From May 2024 onwards, Nest in Laak will present a new programme series centred around art and listening. Following the renovation of the DCR building, Nest has relocated to the Laakkwartier in The Hague.
From May 2024 onwards, Nest in Laak will present a new programme series centred around art and listening. Following the renovation of the DCR building, Nest has relocated to the Laakkwartier in The Hague.
In this high, dark warehouse space, we are now neighbours to restaurant and club Laak, where exuberant dancing, social connection, and club culture take centre stage. This industrial venue offers a special opportunity to programme in an immersive and interdisciplinary way. Through a series of exhibitions, we will explore the art of listening and radical attentiveness.
What does it mean to truly listen in a time of sensory overload and constant distraction? Using large-scale installations of sound and visuals that change every few weeks, artists investigate the distinction between hearing and listening. Listening is approached not just as a physical act but as something one can do with all the senses – a means of connecting with the world and with each other. In solo or duo exhibitions, artists take over the space of Nest in Laak to question our relationship with nature, freedom of expression, pop culture, or representation in society. These exhibitions are complemented by an extensive contextual programme developed in collaboration with the artists, developed to expand visitors’ perspectives – and their listening.
The exhibitions are also accessible during the club nights of club Laak.
The first exhibitions in the Art and Listening series included The Singing Parliament by Henk Schut, DRRRUMMERRRRRR by Nikita Gale, and Open Field by Elsemarijn Bruys & Loma Doom. In December, we present Thin Air – You’re Gonna Carry That Weight by Joeri Woudstra & Hannah Rose Stewart. Two additional exhibitions in this series will follow in spring.
The Nest
The entrance to Nest in Laak has been transformed into The Nest: a welcoming meeting space for the local community, artists, and students. Workshops, performances, and conversations are held here, alongside a shop, a free art library, and complimentary coffee or tea for all.
Nest’s educational initiatives, such as Verwend Nest for children, the Young City Photographer project for students from the Johan de Witt School, and its collaboration with Art-S-Cool, also continue to take place at this Laak location.