Featured: M4H during Rotterdam Art Week

During Rotterdam Art Week, you should definitely explore the dynamic Merwe Vierhavens area, which owes its name to the four ports that are located in this neighbourhood. Besides classics like design fair OBJECT and exciting new projects such as Brutus you will find many more cultural hotspots in M4H (Merwe Vierhavens).

For example, the imposing KeileZaal will be transformed for the Haute Photographie photography fair, an international art fair where booths make way for lounge chairs and coffee tables. In a refreshing presentation you will be introduced to the work of both emerging and established artists.
Be sure to visit the Huidenclub as well, in a former tannery that serves as a contemporary platform for artists, designers and activists. During Rotterdam Art Week, you can view the exhibition ‘Soundtrack for a Troubled Time’ and you can take a look at the new bookshop Vide Books, right above the cafe. Here, you will find works on graphic design, art, design and architecture and publications related to the programming of the Huidenclub.

In the M4H area you will also find STEUR: a breeding ground for all creative makers, from designers to artists. It’s located in an old power station and the doors are opened to the public only once a year: during Rotterdam Art Week. We previously interviewed artist Johannes Langkamp and Plasticiet designers Marten van Middelkoop and Joost Dingemans, as well as Gilbert Curtessi [link to interview], the creative brain behind STEUR.

In Kunst en Complex, one of the oldest studio buildings in Rotterdam, thirty artists will open their studios especially for visitors to Rotterdam Art Week.
And in the Keilecollectief, you can watch an exhibition by KEILECONTEMPORARY (a collaboration with har art gallery) and participate in a series of ‘Talks and Bites’ with designers such as Wieki Somers and Ilse Evers, architects like Iris Veentjer and artists including Alexandra Phillips and Maudy Alferink.

In the Keilewerf on Saturday 21 May, you will get to know a bit more about the various crafts of the ‘Keilewervers’. Go behind the scenes in their studios and get to know some amazing and innovative products. Tip: Did the cat knock over your vase or did you break your coffee cup? Then make sure to bring them with you because at Studio Lotte Douwes, you can exchange them for a discount in the online shop. There is also a Conform Cox mini-cinema where you can watch animated films, possibly while enjoying a cocktail or a slice of homemade Städler Made pizza.
And last but not least: in the Jungle Gym concept, artists Noël Deelen and Jelmer Konjo invite you to the former warehouse and historical museum De Dubbelde Palmboom, where, among other things, a series of interactive works of art challenge you to deal with art in a different way. 

Tip: you can also make free use of a MINI shuttle service in M4H (Merwe Vierhavens). Look here for more information.

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