For its 15th edition from 9–12 April 2026, Rewire will return to the city centre of The Hague to present forward-thinking and genre-bending music that’s brimming with exploratory spirit.
The festival takes place in a diverse range of venues, including concert halls, theatres, churches, night clubs, galleries, and public space: showcasing a microcosm of experimental and boundary-pushing music, including artists such as Oneohtrix Point Never, Kim Gordon, Caterina Barbieri & MFO, Einstürzende Neubauten, Beverly Glenn-Copeland, Civilistjävel! & Mayssa Jallad, Supersilent & Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Smerz, Sumac & Moor Mother, Jim O’Rourke & Eiko Ishibashi, and many more.
Looking to visit Rewire 2026? While 4-Day Passes and 3-Day Passes are now sold out, Day Passes for Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are currently still available in limited quantities via the link below.
London Calling: Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud, David Hockney, Paula Rego and more.
From 14 February, Kunstmuseum Den Haag presents London Calling . Representing the first major exhibition of its kind in the Netherlands, it brings together highlights of postwar British figurative painting, including works by Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud, David Hockney and Paula Rego. Organised in collaboration with Tate, London Calling will offer a snapshot of twentieth century London. In the human figures, personal relationships and interiors, a city at the crossroads of ideas emerges in paint.
In collaboration with Tate, in the spring of 2026 the Kunstmuseum Den Haag presents a major exhibition on the so-called School of London. Tate is lending around forty-five exceptional works by artists such as Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud, David Hockney and Paula Rego, and their lesser-known contemporaries Frank Auerbach, R.B. Kitaj and Leon Kossoff. The exhibition reveals how well-known figures in postwar British painting explored the human experience through a focus on the human form. It also seeks to expand the canon of British figurative painting by showcasing the work of equally noteworthy but often overlooked artists such as Denzil Forrester, Eva Frankfurther and Celia Paul. Until recently, these artists have remained largely excluded from the dominant narrative of the School of London. Featuring work by twelve artists, London Calling presents a cross-section of postwar painting in the British capital and provides an exciting opportunity to see the works of artists who all employed painting to depict their experience of the world.
“Postwar British painting is a bountiful subject: magnificent paintings that appeal to everyone through their focus on the human figure. A joy to behold. The artists from highly diverse backgrounds found their subject in London, a city that is as stimulating as it is controversial, and endlessly fascinating.” – Thijs de Raedt, curator of modern art, Kunstmuseum Den Haag.
Old favourites
The term School of London was coined in 1976 by the London-based American painter R. B. Kitaj. It became the umbrella term for a loose grouping of artists who knew each other, exhibited in the same galleries or drank together in Soho’s bars. As abstraction came to dominate the international art world, Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud and Frank Auerbach continued to paint reality. Some people called it old-fashioned, but as a magnet for migrants, post-war London was becoming a crossroads for diverse ideas, traditions and talent from Europe and beyond, giving figurative painting a new relevance. While they had no manifesto and did not constitute a clearly defined movement, these artists shared the use of oil on canvas to depict people in interiors – and, by extension, something bigger: the expression of a zeitgeist. These painters pushed the human figure to its limits, depicting a society in which old certainties were crumbling, and identity, gender and social relations were being redefined.
New icons
The exhibition poses questions that are as relevant now as they ever were. Who is seen? Who belongs? London Calling also explores ways to expand the School of London narrative, making room for parallel histories, suppressed perspectives and new icons. For example, it features paintings by Celia Paul, best-known for many years as Lucian Freud’s muse, Eva Frankfurther’s portraits of the working class of which she herself was a part, and Denzil Forrester’s vibrant depictions of London’s reggae culture of the 1980s.
Joe Eagan Comedy Productions brings stand-up comedians to The Hague, guesting Branoul approximately 10 times per year with shows entirely in ENGLISH. Always a fun mix of pro headliner comics, local talents, stars of tomorrow and stars of yesterday. Note: Each show has approx 3-4 different comedians and a lovely MC host from Canada, Ireland or the UK guiding you through the evening. The line-up per show is published on our Facebook events page.
Dates: Sat Feb 21, Fri March 13, Sat March 28, Sat April 18, Sat May 23, Sat June 13
Time: Two showtimes to choose from each date at 19,00 & 21,00
This page is an archive of 2026 events. For upcoming events visit our 2026 Calendar.
This is not an exhaustive list, but we work hard to review the many options in our city and select events that are suitable for the international community. This usually means they are either held in either the English language or are inclusive events where language is not a barrier to participate and enjoy the experience.
We are also keen to build bridges to Dutch language events, so work on translations and partnerships with Dutch organisations who welcome the international community.
Events are predominantly in The Hague, but some are also selected in nearby regions and others cities.
Do you have an event to share? Would like to give us feedback on an event you attended, or spot something that is not correct in our calendar? Please Contact us.
Events and festivals in The Hague again count on municipal support in 2026. A total of €1.09 million in subsidies has been awarded this year to 11 large and 12 small public events. The budget for large events has been increased by€70,000. In addition, over€1.3 million will be allocated to iconic events, such as the NN CPC Run and the Royal Christmas Fair, and the arrival of Sinterklaas as a national celebration.
Alderwoman Saskia Bruines (Economic Development): “The Hague is buzzing! In 2026, our city will once again continue to offer a fantastic mix of events that bring people together, inspire, and surprise. From large festivals to small-scale events spread throughout the city : they bring color and energy to The Hague, attract visitors, and provide a great boost to the local economy. It’s wonderful that we can once again support the entrepreneurship and creativity of event organisers.”
Newcomers and established names
Large-scale events with 25,000 visitors or more include well-known names such as Jazz in de Gracht, SnowFest, and Rewire . Newcomers like Kijkduin Beleeft! and the Jalan Jalan Festival also receive a municipal grant. Subsidies for small-scale events have been awarded to Grauzone Festival , HipFest, and Haringfest, among others. KidsFest aan Zee, a new initiative in Scheveningen, is also eligible for funding .
The subsidy ceiling for large-scale events has been increased by €70,000 on an incidental basis to support more initiatives.
Second round of small events
A second round of grant applications for small-scale public events will take place in 2026. Applications for this second round must be submitted by February 28, 2026. Click here for a complete overview of awards per event.
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Featured photos: Rewire and Snowfest : Copyright, Municipality of The Hague
According to the Municipal Council decision (see link above), the following large-scale public events have been awarded funding for 2026:
• Rewire – €50,000 • Jazz in de Gracht – €150,000 • Embassy Festival – €125,000 • Sniester – €50,000 • SnowFest – €100,000 • Scheveningen Winter Festival – €13,075 • Peace Marathon The Hague – €150,000 • Jalan Jalan Festival – €100,000 • Milan Summer Festival – €50,000 • Cool Event – €50,000 • Kijkduin Beleeft! – €71,925
The following small-scale public events will also receive funding:
• Grauzone Festival – €10,000 • St. Patrick’s Day Festival – €16,000 • Westwood Festival – €10,000 • Haringfest – €20,000 • Bunkerdag – €10,000 • HipFest – €18,600 • Nationale Kinderherdenking – €20,000 • KidsFest aan Zee – €16,900 • Nederlands Bierproeffestival – €10,000 • Pride The Hague – €20,000 • Aircooled Scheveningen – €10,000 • Segbroekfestival – €19,238
In total, €910,000 has been allocated to large-scale public events and €180,000 to small-scale public events.
In addition, the city has reserved multi-year funding for the following image-defining events and national celebrations:
• NN CPC Loop Den Haag – €139,401.69 • The Life I Live Festival (Koningsnacht) – €429,357.18 • Bevrijdingsfestival Den Haag – €362,444.37 • Vlaggetjesdag – €133,825.61 • Royal Christmas Fair – €195,162.36 • Intocht Sinterklaas – €55,760.67
The Kunstmuseum Den Haag has invited artist Hadassah Emmerich to create a new mural in one of the museum’s monumental stairwells. The mural, “Petals Pulp Papaya Plunge,” was designed specifically for this space and envelops the visitor in a lush world of abstracted plants and fruits. Inspired by the batik panels in one of the Kunstmuseum’s historic style rooms, the work engages in a dialogue with the architecture of the museum building, designed by Hendrik Petrus Berlage. With this iconic commission, the museum is taking a step toward structurally providing space for female artists. Petals Pulp Papaya Plunge opens February 14th.
With the Hadassah Emmerich mural, the museum promotes diversity and inclusivity in our collection by literally claiming space for female artists within the museum as an institution and the museum canon.
– Margriet Schavemaker, director of the Kunstmuseum The Hague
In the monumental staircase, which towers over seven meters high, Hadassah Emmerich has created an abstract, colorful plant world: a lush universe of meandering leaves, suggestive fruit shapes, and distorted peacock eyes. A recurring motif in various sizes and color combinations is that of the papaya. Emmerich chose this fruit not only for its sexual connotations but also because of her interest in the idea of bastardization: the bastard, the hybrid species that completely belongs nowhere yet is simultaneously very strong. This tension forms a core motif in her work.
Emmerich’s personal background plays a significant role in this. She grew up in a Catholic village in Limburg as a non-Catholic girl, with a Chinese-Indonesian father and a German mother. From an early age, she experienced what it means to be seen as an outsider. In her work, she questions the idea of an “original” or “pure” identity and instead celebrates blending and hybridity across cultural, racial, and sexual dimensions.
Emmerich created the enormous mural using a specific stencil technique: she cuts shapes from pieces of vinyl flooring, rolls them with printing ink, often in subtle color gradients, and then prints them onto canvas, paper, or—in this case—the wall. This technique results in a kind of monoprint: each work is unique, but motifs and stencils recur frequently.
The result is an ambiguous abstraction. The enlarged, tropically colored motifs—the seductive peacock eyes, the bananas, the papayas—are so distorted that they simultaneously evoke body parts. While the erotic references were much more explicit earlier in her oeuvre, Emmerich here undermines a straightforward reading. The historical perspective of the exoticizing male gaze is replaced by an aesthetic that is ambiguous and multifaceted. “I want to break through that one-way perspective and play with the erotic female gaze in a positive and humorous way.”
Site specific
The design for the staircase is explicitly site-specific . Emmerich drew inspiration from the batik panels in the Dijsselhof Room, one of the museum’s historical style rooms (located on the first floor near Emmerich’s mural). Early in her career, Emmerich became fascinated with batik, the Indonesian technique for dyeing fabric. Besides batik’s formal and visual qualities, its historical layers also play a significant role in her work: the colonial context, cultural appropriation, and mutual aesthetic influences associated with this technique.
Furthermore, the mural engages in an explicit dialogue with the building itself. For a long time, it was overlooked that architect Berlage, during his 1923 visit to the then-colony of the Dutch East Indies, was strongly inspired by the architecture there, a fact that is also reflected in the museum’s architecture. This new mural addresses and visualizes that aspect of the architecture.
Visible statement
The Kunstmuseum’s identity is largely defined by its collection, which historically has primarily consisted of works by male artists. The museum is actively working to bring more balance to the collection, including by literally tackling the museum’s walls. With an eye toward polyphony and broader representation, the Kunstmuseum aims to consistently give female artists a prominent place.
In this context, the Kunstmuseum is inviting three female artists to create new murals in three of its four monumental stairwells. Hadassah Emmerich is the first artist, followed later this year by Natasja Kensmil and Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum. The new murals will give the building and collection a visible, contemporary boost while simultaneously building on the museum’s long tradition of murals.
About Hadassah Emmerich
Hadassah Emmerich (Heerlen, Netherlands, 1974) lives and works in Brussels. After studying painting at the art academy in Maastricht, she continued her studies at the Higher Institute of Fine Arts in Ghent and later at Goldsmiths College in London. From an early age, Emmerich worked with a form of expanded painting , experimenting with a variety of paint types, techniques, and media. Her work has been exhibited in numerous venues, including Kunsthal Kade, the Bonnenfanten Museum, and the Centraal Museum. Her work is included in the collections of Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Muzee Oostende, Museum Voorlinden, and Kunstmuseum Den Haag, among others. Her work can also be seen in the form of murals in public spaces, for example, at the Erasmus Hospital in Rotterdam, the Papiermolentunnel in Groningen, and the Dutch Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia. Emmerich is represented by Galerie Ron Mandos, Amsterdam.
