Three Solo Exhibitions Open on Saturday 17 May 2025

As part of our year-long celebrations, we are excited to announce three upcoming solo exhibitions opening on Saturday 17 May, featuring newly commissioned works by Ola Hassanain, Paulo Nimer Pjota, and Simnikiwe Buhlungu. These exhibitions are a testament to our institution’s dedication to supporting artists in creating work that encourages us to engage deeply with the world around us.

Ola Hassanain - The Watcher

In her solo exhibition, Ola Hassanain reflects on state-driven water control and ecological precarity through The Watcher, a figure inspired by community caretakers in Sudan’s Gezira scheme. This mixed-media installation includes a three-channel film and poetic scripts navigating themes of disaster and repair in contested environments. Drawing from Sudanese and Dutch water management sites, Hassanain critiques political abandonment and ecological violence while envisioning water as a force of resilience and renewal. The film presented in this exhibition was commissioned by BAK - basis voor actuele kunst, Utrecht.

Paulo Nimer Pjota - A Lua e Eu (The Moon and I)

Paulo Nimer Pjota debuts a new series of paintings that examine collectively originated phenomena. Drawing on urban culture and shared iconographies, his compositions bridge temporalities through overlapping and remixed forms. Like hip-hop’s approach to sampling, Paulo weaves together symbols and images to expose social inequalities and explore new ways of thinking through collective visual narratives. This solo exhibition marks Paulo’s first in the Netherlands.

Simnikiwe Buhlungu - hygrosummons (iter.02)

Simnikiwe Buhlungu presents hygrosummons (iter.02), an immersive installation combining sound, sculpture, and reclaimed materials. Featuring elements like warped wooden doors, water samples from global locations, and zithers attuned to humidity, this work transforms the gallery into a fluid, evolving space. By emphasizing water’s role in carrying history and shaping cultural narratives, Simnikiwe challenges conventional understandings of kinship, contamination, and interconnection. This is the artist’s first institutional show in the Netherlands.