We’re happy to see you here! Welcome to the Festival of Unexpected Subjects!

 

On this cheerful festival, artists, social scientists, philosophers and the audience explore ways to think about, cherish and practice caring and being cared for, in particular through art or mundane makings. In what ways is art caring? How may care include art? How can we support art-as-care, or argue for the unarguable? 

 

Wonder with us and be surprised at the Festival of Unexpected Subjects! 

 

At the festival, we care-fully experiment with the place of the audience. You are invited to experience music and dance in different ways. Perform yourself! In interactive workshops, you can explore the questions of the festival hands|heads|hearts-on.

 

Check out the amazing and unexpected workshops & exhibitions we’ve curated for you this edition below!  

tekening links Image 1
tekening links Image 1
Ticket sale starts soon!

Music, exhibitions & other happenings:

The Unexpected Collectives
Knotting the loom: Between Bodies, Data, and Care
Het Toppen Ensemble
Explore Art (as) Care: Open time slot

 

2026 Workshops:

Round 1

Consent in Action: Ethics in and for Artistic Research
Clay, inside and outside, Exploring and Exchanging Playful Experiences
Art in Grief
Care in a Box: micro-archiving social and embodied conditions for caring art work
Rewrite my Name
24/7 Squarespace Listening
Working well under pressure? Reworking individual stress and responsibility in terms of relations

Round 2

Playing Through Crisis: Games, Stories, and Collective Care
De pedagogische betekenis van kunst in ‘Perron 07’: een alternatief voor de kinderopvang in Nederland
Good translations in combining qualitative research and the arts: The case of a dramaturgical approach
Staging Cancer: Participatory Arts-Based Supportive Care for People Living-With Advanced Cancer & Marginalized Social Positions
Materialised Noise
Noticing ‘dead things’ in and around het Zonnehuis
Imprography Movement Lab
Perform together with professional musicians and learn how to listen and react in music

 

Expect music, art, conversation, new experiences & insights!

See what happened during our first edition: 

Het Zonnehuis - Stadsherstel Amsterdam

Check out our beautiful festival location Het Zonnehuis!

 

Walking into Het Zonnehuis feels like stepping into a different rhythm. Built in 1932 in the Amsterdam School style, it was designed as a place for community, culture, and connection. It’s a space that feels both monumental and deeply personal: the perfect backdrop for our 2nd edition’s theme: Art (as) Care.