The second edition of the Amsterdam Underground Festival takes place
from Thursday, 27 September , up to and including Sunday, 30 September . The Amsterdam Underground Festival is a four-day exploration of the underground city and its culture. Four underground locations will open their doors for the first time and serve as inspiration and decoration for film and theater talent, writers, artists and musicians.
The festival has started! Even those of you who are unable to come to Amsterdam can follow it live here! Live radio, photos and videos are updated throughout the festival.
The second edition of the Amsterdam Underground Festival is on the way! We’ve been working hard to bring you a fantastic festival once again. This year we’ve expanded our efforts to include more unique locations!
You can also sign up to receive the newsletter by mailing info@amsterdamunderground.nl or visit our Myspace page.
The Amsterdam Underground Festival shows everything Amsterdam has to offer on a cultural and historical level. For everyone who is interested in the city of Amsterdamas well as theater, music, film, architecture, dance and figurative art.
Of course we welcome English speaking visitors at the Amsterdam Underground Festival. Although some shows or performances may be exclusively in Dutch, there is still plenty to see, hear and experience for the non-native speakers.
These are the four underground locations that will be exclusively opened for the festival this year:
Caisson 1, the submerged cathedral
Caisson 1 is the shaft from which the drills for the new North/South subway line will depart. The caisson was built above ground, and then literally sunk into the earth. It lies at a depth of 24 meters. In 2008, both tunnel drills will be constructed at this location and drill their way to the Rokin, Vijzelgracht and Ceintuurbaan stations. During the Amsterdam Underground Festival, this enormous new space will be exclusively opened for figurative art, lectures and a theatrical performance. It’s now or never for visitors: this is a one time only chance to descend into this enormous concrete space with its cathedral-like acoustics. Soon there will be subways raging through it.
Oog van ‘t IJ (Eye of the IJ river), from underground to above ground
Amsterdam’s smallest bridge cellar was built right next to the largest one. Partly under and partly above flood level. A large window shows a view of the IJ-river. This space watches over the passing ships. Music and dance will be performed here during the Amsterdam Underground Festival.
Brugkelder 485, the hidden bridge cellar
Brugkelder 485 is a huge bridge cellar at the Oostendoks-passage of the IJ-river, known to many as the museum route, a pedestrian area. The cellar houses the mechanics that make the bridge ‘seesaw’, like the counterweight. The several passageways and height differences in the space will be used for a large scale performance. In the other underground spaces around the Oostendoks-passage, there will be film- and music performances, as well as the festival café. This is also where the parties will be.
Below the IJ-river, the secret tunnel
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Many people have driven through the IJ-tunnel. What most people don’t know, is that there’s yet another tunnel underneath that one. During the Amsterdam Underground Festival, visitors can take an individual mythical walk between North and South. This walk will give you new insights in the construction of tunnels and the original modern use of underground space. There will be walks for children as well as for adults during the festival.===============
Klik hier voor het blokkenschema. Je kunt ook per discipline lezen wat we geboekt hebben:
The following performances are accessible for non-Dutch speakers:
Caisson 1
Figurative art:
Claudia Sola descended into the mineshaft and wondered if you pass hell when you drill a hole in the earth. Is the most important thing in human life the continuing journey from darkness to light? She constructed video installations in various places to try and answer those questions.
Figurative art:
Peter Vink created a light-installation which came about purely through the circumstances and surroundings of the room it’s housed in. His installations and video work are all based on the same ideas: accentuating what’s already there, doing something with what you have at any given moment and making full use of it.
Figurative art:
Michal Butink calls her own work ‘moving photography’. She picks out tiny hidden details and creates a feeling of endlessness by slowing down, looping and stop/starting videos. She is fascinated people’s movements when they don’t know they’re being watched. A choreography in a public space.
Tickets: €2,50
Oog van ‘t IJ:
Dance:
Company Koorts presents Biotopia. A biotope under a busy highway, a symbol of our hectic existence, houses four people. Their world starts to incorporate ever more elements of the outside world, causing a still-life to slowly turn into a party. Biotopia runs through the entire festival, kind of like a developing painting, only interrupted by a scheduled performance every two hours. Tickets: Economy Class € 2,50, Business Class € 5,-.
Music:
Basement Beats with rolling bass lines and deep beats from DJ O.Boogie and Rednose Distrikt’s�Aardvarck & Steven de Peven. U-GENE live on the keys and vocals and the boys of BEHANG on visuals.
Also shown is the world premiere of the unique video ‘Gone Walkabout’. A strange sound kindles Alec’s curiosity and brings him ‘down the rabbit hole’. What follows is an unplanned journey through a magical reality, resulting in a chase, a quest for love and a nightmare that brings Alec back to where he was, without realising he was ever actually gone. Menno Otten & Hielke Zevenbergen made this video for Aardvarck & U-Gene – and exclusively for the Amsterdam Underground Festival! Tickets € 7.50.
Music:
Lolly Jane Blue sings about a dark world of religion, love, nature and animals, in a combination of folk and electronic music. Amsterdam Underground Festival has the premiere of the art/music video for her song ‘Worms’, directed by Sil van der Woerd. ‘Worms’ shows Lolly Jane Blue on her way down through the layers of the earth, a journey leading to a climactic underwater ballet. Additional performances by other bands and singer/songwriters, like Moss, Jack and Jasmine, Leon James, Sophie Zeyl, Jacek Koba, pEp, Monokino. Tickets € 7,50.
Brugkelder 485:
Figurative art:
In cooperation with the Veenfabriek, the space of the Brugkelder 485 will be used for the unique film projections of Joost Rekveld and Michiel Pijpe. Tickets € 2,50.
Theatre/music:
Sing Song, the brand new Musique Concrète ensemble of the Veenfabriek, performs current, short, urban impressions of today’s world. Tickets € 7,50.
Theatre:
In Charms, Gerindo Kamid Kartadinata hangs upside down throughout the entire show, with only a tree trunk as counterweight. Every action turns into an attempt. With 22 questions, 22 texts and 22 images, the direction of the play is decided right there and then. Direct, without explanation, unrealistic and unpredictable. English spoken. Tickets € 10,- (student discount € 2,50).
Film:
The antechamber of the Brugkelder will host a film schedule. Placing cinema in a different context, the Amsterdam Underground Festival will show movies and documentaries relating to underground in the broadest sense of the word. Giving a wider sense of enstrangement from the everyday life and an unique oppertunity to merge with the subject-matter, the cinema is several meters under the ground, with traffic unknowingly raging overhead. Our program varies from timeless classic to independent documentary-filmmaking. But all have an enlcosed, gripping feeling, perfect for watching in this special location. All films wil be shown with a brief introduction. Tickets € 5,-.
Below the IJ river, the secret tunnel
Education and theatre:
‘Geen Gehoor’�is Dutch spoken, but due to the interesting location it is still an attractive option for our English visitors. Tickets € 10,- (student discount € 2,50).
This is a provisional programme, and the times are subject to change. The schedule has also not been completely filled yet. Keep checking the website for updates and additions!
Festival grounds
At the festival grounds you can get a drink or a bite to eat, catered by Dolce Vita. You can also witness a very special project here, entitled ‘What Lives Underneath Us?’. This project is executed through radio and internet and will find many creative ways to question as many different people as possible (makers, audience and authorities on the subject of biology, city planning, psychology, etc.) about what lives underneath us. This is also where you can get information, buy tickets, and purchase two special souvenirs of the festival: the festival shirts, with the underground theme interpreted by up-and-coming fashion talents AndBeyond, and the second edition of the publication ‘Ondergronds Amsterdam’, which tells the story of the locations of this festival in an unexpected manner.
You can buy your tickets during the Amsterdam Underground Festival at the festival ticket offices.
Please note! You will enter the festival locations at your own risk. Unfortunately, Caisson 1 is not suitable for anyone suffering from vertigo. The IJ-tunnel is not suitable for anyone suffering from claustrophobia. Children under the age of 16 at their own risk and only if accompanied by an adult. None of the locations are suitable for people with walking difficulties: unfortunately there are no elevators or escalators. One of the ambitions of the Amsterdam Underground Festival is to open the doors to underground locations for everyone, and accessibility will be better in the future. We apologize.
