24 - 27 September | Brutus, Katoenhuis, Keilepand, Export
Conflux Festival 2026
Conflux is a festival exploring multisensory encounters, urgent ideas, contemporary art and experimental music. From 24 to 27 September 2026, Conflux will once again take over various venues across Rotterdam’s M4H area, presenting exhibitions, performances, a conference and a club night.
After three editions exploring the relationship between humans and machines, and last year’s Rites of Decay, which reflected on human rituals in an ever-decaying world, Conflux now introduces a new direction that responds to the urgencies of the present.
In 2026, Conflux Festival turns to Tactics for Cultural Resistance, a theme that explores how art can open up new spaces for imagination, experimentation and lasting agency within today’s technological and (geo)political conditions.
Conflux Festival at Keilepand
Throughout the festival, Keilepand becomes one of the venues for Conflux’s programme, alongside other locations across Keiledistrict.
From Thursday, 24 September, our neighbours at Katoenhuis will present an exhibition featuring work by, among others, Amrith de Zoete, Anne Wenzel, Forensic Architecture, Forensis, Kinetic Sounds, Tools for Action, Yara Mekawei and Zoro Feigl.
From Friday, 25 September, the programme kicks off at the Keilepand with a club night at Export, located in the basement of the building. The line-up includes 69db, Animistic Beliefs, DJ Easy B, Siuli K.O., Wallis and wRec, among others.
On Saturday, 26 September, the annual Conflux Conference takes place at the Groene Tribune on the first floor. The programme features lectures, panel discussions and artist talks responding to the theme Tactics for Cultural Resistance. Contributors include Bambí Benkö, Camille Sapara Barton, Katažyna Jankovska, Phoebe Walton and Tina Farifteh, with Eric Parren as moderator. The programme explores different perspectives on resistance, resilience and artistic practice, with sessions including What Do You Do When Everything You Do Is Not Enough? and Off-Grid.
On Saturday, 26 September and Sunday, 27 September, the KeileZaal will host a free exhibition featuring 15 artists from the Stimuleringsfonds Presents Talent programme. The exhibition brings together a diverse range of artistic practices, with work by Hung Lu Chan, Jan Zuiderveld & Xinyi Zhang, Johannes Equizi & Eva Oosterlaken, Justyna Chmielewska, Kaj Boonstra & Emma Little, Maaike Rabbinge, Miao Li, Noémie Tshisumpa, Sangmin Oh, Sankrit Kulmanochawong, Shin-Hua Yang and Yufei Gao.
Conflux website: https://www.confluxfestival.nl
Conflux Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/confluxfestival/
Conflux programme (so far): https://www.confluxfestival.nl/programme/programme-2026/
Conflux tickets: https://www.confluxfestival.nl/tickets/