#RotterdamInsidersTips
We asked Rotterdam-based art professionals and collectors for their special tips. Enjoy your stay during Art Rotterdam like a local!
Rosa de Graaf, Curator at Kunstinstituut Melly
My favourite place to dine in Rotterdam:
Hard to choose, but at this particular moment: Tensai Ramen.
Where I would take a guest visiting Rotterdam to have a drink in Rotterdam:
I’d take them to Williams Canteen of course. For cocktails, that is. Kaapse Maria for beer.
My favourite art space:
Well, beyond Kunstinstituut Melly I’m going to say Daily Practice in Rotterdam West.
My outdoor sculpture in Rotterdam:
The Franz West “Qwertz” that I walk past each day.
My secret spot that makes Rotterdam special:
I can’t give the top secret spot away, but here’s the runner-up: Evermore
Sam van Rooij, Collector
My favorite place to dine in Rotterdam:
La Pizza centrum or Louise petit restaurant
Where I would take a guest visiting Rotterdam to have a drink in Rotterdam:
Wine bar Le Nord or L’Ouest.
My favourite art space:
Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, but since it’s closed its Depot is the second best.
My favorite outdoor sculpture in Rotterdam:
Le Tamanoir by Alexander Calder (corner of the ‘Aveling’ and the ‘Venkelweg’, Hoogvliet)
My secret spot that makes Rotterdam special:
It’s not that secret, but to me the most beautiful spot in Rotterdam; just stroll through the Euromast parc, grab a coffee at Parqiet and walk towards the Erasmus bridge and de Veerhaven.
Mariette Dölle, artistic director Oude Kerk Amsterdam
My favorite place to dine in Rotterdam:
Rotterdam is teeming with great places to dine. There’s a restaurant for every mood and time, however I always tend to end up in the same places:
La Pizza (vongole, vongole, vongole), Tai Wu (so much fun to order by number), Vislokaal Kaap (always willing to make you a dish that’s not on the menu)
Where I would take a guest visiting Rotterdam to have a drink in Rotterdam:
My current fave hangout is Amore Rotterdam, especially when it comes to drinking their caipirinhas; However: it is mandatory to visit Café de Schouw in the Witte de Withstraat this year. This bar is Rotterdam’s one and only Artist Bar, where sooo many artists met and made new plans over the decades. De Schouw is closing this summer, so let’s party one more time, and make new memories that will end up in future books/blogs/films about the vibrant Rotterdam art scene.
My favourite art space:
Brutus Rotterdam is an unconventional space for art and more, housed in a massive old warehouse in the rough harbour area of Rotterdam. Artist Atelier van Lieshout has created a 10,000-square-foot paradise of artistic curiosity and exhibition to show exciting established artists, up-and-coming talent, embracing all artistic disciplines.
My favorite outdoor sculpture in Rotterdam:
On Heemraadssingel, well respected artist Maria Roosen was commissioned to create a monument for writer and poet Anna Blaman (1905-1960). This free spirited writer wrote openly about her lesbian relationships. Blaman was a prominent writer of great significance for the LGTBQ+ community in the Netherlands. In her time, she was a striking figure, a woman riding a huge motorcycle, which was quite uncommon. Maria Roosen chose this motorcycle to remember Anna Blaman by, appealing to notions of independence, freedom, adventurousness.
My secret spot that makes Rotterdam special:
The historic garden Schoonoord is a true Secret Garden in the very center of Rotterdam. I often take a break from the urban hustle and bustle in this beautiful time capsule of an early 19th-century private garden. The English Style garden stayed in private hands until 1973 when the family decided to open it to the public. A bridge was built and the old manor gate was put on the bridge. This made the park hard to spot as a public place and it still is to this day only known by the locals. There are over 1000 plant species at the garden and it became a national monument in 2000. Schoonoord is open daily from 8.30-16.30. (Please be mindful of the environment)
