35th anniversary celebrations

This year marks an important milestone: It's our 35th anniversary! Since we first opened our doors on 27th January 1990, Kunstinstituut Melly has been a site where artists, audiences, and ideas converge to question, inspire, and reimagine the world around us. Over the decades, we have evolved into a space that embodies collective learning and social transformation—principles that remain at the heart of our program.

As we reflect on our journey, we recognize the significant transformations that have brought us to where we are today. In 2021, our renaming to Kunstinstituut Melly symbolized a renewed commitment to fostering inclusivity, responding to the cultural and societal shifts shaping our present. Inspired by Ken Lum’s Melly Shum Hates Her Job, a work that has smiled on our façade since our inception in 1990, we embraced a new identity rooted in dialogue, community, and the evolving nature of contemporary art. 

Through the years, we’ve worked closely with artists to commission new works, present pivotal exhibitions, and host performances and programs that have introduced international voices to audiences in Rotterdam and beyond. Artists such as Hélio Oiticica, Meschac Gaba, Rita McBride, Yto Barrada, Cecilia Vicuña, and many others have found space here to experiment, contributing to a shared history of creativity and critical engagement with our times. 

Our 35th anniversary is an opportunity to reflect on this history, but also to look ahead. In keeping with our approach of collective learning, we continue to explore how art can act as a catalyst for exchange—between people, ideas, and communities. This milestone would not have been possible without the artists, visitors, collaborators, and supporters who have engaged with our programs over the years. To all of you: thank you. 

Throughout 2025, we will celebrate this anniversary with a year of programs and exhibitions that highlight both the history of the institution and the ways art continues to shape our understanding of the present, in Rotterdam and beyond.

Upcoming exhibitions 
As part of our year-long celebrations, we are excited to announce three upcoming solo exhibitions opening on Saturday 17th May, featuring newly commissioned works by Ola Hassanain, Paulo Nimer Pjota, and Simnikiwe Buhlungu. These exhibitions are a testament to our institution’s dedication to supporting artists in creating work that encourages us to engage deeply with the world around us. 

Ola Hassanain
In her solo exhibition, Ola Hassanain reflects on state-driven water control and ecological precarity through The Watcher, a figure inspired by community caretakers in Sudan’s Gezira scheme. This mixed-media installation includes a three-channel film and poetic scripts navigating themes of disaster and repair in contested environments. Drawing from Sudanese and Dutch water management sites, Hassanain critiques political abandonment and ecological violence while envisioning water as a force of resilience and renewal.

Paulo Nimer Pjota
Paulo Nimer Pjota debuts a new series of paintings that examine collectively originated phenomena. Drawing on urban culture and shared iconographies, his compositions bridge temporalities through overlapping and remixed forms. Like hip-hop’s approach to sampling, Pjota weaves together symbols and images to expose social inequalities and explore new ways of thinking through collective visual narratives. This solo exhibition marks Paulo’s first in the Netherlands. 

Simnikiwe Buhlungu
Simnikiwe Buhlungu presents hygrosummons (iter.02), an immersive installation combining sound, sculpture, and reclaimed materials. Featuring elements like warped wooden doors, water samples from global locations, and zithers attuned to humidity, this work transforms the gallery into a fluid, evolving space. By emphasizing water’s role in carrying history and shaping cultural narratives, Simnikiwe challenges conventional understandings of kinship, contamination, and interconnection. This is the artist’s first institutional show in the Netherlands.

We look forward to welcoming you to these exhibitions, and to celebrating this milestone year together. Stay tuned to our website for news of events to be announced throughout the year, www.kunstinstituutmelly.nl.