The week begins on March 25 with the opening of AUTONOMOUS, a major exhibition curated by Ine Gevers. The exhibition explores neurodiversity as a lens through which to rethink activism, autonomy, and freedom within our capitalist society. 

Together with HipSick, Brutus presents [DIS]ORDER, a live performance and installation imagining a society where every brain and body is considered the norm.

Especially for Art Week, we will open the doors to the Brutus Lab. This is your chance to step inside the working spaces of several remarkable artists, including Adrian Kiss (Fleur Groenendijk Foundation), Alexandra Phillips and Mats Mingus (RM Young Blood Foundation).

Brutus Base will unveil rarely accessible installations by Atelier Van Lieshout to the public. Sanitas Futurum, Armchair Anarchist, and Disco Inferno, each offering a powerful encounter with the studio’s provocative vision of society, power, and the human condition.

We conclude the week with the annual RAW Afterparty, organized in collaboration with Operator Radio. Expect a festive night filled with DJs, music, and a vibrant crowd celebrating the end of Rotterdam Art Week. This year is extra special as we celebrate together with our new neighbors Roodkapje, who will officially open their new location that same evening. 

Brutus Space RAW Program:
25 Mar | 19:00-23:00 Grand Opening AUTONOMOUS
26-29 Mar | 11:00-19:00 Exhibition AUTONOMOUS by Ine Gevers
28 Mar | 21:00-02:00 RAW Afterparty & Roodkapje's Housewarming
25-27 Mar | 19:00-21:00 HipSick with [DIS]ORDER
26-29 Mar | 11:00-19:00 Destroyed House by Marjan Teeuwen
26-29 Mar | 11:00-19:00 Brutus Lab: Alexandra Phillips, Mats Mingus and Adrian Kiss

Brutus Base RAW Program:
26-29 Mar | 11:00-19:00 Disco Inferno by Atelier Van Lieshout
26-29 Mar | 11:00-19:00 Sanitas Futurum by Atelier Van Lieshout
26-29 Mar | 11:00-19:00 Armchair Anarchist by Atelier Van Lieshout
26-29 Mar | 11:00-19:00 Brutus Garden

During Rotterdam Art Week
Sanitas Futurum is a parallel universe conceived by Atelier Van Lieshout, in which the future of healthcare is examined in extreme detail. This project creates provocative scenarios that address themes such as utopia, dystopia, idealism, power, ethics, self-determination, survival, and destruction. With partners such as Erasmus MC, TU Delft, and the Luxembourg School of Religion and Society, Sanitas Futurum also functions as a transdisciplinary platform that combines art with scientific research, public opinion, and design to create the intellectual and emotional space necessary for a radical rethinking of healthcare.

During Rotterdam Art Week
Welcome to the living room of the Armchair Anarchist. Surrounded by furniture whose hardcore aesthetic reflects the personality of an anarchist, theories that rarely come to life are proclaimed from an armchair. The political and religious symbols that surround him are at odds with the libertarian-socialist ideals he claims to pursue. With an impressive arsenal of weapons within reach, the comfortable chairs provide an excuse to leave the homemade weapons gathering dust in the closet. What remains is only a critical voice against the ruling authority.

With these contrasts, Atelier Van Lieshout underscores the paradox underlying the Armchair Anarchist. At the same time, the exhibition questions our current way of campaigning in times of geopolitical unrest. What is it that prevents this anarchist from taking real action? Is it laziness, or paralysis caused by the abundance of crises? And, aren't we all a bit of an armchair anarchist, now that we can speak out against the ruling order from our beds with a single post on social media, thereby appeasing our conscience?