THE NEW CURRENT

A look back at The New Current 2026. Thank you to everyone who stepped inside. To the artists and performers, for everything you brought into the space. And to all visitors, for the time, attention, and energy. 🌪 We’ll carry it forward. See you in March 2027. 👋🏾 Video: @basgeerdink Location: @piekfabriek Part of: @rotterdamartweek

Without artists, there is no @rotterdamartweek . Across the city, over 1,000 artists are showing their work this week. Tonight, we’re bringing them together. An artist-only evening at The New Current, for everyone who is part of it, has been part of it, or hopes to be. Many artists spend most of their time working alone. This felt like the right moment to create space for something else. No presenting, no explaining, no pressure. Just a drink, some music, and the chance to meet. No talks. No speeches. No formalities. First rounds of @duvel_nederland are on us. Free entry to the exhibition for artists. Because artists make the week. And because it can simply be a good night. Saturday 28 March 19:00 - 21:00 The New Current Piekstraat 2, Rotterdam Free access 📷 Erika Vati, @artindexrotterdam

It’s Friday, which means you still have three days to visit The New Current 2026. Over the past days, the space has filled with new conversations, unexpected encounters and people taking their time to move through the exhibition. No fixed route, no clear beginning, just a landscape you discover step by step. If you haven’t been yet, this weekend is your moment. Part of Rotterdam Art Week, with much more to see across the city, but start here. OPENING HOURS Friday & Saturday: 11:00 – 21:00 Sunday: 11:00 – 18:00 LOCATION Piekstraat 2, Rotterdam Tickets: €6, including a welcome drink 📷 @philinevandenhul

For the 2026 edition, The New Current takes over the former Hunter Douglas Factory: 3,500 m² of industrial space, transformed into an immersive exhibition. Twenty-three large-scale works by 25 artists come together as one landscape, where everything connects and overlaps. The theme Connections looks at how we relate, to each other, to technology, and to the space around us. There’s no fixed route or clear starting point. You move through the exhibition at your own pace and discover it as you go. Some works pull you in, others keep their distance. Sound, scale and material guide the experience without fully defining it. What you take from it builds along the way. Yesterday was the opening, thank you to everyone who came, and to all the artists involved. It was also the start of Rotterdam Art Week, so there’s a lot more to see across the city in the coming days. The exhibition is now open. OPENING HOURS 25–28 March: 11:00 – 21:00 29 March: 11:00 – 18:00 LOCATION Piekstraat 2, Rotterdam Tickets: €6, including a welcome drink 📷 Erika Vati, Art Index Rotterdam

Earthrise HEEL-“PLOF”-ARCH OF THE FOOT-“PATS”-METATARSAL-BIG TOE-PINKY TOE-“STAP” 🗓 25th of March 🧨 16.00h and 18.00h 📍Piekstraat 2, Rotterdam. As part of @the_new_current performance programme Earthrise is a site-responsive performance that solely uses movement and its video projection. The work unfolds as a physical misinterpretation of gravity. Earthrise unveils gravity as relational practice, a very obvious yet poetic shared anchor point between us—and everything around. The piece is a physical ode to connection as a response to an increasingly fragmented and digitalised world. Earthrise is ideated within the crossover between architecture, film, visual arts, and dance, displaying body movement and an installed projection. It lasts around 25 minutes and is shaped as a solo dance piece. Development This piece is site-responsive. It is inspired by the tensional game between forces displayed by the Electriciteitsfabriek, a high-ceiling industrial factory where gravity is sensible. This time the work adapts to the Hunter Douglas factory at Piekstraat 2, Rotterdam. Please, come!

Wist je dat er tijdens Rotterdam Art Week ruim 1000 kunstenaars hun werk presenteren? Verspreid over meer dan 60 locaties in de stad. ❤️ Kunstenaars zijn het hart van de week. Maar veel kunstenaars werken het grootste deel van de tijd alleen. In hun atelier, achter een scherm, of gewoon thuis aan de keukentafel. . Juist daarom leek het ons mooi om tijdens de week één moment te maken waarop het niet draait om presenteren, uitleggen of presteren. Maar om elkaar ontmoeten. Even bijpraten. Nieuwe gezichten leren kennen. Misschien eindelijk die ene kunstenaar spreken waarvan je het werk al jaren volgt. Of gewoon een biertje drinken met muziek op de achtergrond en kunst om je heen. Voor alle kunstenaars die deze week exposeren - en ook voor iedereen die dat ooit heeft gedaan, graag had willen meedoen of plannen heeft voor de toekomst - organiseren we op zaterdagavond een artist-only bijeenkomst bij The New Current. Geen talks. Geen speeches. Geen panelgesprekken. Gewoon een plek om elkaar te ontmoeten. 🍻 Het eerste rondje is van ons. 📍 @the_new_current - Piekstraat 2, Rotterdam 📅 Zaterdag 28 maart - 19:00 – 21:00 Gratis toegankelijk voor kunstenaars 📷 @philinevandenhul

@the_new_current is een grootschalige tentoonstelling die je ervaart. Tijdens Rotterdam Art Week wordt de voormalige Hunter Douglas Fabriek getransformeerd tot een zintuiglijke omgeving van 3.500 m². Installaties, bewegend beeld en geluid vormen samen één doorlopende ervaring waarin kunst, ruimte en publiek samenkomen. Je beweegt door donkerte en open ruimtes, langs werken die fluisteren, confronteren of verstillen. Licht verschuift, geluid reist mee, perspectieven veranderen terwijl je loopt. De tentoonstelling ontvouwt zich in relatie tot jouw tempo en richting. Voor deze editie presenteren 26 kunstenaars samen 24 grootschalige werken. Het thema Connections onderzoekt hoe we ons verhouden, tot elkaar, tot technologie, tot de ruimte om ons heen. Installaties raken elkaar, overlappen en reageren. Wat je meeneemt ontstaat onderweg. The New Current 2026 is fysiek, gelaagd en intens. Een plek om te dwalen, te kijken en even uit de stad te stappen terwijl je er middenin staat. Locatie Piekfabriek (Piekstraat 2, Rotterdam) Openingstijden Woensdag - zaterdag 25 t/m 28 maart: 11:00 - 21:00 Zondag 29 maart: 11:00 - 18:00 Tickets €6 inclusief welkomstdrankje Kinderen t/m 12 jaar gratis The New Current is onderdeel van het Rotterdam Art Week passe-partout (€35 p.p. of €60 voor een duo-ticket). Hiermee bezoek je vrijwel alle locaties tijdens de week. Beperkt beschikbaar via de ticketshop. Foto: @philinevandenhul tijdens TNC 2025

We took 'the sky is the limit' a little too serious. This piece is a staggering 5 meters high now. Now it's finally standing we can start creative coding and testing for it's first exhibition: @the_new_current at the @rotterdamartweek Feel free to ask any questions in the comments.💡

Are you an artist looking to take the next step in your practice? During The New Current, we are offering free one-hour advisory sessions in collaboration with Cultuur+Ondernemen on 25, 26 and 27 March. These sessions are individual conversations with an experienced advisor. Whether your questions concern funding, business development, positioning your practice, governance, or the next step in your career, the conversation is tailored to your situation. The sessions take place on site and are open to artists at all stages, emerging, mid-career or established. Participation is free of charge. You can register via the website of @cultuurondernemen , link in bio. Please mention the code NEW CURRENT 2026 under “My question”. After registering, you will receive a link to schedule your appointment. Feel free to share this opportunity with fellow artists who might benefit from it. Foto: Erika Vati during TNC 2025

We’re looking for volunteers ✨ During the exhibition days of The New Current, we’re looking for volunteers to welcome visitors and help guide them with questions. Perfect if you’re an art student, a student from another field, an artist, or simply someone who loves being around art and people. You’ll be part of an international, friendly group and right at the heart of the exhibition, meeting visitors, artists and the team throughout the day. Curious, open and comfortable talking to people? Then this might be for you. Dates: 25–29 March Location: Piekstraat 2, Rotterdam Volunteering offers a behind-the-scenes look at a large-scale cultural event and the chance to gain experience within the contemporary art field. Shifts last approximately 2–3 hours, with the option to combine multiple shifts. Volunteers receive a small hourly compensation and are provided with food and drinks during their shift. Sign up via the link in bio. Foto: Erika Vati

The final artist we’re introducing for this edition shifts the focus to what usually stays out of sight. @Ietsnut (Marijn Brussel) is a technical and creative designer and multidisciplinary artist known for turning hidden electronics into playful, sculptural objects, showing that computers can exist beyond the cliché black box. Meet Ietsnut’s M-PC: a handmade computer that brings technology back into view. Built with simple, visible 1970s components, it allows you to see and understand every part. No black boxes, no mystery. The M-PC behaves like a living body, whose “health” you can influence by adjusting inputs such as sleep or exercise. The installation will be part of The New Current 2026 25–29 March during @rotterdamartweek @piekfabriek , Rotterdam Tickets: €6, welcome drink included

Step inside a new digital reality in Non Ultra Metas, a striking new video installation by new media artist @saralevarato , known for her CGI-driven visual worlds and immersive digital scenes. In this work, she connects the imperial motto Plus Ultra (“further beyond”) from Emperor Charles V to a surprising appearance in Donald Trump’s 2017 inauguration photo. But she also flips the narrative: during the 1552 Siege of Metz, defenders fired back with Non Ultra Metas (“not beyond Metz”) a bold reminder that limits can be a powerful form of resistance. The work invites you to rethink our culture’s obsession with expansion, productivity, and going “beyond” at all costs This installation will be presented at The New Current 2026. This year’s edition explores the theme Connections, between bodies and spaces, materials and technologies. 25 - 29 March, during Rotterdam Art Week Tickets: €6, including a welcome drink. Available via link in bio. Photo: Alessandro Santi