tour starting times to be announced

During Museumnacht, our colleagues from the wood workshop invite you to take a tour of some of our workshops.

22.00 – 2.00

In the later hours, it's time to dance. Our in-house DJ, paint workshop specialist Arend Nijkamp, brings his vinyl collection and warms up the dance floor. From midnight onwards, DJ Hazuki takes over. This Amsterdam-based DJ is loved for her energetic sets, rooted in techno and house, driven by rhythmic percussion, vocals and loud synths. Standing still is not an option!