Program May
Monthly Peer Support Meeting #1: Peer Support
Friday the 23rd of May | 10:00-12:30 | Basecamp | Pauwstraat 13a | Utrecht | Free of Charge
Subscribe | RSVP | no spots left
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Program June
Monthly Peer Support Meeting #2: (Un)Productivity & Rest
Friday the 20th of June | 10:00-12:30 | Basecamp | Pauwstraat 13a | Utrecht | Free of Charge
Subscribe | RSVP | 4 spots left
Nongkrongen in Utrecht | Hosted at Wilhelminapark
Saturday the 14th of June | 16:00 | PLUK Kraakt | Cancelled / Changed Location | Utrecht
Subscribe Here | Change of Plans
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Program July
Monthly Peer Support Meeting #3: Rejection
Friday the 18th of July | 10:00-12:30 | The Creative Playground | Westplein 1001 | Utrecht | Free of Charge
Subscribe Here | 8 spots left
Nongkongen in Utrecht | Hosted by Bikewars
Wednesday 30th of July | 19:00 | Bikewars | Utrecht Area | DM @engel_p_luck. for Location
If your don’t use Instagram | E-mail Engel
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Program August
Stormhoek 2025 (The Outsiders & LDD)
Saturday 23rd of August | 16:00-21:00 The Outsiders | Ateliers Kersenboomgaard |
Emmy van Lokhorststraat 2-60 | Utrecht | Free Entry and Drinks
Let us Know | Subcription Form
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Program September
Monthly Peer Support Meeting #4: Resistance, Resilience, Redirection
Friday the 19th of September | 10:00-12:30 | Basecamp | Pauwstraat 13a | Utrecht | Free of Charge
Subscription Form | RSVP | 4 spots left
Nongkrong and Non-Productive Time | Close Reading Session
Sunday the 28th of September | 14:00 | UTosia | Schoolstraat 8 | Vleuten | Part I
Link to Text | Contact us for more info
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Program October
Monthly Peer Support Meeting #5: Flow
Friday the 31st of October | 10:00-12:30 | Basecamp | Pauwstraat 13a | Utrecht | Free of Charge
Subscription Form | RSVP | 10 spots left
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Program November
Nongkongen in Utrecht | Hosted by de Voorkamer
Friday the 7th of November | de Voorkamer | Kanaalstraat 225 | Cooking Together & Community Dinner
Subscription Form will follow
Monthly Peer Support Meeting #6: Theme TBA
Friday the 14th of November | 10:00-12:30 | Basecamp | Pauwstraat 13a | Utrecht | Free of Charge
Subscription Form | RSVP | 10 spots left
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Program December
Monthly Peer Support Meeting #7: Theme TBA
Friday the 12th of December | 10:00-12:30 | Basecamp | Pauwstraat 13a | Utrecht | Free of Charge
Subscription Form | RSVP | 10 spots left
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Program January
Monthly Peer Support Meeting #8: Theme TBA
Friday the 16th of January | 10:00-12:30 | Basecamp | Pauwstraat 13a | Utrecht | Free of Charge
Subscription Form | RSVP | 10 spots left
Learn more about our upcoming events and the art-initiatives we collaborate with:
During our fifth meet-up we will explore Flow as a theme, which was harvested during one of our previous peer support meetings. The meeting will be facilitated by Engel Pluck and Igor Sevcuk and will be hosted at Basecamp - in the city center, at the former location of BAK.
During the course of 8 monthly meetings we’ll reflect upon the precarious conditions of living, working and surviving within our contemporary art-world, as well as the cultural sector at large. We aim to offer a safe space to share our individual struggles and experiences, hopefully inspiring you to support ourselves, as well as each other.
Are you interested in joining? Please RSVP through the link below (limited spots available) - Our program is free of charge.
On a beautiful Sunday afternoon on the 28th of September Engel Pluck hosted a close reading session at their art-initiative UTosia, providing a temporary landing place. Melanie made some soup, providing fuel for a small and inspiring ‘being together’. Together we explored the Indonesian concept of ‘Nongkrong’ and how to translate this to the locality of Utrecht!
We got halfway through the text, so a follow-up meeting will follow soon! Feel free to catch up on the text, and join us for part II. Or simply read it for yourself and join our next ‘Nongkrongen in Utrecht’ at de Voorkamer.
Learn more about our previous events and the art-initiatives we collaborate(d) with:
Learn more about our previous editions of Stormhoek and the artists and art-initiatives involved:
June 2022, Kunsthal Kloof hosted our 6th edition of Stormhoek event in the main hall of the Nijverheid. Co-origanized by Mitchel Breed and moderated by Niek van der Meer and Jolanda Schouten from Stichting Das Spectrum. We presented 5 art-initiaves to an audience of artists and art-lovers, with wine fueling talks and chats between speakers and audience.
Jop Vissers Vorstenbosch provided an introduction, telling us about the origins of Stormhoek. Angelina Kumar told us about Lucrative Dumpster Dives and The Creative Playground. Bernardus Baldus provided one of his (in)famous rants, in relation to his initiative PS Lokaal. Tim Wunderink and Timo ten Broeke presented their iniative Kunsthal Kloof. And Door, Eline and Beatrijs gave us a brief verbal and visual tour around the projects of Artides.
This Stormhoek was funded by an Impulssubsidie from the Gemeente Utrecht, documented by Neeltje Kleijn and recorded by Stefan Starke.
September 2023, The Creative Playground hosted our 7th edition of Stormhoek. Hosted and moderated by Angelina Kumar (Lucrative Dumpster Dives) in collaboration with Ramiro Monteiro (Perron West). Together they presented six art-initiatives to an audience seeking shelter from the pouring rain, somehow perfectly illustrating our current themes in relation to the precarity and solidarity within the grassroots arts.
The evening started with Ramiro and Angelina telling us about the history and origins of The Creative Playground in relation to their respective initiatives. After this Meral Maas from FAAM told us their program in relation to the duality between ‘thinkers’ and ‘makers’. As two members of The Outsiders, Asia Komarova and Merel Zwarts, presented their projects around local ecology and farming, in the midst of a performative sharing of food. Bart Schalekamp, one of the initiators from OCTA, shared about their collaborative approach to making art and exhibitions, inviting artist friends from two different cities.
After this Stefan Starke and Tijmen Lohmeijer, from Stranded-FM, presented their community driven radio-station. Very vulnerably sharing both their success, as well as their precarious reality behind the screens. As the final presentation Dina Ziad and Wisse Ankersmit from OP&, told us about the importance of providing spaces to meet and come together, which we immediately put into practice by the sharing of Stormhoek wine - fueling further conversations between speakers and audience!
This edition of Stormhoek was organized by Mitchel Breed and Angelina Kumar; Photographed by Neeltje Kleijn; the sound was facilitated by Jonny Mehrez; with an audio recording by Stefan Starke. As part of our 2023 program it was funded by the K.F. Hein Fonds, Elise Mathilde Fonds and Stichting de Zaaier.
August 2025, The Outsiders hosted our 8th edition of Stormhoek! This edition was co-organized with Angelina Kumar from Lucrative Dumpster Dives and took place at Ateliers Kersenboomgaard, the homebase of The Outsiders. Together Angelina Kumar, Merel Zwarts and Asia Komarova invited six speakers from the cultural field around the theme of ‘periphery’: ‘What does it mean to make culture in the margin?. To work with ecological themes? Operate on the border of cities? Bring ecological perspectives to institutional education? Organize citizens assemblies? Hunting in the city?’
During this late summer afternoon six inspiring grassroots art-initiatives explored these questions: Merel Zwarts from the Outsiders introduced and moderated this Stormhoek event and Mitchel Breed from Stichting Das Spectrum gave a short introduction about the history of Das Spectrum in relation to our current peer support program! This was followed by 10 minute presentations from Four Siblings, Symbiode Festival, b.ASIC a.CTIVIST k.ITCHEN, HKU Ecology Program, Ministerie van de Toekomst and closed by Pan Vanitcharoenthum After speaking, each of them got a bottle of Stormhoek wine to share with anyone from the audience interested in knowing more!
This edition of Stormhoek was photographed by Neeltje Kleijn. The sound and audio- recording was facilitated by Leonardo Siqueira. As part of our yearly peer support program it was made possible by the generous support of the Gemeente Utrecht, K.F. Hein Fonds and Elise Mathilde Fonds!
Get to know the various art-initiatives whom hosted our Indonesian inspired hangouts:
Stichting Das Spectrum happily announces the next Nongkrongen event at July 30th!
The Nongkrongen takes place at BikeWars, based in the Utrecht area. Maja from BikeWars will be hosting it together with Engel Pluck from Stichting Das Spectrum. Bikewars is an autonomous space bringing delicious vegan food and entertainment to the underground every Wednesday for over 10 years.
You are invited to come and hang around from 19 hrs. The BikeWars Eetcafé provides vegan meals and (non-) alcoholic drinks. CASH ONLY. For the address: DM @engel_p_luck.
Stichting Das Spectrum provides vouchers for a meal for the first 18 Nongkrongen/ Das Spectrum – visitors (based on DM order).
And last but not least, at the 30th there will be a BikeWars Performance Bar with four acts! More info: @maja.irene.bolier.
Due to unexpected circumstances Pluk Kraakt unfortunately won’t be able to host our upcoming Nongkrongen in Utrecht event at the 14th of June. Therefore, for whomever still wants to hang out, we will move the nongkrong to the nearby Wilhelminapark. We’ll be hanging out next to Exbunker, if the weather allows this.
Or alternatively, in case of bad weather we meet at ‘Buurten in Oost’, around the corner from Pluk Kraakt. You can reach out to Engel or Mitchel through Whatsapp or Signal if you have trouble finding us.
Photo & More: pluk_utrecht (Instagram)
Stichting Das Spectrum is happy to announce k l u p k o : rooms & daily art situations will be hosting our first 2025 edition of Nongkrongen in Utrecht: an informal hangout session hosted by alternating art-initiatives throughout the year. As an Utrecht based peer support platform we aim to facilitate meetings connecting local artists and art-initiatives - Sharing experiences and insights around building and sustaining our artistic practices, in the midst of a precarious world.
k l u p k o : rooms & daily art situations is an art-initiative co-organised by Igor Sevcuk and Go Eun Im in Utrecht and Amsterdam. It is a space in transition in which everyday life, hospitality and art practice are intertwined.
Photo: Mladen Stilinović & friends / artists at work, 1969
Stichting Das Spectrum is proud to announce FAAM will be hosting our next edition Nongkrongen in Utrecht: An informal hangout session organized once every three months. Hosted by alternating art-initiatives in and around the city of Utrecht. We aim to facilitate a space to connect art-initiatives, artists and their communities. Or simply said ‘To get to know each-other a bit better.’
FAAM is a grassroots organization based in Utrecht FAAM connects young makers and researchers through transdisciplinary projects, often in collaboration with partners. From a project at the intersection of film, research and visual arts, to an exhibition during the annual History Month, in collaboration with the Waterliniemuseum. FAAM stimulates boundless thinking and guides young makers, researchers and organizations towards social change.
Image: Dieric Bouts, ‘Last Supper’, c. 1464–1468
Instagram: @faamutrecht.nl
THE OUTSIDERS are an art-initiative that implements service to people, the environment and to the society. Through public art and architecture they construct spaces in order to understand the city and it’s shared existence. They intervene, in collaboration with different organizations and citizens, on long term and temporary projects in-or outside. They work from the philosophy that public space begins from your dining table and extends to your neighbourhood.
Starting at their dining table, for this edition of our nongkrong ‘borrel’ THE OUTSIDERS wil be serving a warm meal for 5 euro’s. Please bring your own drinks of preference, in order to help facilitate an informal flow of collective thought at this beautiful and inspiring initiative!
Image: Pieter Brueghel the Elder, ‘The Harvesters’ , 1565.
UTosia is a place for alternative and experimental art, research, poetry and philosophical movements. UTosia is the total artwork by Engel Pluck. After years of renovation, the house from 1924 has been transformed into a place for working, living and presentation. UTosia has a garden studio to welcome researchers, artists and writers. It’s a free space to be inspired and to create.
This edition of Nongkrongen in Utrecht aims to facilitate an informal flow of collective thought, in support of this beautiful initiative. If you enjoy freely sharing your ideas, we invite you to take off to rural Vleuten!
UTosia is situated on walking distance from the Vleuten train and busstation, and is also easily reached by bike. UTosia will provide for drinks and snacks.
Photo: Koloniehuis Walden, Bussum. c. 1905.
Between 2011 and 2017, the studio building and art initiative Das Spectrum stood on this ground, where the artistic practices of a group of young artists had their humble beginnings. We facilitated exhibitions in our basement space, organized film and speaker evenings, and realized a guest studio adjacent to our common space and garden. Here we ate together, drank beers and with this informal gathering we inspired, stimulated and supported each other!
In 2017 we unfortunately had to leave our old publishing house, after which the art initiative Das Spectrum disappeared. However, Oproer has risen again on the same spot, similar to how Stichting Das Spectrum found its new form in recent years.
On this evening we also welcome our new board members Joyce Vlaming and Martine Folkersma, and say goodbye to old board members Jolanda Schouten and Arda van Tiggelen. Without their efforts, the Foundation and our new program would not have been possible.
Image: Pieter Brueghel the Elder, ‘The Tower of Babel’ , c. 1563.
Stichting Das Spectrum is organizing an informal get-together for our Utrecht art scene this Friday. We hope you can join us!
Projectspace LOKAAL is an independent art initiative, currently ran by artist Bernardus Baldus. Housed in a former copy shop, it has evolved into a leading underground project space that offers a platform for ambitious and experimental artists. The space has hosted a variety of exhibitions that blend visual art with other disciplines.
- BYO: Bring your own drinks and snacks - Essential lubricant for a good Nongkrong -
Instagram: @projectspacelokaal
Photo: The Dada Group at Cafe Voltaire in Zurich. c. 1920.
Learn more about our previous peer support meeting, and the themes we’ve discussed:
Our first meet-up of the year will be facilitated by Angelina Kumar and Engel Pluck. We are meeting at Basecamp, the former location of BAK, whom generously made their space available for our meetings. During this first meeting of the year we will start with Peer Support as a theme. We’ll also ask you as a participant which peer support themes are important for your artistic practice and in relation to the art-initiatives you might be running.
During the course of 8 monthly meetings we’ll reflect upon the precarious conditions of living, working and surviving within our contemporary art-world, as well as the cultural sector at large. We aim to offer a safe space to share our individual struggles and experiences, hopefully inspiring you to support ourselves, as well as each other.
Are you interested in joining? Please RSVP in our agenda above, since we have limited spots available. (+ The meetings are free of charge.)
During our second meet-up we will explore the theme(Un)Productivity & Rest as a theme, which was harvested during our first peer support meeting last month. The meeting will be facilitated by Angelina Kumar and Engel Pluck and will be hosted at Basecamp, the former location of BAK.
During the course of 8 monthly meetings we’ll reflect upon the precarious conditions of living, working and surviving within our contemporary art-world, as well as the cultural sector at large. We aim to offer a safe space to share our individual struggles and experiences, hopefully inspiring you to support ourselves, as well as each other.
Are you interested in joining? Please RSVP in our agenda above, since we have limited spots available. (+ The meetings are free of charge.)
For our third meet-up of the year we will be meeting at The Creative Playground, instead of Basecamp as our regular location. During this third meeting of the year we will explore Rejection as a theme, which was harvested during our first peer support meeting in May.
During the course of 8 monthly meetings we’ll reflect upon the precarious conditions of living, working and surviving within our contemporary art-world, as well as the cultural sector at large. We aim to offer a safe space to share our individual struggles and experiences, hopefully inspiring you to support ourselves, as well as each other.
Are you interested in joining? Please RSVP through our agenda, since we have limited spots available. (Our meetings are free of charge.)
During our fourth meet-up we will explore the theme Resistance, Resilience, Redirection, which was harvested during our peer support meeting around the theme Rejection. The meeting will be facilitated by Angelina Kumar and Engel Pluck and will be hosted at Basecamp - in the city center, at the former location of BAK.
During the course of 8 monthly meetings we’ll reflect upon the precarious conditions of living, working and surviving within our contemporary art-world, as well as the cultural sector at large. We aim to offer a safe space to share our individual struggles and experiences, hopefully inspiring you to support ourselves, as well as each other.
Are you interested in joining? Please RSVP through our Agenda , since we have limited spots available. (+ The meetings are free of charge.)
Stichting Das Spectrum would like to invite you to join our Monthly Peer Support Meetings as a safe space for art-initiatives and artists with a collaborative practice!
Our monthly meetings are based on the values of peer support. In these meetings we aim to discuss the precarity of surviving and thriving in the modern day art world. We want to create a space in which we can share both our struggles and accomplishments as well as sharing resources, knowledge, expertise and network.
These meetings are part of a pilotprogram initiated by Mitchel Breed and Angelina Kumar. This pilot is made possible with the support of K.F. Hein Fonds, Elise Mathilde Fonds and Stichting de Zaaier.
Let people know they can sign up to your audience and receive updates, or learn more about a product or service.
Our yearly program of 2025/2026 is generously supported by:
© 2025 Stichting Das Spectrum