Amsterdam
Netherlands
In September, a living room opened its doors in Amsterdam—before the house was built. Hartwig Proxy (Parnassusweg 213) is conceived as a meeting place for neighbours, artists, and cultural worlds alike. It serves as a testing ground for ideas, projects, structures, and relations: a space across the street where the future Hartwig Museum’s ecosystem is taking shape. Proxy is a place to practise researching, living, learning, performing, eating, and gathering at a human scale. Each programme that unfolds informs the emergence of the museum’s processes, spaces, and communities ahead of its opening in 2028.
In December, Proxy is inviting friends and neighbours of all ages to play, paint, sing, design, eat, watch films, move together and send in ideas. The programmes are devised with and by artists such as Kerstin Brätsch, Karl Holmqvist, Lina Lapelytė, Kamruzzaman Shadhin and Rirkrit Tiravanija, and dedicated to reaching for the light in the shortest days. A collective experiment in festivity, Proxy's December programme is dedicated to celebrations, cultures and participation from around the world.
International open call for Gingerbread Design
An open call for proposals for an architectural competition for gingerbread. We welcome local and international submissions. Entries close at 11:59pm CET on Sunday December 7, and will be displayed at Hartwig Proxy from Friday–Tuesday December 12–23, with an award ceremony on Friday December 12. The winner, selected by an international jury, receives a trophy, a festive cake delivered to their home, a tour of the future Hartwig Museum, and the development and construction of their design in a scale model in 2026. Click here for more information and to submit your design
Tuesday December 2: An evening discussion on Permanent Trespass (6:30pm. Doors close 7pm), an upcoming film by Basyma Saad & Sanja Grozdanić, which takes history itself as artistic form. Moderated by Marija Cetinić. RSVP here.
Thursday December 4: A first public rehearsal of Rirkrit Tiravanija’s untitled 1990 (pad thai) by our host team (5–8pm), where pad thai is offered to visitors for free, followed by the launch and performance of Karl Holmqvist’s recent Berlin Trilogy, Part I. The two artists, friends and regular collaborators over the last decades, are together again. RSVP here.
Friday December 5: A second public rehearsal of Rirkrit Tiravanija’s untitled 1990 (pad thai) by our host team (12–3pm). Drop in freely.
Saturday December 6: A participatory shadow play workshop (3–4pm) with Kamruzzaman Shadhin, open to all ages. RSVP here.
Sunday December 7: A workshop for children (age 7–12) and their guardians centred around migratory birds (2–3:30pm, 4–5:30pm). Joined virtually by members of the the children’s theatre group of the Gidree Bawlee Foundation that Kamruzzaman Shadhin co-founded in Thakurgaon, Bangladesh, participants create bird puppets and share stories, thinking about the journeys of birds that migrate each winter from colder to warmer regions. RSVP here.
Friday December 12: A drop in, all ages workshop in using paints, paper, film, foil to colour lightbulbs and windows (3–7pm) with Kerstin Brätsch and local collaborators. Followed by the award ceremony for the International Open Call for Gingerbread Design, with the announcement of the jury and voting for people’s choice, alongside festivities. RSVP here.
Saturday December 13: A continuation of Kerstin Bratsch’s all ages workshop with colouring glass (11am–3pm), at the end of which we’ll illuminate the newly painted bulbs. Drop in freely.
Monday December 15, Wednesday December 17 (5–8pm) & Thursday December 18 (5–6:30pm): A workshop for group singing with Lina Lapelytė. Open to all adults interested in having an experience of singing in a group, we will be forming a choir to learn and rehearse a special set of songs from new and past compositions by Lapelytė, whose work includes Sun & Sea (R. Bardžiukaite, V. Grainytė, L. Lapelytė, Venice Biennale, 2019). You don’t need musical training or previous experience to join. Workshop is free, but registration is required, with the request you join all rehearsals if you can. We’ll be providing food and refreshments during the workshop sessions. RSVP here. The workshops will culminate in a concert, SELECTION OF SONGS, by Lina Lapelytė and the Hartwig Proxy Choir on December 18, 2025 at 7pm.
Thursday December 18: SELECTION OF SONGS. A small concert of the new Hartwig Proxy Choir, convened by Lina Lapelytė, followed by drinks (7–9pm). RSVP here.
Monday–Tuesday, December 22–23: Proxy Family Table. Extended opening hours (2–10pm). Share a table as the city gets quieter. Read from our selection of magazines, play board games from our cupboard, share a meal, tea, coffee, or an unexpected conversation. Throughout December, our video room shows a crowdsourced selection of festive favourites. Special screening times and supper for these last days will be announced closer to the date. Register your interest here.
And: Wednesday–Sunday in December during opening hours
–Daily soup or stew. A big pot, prepared by friends, artists, cooks.
–Sri Lankan Love Cake, by Ansuman van der Poorten (free).
–Magazines, newspapers, board games. For your delectation.
–Video room: Tradition TV. Cue your favourites in our playlist here.
