Press release
11 June 2025, Amsterdam
This evening, the 78th edition of the Holland Festival was officially opened at the Muziekgebouw in the presence of His Majesty the King, with the European premiere of Cyber Subin. The festival runs until 29 June.
In Cyber Subin Thai choreographer Pichet Klunchun and MIT scientist Pat Pataranutaporn brought together cutting-edge AI technology and traditional Thai dance in a new choreographic form. Four dancers performed alongside their avatars, responding in real time to AI-driven impulses and being challenged by the technology. The audience also had the opportunity to contribute to the performance by submitting prompts.
In her opening speech, festival director Emily Ansenk emphasized the importance of art and connection in confusing and difficult times: 'The Holland Festival was founded in 1947, in the aftermath of a devastating war. At that time, there was a shared understanding that exchange, imagination, and connection were the only workable responses to destruction and division. That belief has only become more urgent over time. (...) In a world shaken by violence - from Gaza to so many other places - we feel sorrow, helplessness, confusion. And yet, we come together. Because it is precisely now that the arts matter most. When words fall short, art helps us feel. Reflect. Be vulnerable. And perhaps, as our associate artist Trajal Harrell says, experience a moment of togetherness.'
During the opening, Harrell said: 'For every presence there are so many more absences. If we are to consider presences, we must also consider and be attuned to the absences. Our friends and loved ones stuck at work, or at war, those sick, or unable to come. I still believe the great achievement of art is that it can invoke a coming together that is unquantifiable. It is unmeasurable… It is an act of coming nearer and nearer to each other in ways we cannot yet name, nor pretend to have language for.'
The opening also paid tribute to the recent passing of former artistic director Pierre Audi, who led the festival from 2005 to 2014. Five trumpeters performed a musical tribute featuring a fragment from aus LICHT (2019), a production by Dutch National Opera, Holland Festival, and the Royal Conservatory The Hague. During his tenure, Audi broadened the festival’s international perspective, brought many major artists to Amsterdam, and frequently presented large-scale works.
(Vulnerable) Bodies
A central role in the festival is played by Trajal Harrell. His project Welcome to Asbestos Hall runs from 12 to 29 June at Likeminds, where Harrell not only presents his own work but also offers space to other makers. To experience the breadth of his work, Caen Amour (19–20 June) and Sister or He Buried the Body (25 June) can be seen at the Stedelijk Museum.
Inspired in part by Harrell’s work, many performances at the festival focus on the (vulnerable and/or imperfect) body. For example, Cyber Subin explores the body in relation to technology, but also in unexpected ways: musicians from Asko|Schönberg participate in the choreography of Study for Life, and audiences can move among musicians—with and without disabilities—during the Paraorchestra concert at The Concertgebouw.
Vulnerability takes on a very different meaning in performances about trauma and violence. In Cadela Força Trilogy – Chapter II – The Brotherhood, Carolina Bianchi explores the often-violent codes of male brotherhood that enable rape and femicide. Told by My Mother portrays another form of trauma—that of mothers who lose their sons to the war in Syria. Choreographer Ali Chahrour wants to tell his aunt’s story, as well as her resilience, and that of all mothers.
With its 78th edition, the Holland Festival deliberately showcases artists who, whether sharply or poetically, reflect on the present moment. They reveal the impact of the climate crisis on island communities, the destruction caused by corporations in fragile regions, while also creating space for unexpected encounters and discoveries.
Practical information
The opening performance Cyber Subin will be live at the Muziekgebouw until 13 June, and streamed globally from 15 to 17 June.
The Holland Festival runs from 11–29 June at sixteen locations in Amsterdam and one in The Hague.