activities

Museum De Lakenhal and Museumnacht Leiden

Saturday 3 June 2023

On 3 June, the 15th edition of Leiden Museum Night will take place. During Museum Night, the entire museum will be open and you can take part in all kinds of activities, with the overarching theme 'inside out'. Take a look at the programme below.

Domino plays DIOGENES

20:15, 21:00 & 21:45

Diogenes wandered the busy marketplace with lantern in hand, in bright daylight. When someone asked him about the lantern, he replied, "I am looking for a human being”. This ancient Greek story, metaphor for our search for meaning and for true acquaintance, Domino has used as a guide for a short movement theater. Theater group Domino consists of thirty people with and without disabilities. The performance DIOGENES was created especially for Museum Night.

Photo: Patricia Nauta

Treasure hunt 'Turn the museum inside out'

20:00 - 01:00

Can you unravel the history of the painting? Go into the museum as a researcher and discover the secrets of museum objects. Maybe you will uncover clues from unexpected places. Enthusiastic about your discoveries? Expand your knowledge by listening to 2 short lectures after the scavenger hunt in which museum staff members reveal the stories behind various objects. Or join one of the many guided tours given this evening.

Inside Out, the Circular Wonderroom

20:00 - 01:00

In front of the museum is a mysterious structure by Leiden artist collective Fields of Wonder. When you step inside through the keyhole, you find that you have actually gone outside. How this ends further, you will only find out when you enter the Wonderkamer BinnensteBuiten. Don’t forget to capture your moment with a photo from your own camera.

The Kitchen Dance Jam

22:00, 23:00 & 00:00

The Kitchen organizes dance-improjams in Leiden, and during Museum Night it will descend on Museum De Lakenhal, where the platform will be transformed into a dance floor. Jamie de Groot will provide a live set with a mix of organics, melodic house and techno, with dancers improvising to his own music – a first. Be inspired by the collective energy and move along in your own way, before continuing your route through the museum with an activated and present body

Pianist Daan van Seter live performance

20:30, 21:30 & 23:00

There is always a grand piano in the museum’s Van Doesburg Hall. This grand piano may be played by anyone, but especially for the museum night, pianist Daan van Seters plays a selection of piano pieces on it. He was inspired in his choice by the night and ended up with Chopin’s lyrical-melancholic nocturnes, Debussy’s dreamy and cinematic Clair de Lune, and Beethoven’s iconic Mondscheinsonate.

Art workshop Layer on Layer

20:00 - 00:30

David Bailly’s paintings on display during Museum Night in the exhibition David Bailly – Time, death and vanity have multiple layers, both in meaning and technique. In this colourful workshop, you will get to work with a gelli plate. You will make a one-time print with it, a monoprint. By making different layers on top of each other, a magical effect is created. Get started with this printing technique and discover your different layers.

Inge Reisberman - Homo Bulla / The Last Waltz video triptych

20:00 - 01:00

Erasmus once said: 'homo bulla est' – or, in other words, man is like a bubble. From the outside we may look intangible, but actually we are very vulnerable. The soap bubble inspired Leiden artist Inge Reisberman to create the video triptych The Last Waltz. Together with a professional bubble maker, Reisberman recorded a soap bubble performance at the monumental Meelfabriek between 2019 and 2021, using three cameras to film soap bubbles from different angles.

Flash tours

All night

Professional and enthusiastic tour guides will be on hand to show you the ins and outs of the exhibition on master painter David Bailly. David Bailly – Time, death and vanity is on view at Museum De Lakenhal through July 2, 2023. Seize this opportunity to learn more about this mysterious painter and about the theme of vanity in the world of painting.

A look behind the scenes of museum practice

20:30, 21:30, 22:30 & 23:30

Short lectures (Dutch and English)

You never read on the text signs next to a work of art what preceded the presentation of a work on display. During this Museum Night, curator of applied arts Prosper de Jong and depot manager Roos Kliphuis will give a unique look behind the scenes of Museum De Lakenhal. In short lectures they will talk about their work, with Prosper de Jong specifically discussing the arrangement of the Old Dutch Kitchen and Roos Kliphuis explaining the installation of De zelfopoffering van burgemeester Pieter van der Werf by the painter Van Bree.

DJ AAT

20:00 - 00:00

Aat is a Rotterdam-based house DJ, who likes to play funky house, tech house and deep tech. At the age of 21 she moved to Berlin, and started her DJ career by organizing illegal raves. She is now back in the Netherlands and emerging in the Dutch scene with her authentic style. In her sets you can expect a deep bass, lots of nice vocals, edits of all time classics and records that will make you dance.

Catwalk Sustainable

22:30 & 23:30

Fancy an evening of fashion-forward sustainability? Come to Museum De Lakenhal during Museum Night Leiden and discover the fashion of the future. The designers go all out with ecologically responsible clothing made from innovative or recycled materials. This time, the beauty of the outside is also inside the concept. Don’t miss this opportunity to get inspired and discover the fashionable side of sustainability

BinnensteBuiten with the music of Soesja Toehpah

22:30 & 21:15

Soesja is an Dutch-language singer-songwriter with intimate songs that deal with what a person goes through inside. Soesja translates those big feelings through her music. Her program is called – how appropriate – BinnensteBuiten (InsideOut). The ability and desire to share her inner world with the outside world creates mutual vulnerability. Soesja accompanies herself on electric piano, guitar or ukulele

A New World | Giek reads tarot cards

20:00 - 22:00 & 22:30 - 00:30

As an interdisciplinary artist, Giek likes to venture into the spiritual realm. During this Museum Night, she will take you intuitively through her tarot cards. Individually or in a group session, you will receive interpretation about your soul’s connection to everything. According to Giek, the current state of planet Earth is every reason to look deeper into internal patterns in order to see what role A New World has in store for you.

Practical information