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Open Monumentendag
Exhibition + Cultural Programme
Commisioned by KATOENHUIS I Imagining New Realities, Concrete Culture
In collaboration with Open Monumentendag Rotterdam,
Open Monumentendag, Rotterdam Street Culture Week
Curated by Mar Gimeno Lumbiarres
Supervised by Arnold Van de Water
13-14th September, 2025
Location: KATOENHUIS, Rotterdam, Netherlands
On 13–14 September, Katoenhuis opened its doors for the first time as part of Open Monumentendag Rotterdam, welcoming over 300 visitors on the opening day. The post-war warehouse, built in 1950 to store cotton, has since transformed from trade hub to rave space, fruit storage, and now a home for digital media, immersive installations, and spatial storytelling. Its layered history embodies this year’s national theme “Gebouw(d) om te blijven” – Built to Last.
BUILT TO LAST
Exhibition / Permanent Showroom
Curation: Mar Gimeno Lumbiarres
Text: Katažyna Jankovska & Mar Gimeno Lumbiarres
Graphic Design: Anastasia Kozlova
Photography: Mar Gimeno Lumbiarres
As part of Open Monumentendag, KATOENHUIS opens its doors to a unique exhibition of the Collectie Van Bennekum — never-before-seen artefacts, glass negatives, photographs, and documents that reveal the generational story of the Van Bennekum family and their company, Van Bennekum Havenbedrijf. Spanning from 1910 to the mid-1980s, the collection sheds light on the family, the Feyenoord football club, the Port of Rotterdam, the maritime industry, and the cotton trade.
For the occasion, a dedicated room transforms into a 360º storytelling space: from the influence of Van Bennekum and the historic roots of the KATOENHUIS, to its meaning today, and even speculations about the future of the M4H (Keile District) neighborhood.
Visitors can engage with tactile screens, film projections, original artifacts, props, and info panels — an interactive and playful introduction to the KATOENHUIS story, setting the stage for the rest of the program’s activities.
This exhibition is also intended to remain as a permanent showroom within the KATOENHUIS hub, offering future visitors an ongoing opportunity to experience and reflect on this layered history — a window into intergenerational reflection.
HEARTSYNC
Interactive Installation & Research
Artist: Nino Basilashvili
HEARTSYNC is a creation by artist and researcher Nino Basilashvili, developed since 2018. The installation has previously been presented at events such as the Dutch Design Week, Carré Amsterdam (Studio DRIFT), De Effenaar, and NPO Radio 1.
HEARTSYNC in the KATOENHUIS marks a new phase in the artistic and social exploration of the installation and offers a platform for collaborative research with members of the Medical Delta Research Group “Health Promotion with Arts and Culture” (Ontzorgen met Kunst en Cultuur), including Julia Peters and Joost Oude Groeninger (Erasmus MC), Julian Schaap (Erasmus University Rotterdam), and Janine Stubbe (Codarts Rotterdam and Erasmus University Rotterdam).
In sessions of 10 people, heart rate synchronisation is experienced live. Participants wear a sensor (earclip) and are guided through a soundscape and voice-over, encouraging them to slow down and breathe deeper. As the breath and heart rates align, individual light circles on the floor transform into complex geometric patterns, representing the group rhythm. The installation literally shows what it means to be in connection as a group.
VR Graffiti Workshop
Art Tech Workshop
Artist: Kameleo Art
Technology: Upscale XR
Step into a world where analogue meets virtual!
Guided by graffiti artist Kameleo Art and powered by UpscaleXR, this hands-on workshop invites participants to reimagine the KATOENHUIS in virtual space. Using VR spray tools, you can paint, tag, and create without limits—merging the raw energy of graffiti with the possibilities of immersive technology.
An accessible introduction to creative tech for adults and children aged 10+
Time Tripping
Video Installation
Artist: Philip Lüschen
The KATOENHUIS has known many identities: from cotton storage in the 1950s to rave parties in the 2000s, and now an Immersive Experience Hub at the intersection of technology, culture and new media. The artist and scenographer Philip Lüschen presents an AV projection presenting the multilayered history of the building.
The site-specific video installation Time Tripping reveals synchronicities on the Katoenhuis grounds, spanning from the distant past to the far future. Through visual-spatial cues and 3D simulations of the site’s architecture, it presents the site in multiple times at once, merging these layers into new, shifting realities. Across these temporal layers, choreographies of elevation unfold: bodies carried by ascending currents of uplifting dance music, crates hoisted skyward, elk leaping, and water rising, highlighting continuities that resonate through time.
Other Activities
Photo Opportunity
We’ve invited photographers to explore the architectural character of KATOENHUIS — formerly the Van Bennekum cotton warehouse — and capture the building’s industrial spaces, rich textures, and distinctive structural lines. Designed by architects Vermeer & Van Herwaarden, the building features an innovative mix of prefabricated concrete and traditional brickwork, and has been recognised as Beeldbepalend (iconic architecture).
Guided Tours
We’ve invited photographers to explore the architectural character of KATOENHUIS — formerly the Van Bennekum cotton warehouse — and capture the building’s industrial spaces, rich textures, and distinctive structural lines. Designed by architects Vermeer & Van Herwaarden, the building features an innovative mix of prefabricated concrete and traditional brickwork, and has been recognised as Beeldbepalend (iconic architecture).
Guided Tours
We’ve programmed guided tours that offer a rare opportunity to explore how heritage can live on — not by standing still, but by being reimagined, reused, and reactivated across generations. Tours will be led by Arnold van de Water (director) and Mar Gimeno Lumbiarres (creative producer).