Stay connected from home or wherever with these Activities, Podcasts, Bibliographies, and Videos.
Collective Learning in Practice (CLIP) is the successor to the institution’s successful Work-Learn Project initiated in 2018 and consists of seven editions to date. CLIP’s participants are given the opportunity to study art issues and work with our team to make our institution more publicly accessible. Each CLIP edition provides its 10-14 participants with the tools, skills, and inspiration to grow as individuals, decision-makers, and professionals. The unique curriculum includes twelve meetings held over a six-month study period.
We offer tours for groups and individual visitors. Groups planning a visit to the institution are encouraged to make an appointment with one of our Art Mediators for a guided tour or introduction to our exhibitions.
Activities inspired by artworks, recently or currently exhibited in our galleries. These activities can be made by people young and old at home, whether alone or in company of others.
From exhibition walkthroughs to interviews and recordings of online public programming.
It seems everyone and everything has a name, and that every name comes with a story.
We celebrated our institution’s 30th anniversary in 2020 by launching an awards program. This new annual awards program especially recognizes people whose image-making, craft, and advocacy has been central for the creation, presentation, and appreciation of contemporary art. Our three new awards are added to an already existing award, the Prize for Young Dutch Art Criticism.
Thematic reading lists originally created for the BOOK events at MELLY.
Kunstinstituut Melly’s Archive focuses on our institution’s exhibition history and activities from 1990 to the present. On the website fkawdw.nl, you can find information about our activities from 1990 to 2020, when our institution was named Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art.
Our institutional renaming from Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art to Kunstinstituut Melly came into effect on 27 January 2021.
Kunstinstituut Melly announces the first edition of The MELLYs, a newly envisioned awards celebration and benefit dinner taking place on Thursday, 27 November 2025, at Kunstinstituut Melly in Rotterdam. Conceived on the occasion of the institution’s 35th anniversary, The MELLYs recognize the individuals whose often-unseen contributions sustain the art and cultural ecosystem.
The MELLYs introduce three award categories, each carrying a prize of €25,000:
- Maker Behind the Maker Award: honoring the craftspeople, fabricators, and producers whose skills make artistic work possible.
- Behind the Lens Award (formerly the Berry Koedam Award): recognizing photographers and documenters who expand how we see and remember art.
- Visionary 010 Award: highlighting Rotterdam-based cultural leaders whose initiatives shape the city’s creative life.
The award prizes are made possible thanks to the generous support of the Mondriaan Fund and Stichting Stokroos.
The MELLYs combines an awards ceremony with a seated three-course dinner designed as a shared experience. Each course, developed as a food concept by artist Riet Wijnen, extends the spirit of the evening: to connect, exchange, and celebrate together. The program will be moderated by Evita de Roode, with a performance by donna Kukama, and a dancefloor takeover by DJs Jollyfish and Iris Rijskamp. Scenography is by Loui Meeuwissen and production by Around010.
Beyond celebration, The MELLYs is a vital fundraiser for Kunstinstituut Melly. Proceeds from the evening will directly support the institution’s 2026 programming, including a major retrospective of Moshekwa Langa.
Practical Information
Date: Thursday, 27 November 2025
Location: Kunstinstituut Melly, Rotterdam
Tables: Available for 10, 6, or 4 guests; individual seats also available.
For more information and reservations:
Kunstinstituut Melly is opening a brand new space in our building, dedicated entirely to education, meeting and creativity. It is a vibrant center for arts education, where makers, youth, children, students, visitors and communities come together to learn, create and share.
The space is designed with core values of inclusivity, accessibility, flexibility and ecological awareness. Think organic forms, natural materials and a modular design that effortlessly adapts to diverse programs and needs.
Our CLiP sessions, master classes, children's workshops and educational residencies, among others, take place here. Every Saturday there are free workshops for everyone, inspired by our ongoing exhibitions. It also provides space for collaborations, student projects and community initiatives.
We literally and figuratively give space to our educational mission. It is a place where art and learning come together - driven by connection, curiosity and care.
TOOLSHED is a residency initiative that will host two collectives per year, each developing their project over a four-month period. The program also collaborates with Casa Chris, which offers residential studio apartments for TOOLSHED participants, supporting immersive research embedded within Rotterdam’s cultural landscape.
