Fabrique des Lumières at the Westergasfabriek is one of the best outings in Amsterdam.
Look, like this easy easy can be a museum. No complicated stories or long routes, but a digital art center where boredom is impossible. In the former Westergasfabriek you will find Fabrique des Lumieres with exhibitions created using state-of-the-art technology. What does that entail? Work by famous artists from history, but with a tad twist. At this museum, you find yourself in an explosion of color, where everything revolves around light and art. Not on canvas or in a painting, but life-size on the walls and ceilings of the Westergasfabriek. You can even combine it with a day at the Westergasterrein.
An incredibly beautiful and accessible art outing that won't take up the whole day, so you can also take in all the fun the Westergasterrein has to offer. Have a beer at Brouwerij Troost, grab wine and pizza at Bar Coco Vin, or go wild on a pot of mussels and a G&T at Mossel & Gin. Everything is just around the corner from the Fabrique des Lumières.
If you take the kids to a museum, they probably won't be jumping for joy right away. It depends on where you're going. Because honestly, they don't like museums where you spend hours inside and are bombarded with information. And neither do we. Fabrique des Lumières, on the other hand, is highly recommended. So much fun that we put it in the best museums in the Netherlands.
So at Fabrique des Lumières, they do things differently. You can be finished within an hour to an hour and a half and still have time for a drink nearby. And standing still is simply not in the vocabulary here. You can walk through the building yourself, but the artworks move too. You see impressive portraits and landscapes, with a different image every meter and every minute. Great for keeping your attention span. It’s not just your eyes that are stimulated; the shapes and colors dance to the rhythm of the music.
Important to know: every exhibition has its own time slot and its own ticket. You choose what you are coming for. It is handy to check beforehand, otherwise you will show up at the wrong time.
This summer
- Gustav Klimt, Gold and Colorful. The major crowd-puller of the moment. Modern painting with decorative patterns, enlarged to a height of seventeen meters. On view until September 17, daily from 15:00 to 18:00.
- Coldplay, A Film for the Future. An immersive, full-evening trip to the music of Coldplay. Only on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 18:30 to 20:30, and through August 22. It's best to make an evening of it: grab a bite to eat on the grounds first, then head inside.
- In addition, rotating Dutch Masters (From Vermeer to Van Gogh) en Prehistoric Planet: Dinosaurs Just keep going. That last one is actually the ultimate tip if you're taking kids along.
From autumn
- Da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo: The Masters of Renaissance. From September 18. The Big Three of the Renaissance, life-size around you.
- Jimmy Nelson – The Last Sentinels: Heroes from near and far. From October 17. Nelson’s impressive portraits of Indigenous peoples, but in full size.
- Even in the autumn, it remains Dutch masters clearly visible.
This digital immersive art center all started in Paris in 2018. There it is called Atelier des Lumières, and it became an instant hit. Culturespaces now has a whole network of them both domestically and internationally, and Paris is usually a little ahead: what is on display there often comes to the Netherlands as well.
The organization opted for the projections in the Zuiveringshal. This results in walls no less than 17 meters high and a floor area of 3800 m². Ideal for digital exhibitions, therefore. You can also still see old elements from the Zuiveringshal, albeit with projections.
Can we just walk around in Fabrique des Lumières then? Nope, for example, there is a corner set up for all your selfies and a mirror room. You can rest for a moment on one of the benches.
Want to know more? You can find all the information on the website of Factory of Lights.
And since you're at the Westergasterrein anyway, you might as well make a day of it. We'd be happy to give you some tips for that too.
We recommend Brewery Troost Westergas for a beer at the brewery. It is a brewery, brewpub, and shop all in one. Perhaps less suitable for kids, so bring them along and do they still have some concentration left? Children's films are shown daily at Het Ketelhuis. The café at Het Ketelhuis is also completely kid-friendly with games, coloring pages, and a special kids' menu. Stadscafé also opened at Cultuurpark Westergas, an all-day hotspot from the creators of Teds, De Willem, and Roest, where you can go from breakfast to drinks, with a sunny terrace serving as an extension of the park.
For dinner or lunch, we recommend Bar Kantoor. In the mood for pizza and a glass of wine? Bar Coco Vin is literally around the corner. And if you haven't had enough walking yet, Westerpark is a lovely place to spend time.
