On Friday, July 11, 2025, the Amsterdam Museum will open the third edition of the biennial exhibition Refresh Amsterdam. This edition, titled Imagine the Future, is all about the future. Not only artists, but also the public are invited to share their vision of what lies ahead.
With Refresh Amsterdam #3, the Amsterdam Museum celebrates the city’s 750th anniversary by looking ahead. Fifteen contemporary artists were commissioned to create work around urgent themes that impact our shared future. The exhibition features work by visual artists, designers, photographers, writers, and performers.
From children’s drawings of the future to fictional archaeological discoveries exploring inclusivity — each piece invites us to see the future not as something fixed, but as something we can shape ourselves through creativity, collaboration, and imagination.
““We are celebrating Amsterdam’s 750th anniversary, but at the same time we are thinking about the future. That’s why we’re inviting artists and the wider public to look ahead and share their dreams, expectations, and hopes for the future with us.”” Imara Limon Chief Curator of the Amsterdam Museum
““We are celebrating Amsterdam’s 750th anniversary, but at the same time we are thinking about the future. That’s why we’re inviting artists and the wider public to look ahead and share their dreams, expectations, and hopes for the future with us.””
A striking part of the exhibition is the series of six monumental group portraits by artist Raquel van Haver. Under the title Group Portraits of the 21st Century, she depicts both well-known and lesser-known Amsterdammers who, in her view, are currently making a difference in the city. Inspired by 17th- and 18th-century civic guard portraits, Van Haver portrays, among others, anthropologist Gloria Wekker, writer and rapper Massih Hutak, poet and performer Diana Ozon, and DJ Joost van Bellen. Each painting is framed with unique marquetry, embedding even more hidden stories.
Refresh Amsterdam #3: Imagine the Future📅 July 11 – November 30, 2025📍 Amsterdam Museum on the Amstel🎟️ View the full program and get your tickets here
