Amsterdam Art Weekend Attracts Thousands of Visitors

Every year at the end of November, the Amsterdam Art Weekend invites thousands of people to enjoy contemporary art. This year, the event took place from November 22 till 25 . According to Arabella Coebergh, the press representative of the event, up to 45,000 people attend the event annually.

The event is set up by Amsterdam Art, which is a non-profit organization that specializes in promoting contemporary art of both local and international artists. The Amsterdam Art Weekend achieves precisely this goal. As explained by Coebergh, the event started with the purpose “to highlight what kind of unique art climate Amsterdam has, and to showcase the various great galleries”. Since its inception in 2012, the event grew in size and popularity. This year, it comprised over 100 different exhibitions, performances, and debates. As such, the program not only provided the possibility of viewing contemporary art pieces by a wide range of artists, but visitors also got the chance to debate and share opinions with other contemporary art enthusiasts and even professionals in the field.

The creation of the event itself is not simple, and, according to Coebergh, takes a whole year. The decision on which venue and which artist will be granted a place is determined by an independent invitation committee. However, according to Coebergh, the venue or artist in consideration has to already be a part of an existing and continuous exhibition program. This implies, that individual artists who are not a part of any existing gallery cannot be a part of the exhibition.  

The Amsterdam Art Weekend keeps attracting more and more people. Therefore, there is no intention of it not recurring next year. With that said, Amsterdam is further stabilizing its position as the global center of art.