Het HEM

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Het HEM is closed …

Art

Art is our first language. Even while we are closed for renovations, our programming continues. You will find our art programmes at off-site locations throughout the year and on the digital platform The Couch. The permanent installations in Het HEM will remain open to the public after the renovation.

Performances & Events

Installations

Media

Music

Our music programme focuses on experimental ways of making, presenting and experiencing sound in the building through listening sessions, live performances and musical artist-in-residence programmes. During renovations, we organise music programmes at off-site locations and on the digital platform The Couch.

Books

Het HEM loves books. During your visit, come lose yourself in the library's rich selection.

Community

Homebase
Artists Studios
9 dates with 'Still Life'

Private Hire

The building's industrial design and our experimental art programme bring ambience and meaning to every event.

About

Situated in a former munitions factory, Het HEM is a new home for contemporary culture.

Support

News

Het HEM, home for contemporary culture, welcomes you to The Couch, an editorial and artistic digital platform

Going live on 19 July 2023, this new platform offers a wide range of thought-provoking editorials, written series, audiovisual works and commissioned digital artworks. The Couch redefines the boundaries of critical and creative practice in an environment where experimentation, exploration and collaboration take centre stage. Named after the literal cosy spot where Het HEM's visitors relax and enjoy curated content that deepens and expand the scope of our exhibitions, The Couch is now taking a fresh shape in the online sphere. While the building undergoes much-needed renovations between 2023 and 2024, we take this opportunity to explore what Het HEM can be without its iconic building on the Hembrugterrein along the North Sea Canal. We continue our programming online and support creatives in exploring the possibilities of the digital domain.

Go to The Couch

The Couch is an ever-transforming space where visitors explore at their own pace, embracing the explorative and slow nature of the publications and artworks presented. Dive into in-depth (artistic) research with topics like AI, magic, and how sound exposes the relationships between architecture and the virtual world. Enjoy monthly columns, interviews and literary works by the people who give us an understanding of the world around us. Listen to audio works, podcasts and interviews by national and international, rising and established artists we believe you should hear from. Throughout the year, we release newly commissioned digital artworks for you to experience Het HEM's curation beyond the walls of the former munitions factory.

The first artworks on The Couch feature an exclusive version of Kévin Bray’s video Morpher and commissioned artwork Genius Loci by Brian d’Souza. The first editorials on the platform are literary works, columns, interviews and check-ins with upsammy, Mehmet Süzgün, Ginevra Petrozzi, John Collins McCormick, Noa-Marthe Prins, Pamela Jordan and Sergio González Cuervo, Orpheu de Jong, Berber Meindertsma, Bert Spaan and Marcel Fraaij.

We have wanted to make a digital Couch since we opened our doors in 2019. Always a work in progress, always a site for curiosity and openness, The Couch challenges conventions about what a (virtual) art space can be. We invite you to take a seat, sink in, and bounce back again.

Every week you will find new items on The Couch on an ongoing basis. Sign up for our monthly newsletter here to stay up to date about what's coming up.