Buro Stedelijk

News — Jul 7, 2025

Buro Stedelijk, the independently managed, multidisciplinary and experimental space for contemporary art in the building of the Stedelijk Museum, will enter a new phase in 2026.

Buro Stedelijk was established in 2022 by the Stedelijk Museum in collaboration with the Rijksakademie and De Ateliers. From December 2022, founding curators Azu Nwagbogu and Rita Ouédraogo collaboratively conceptualized the operating framework of Buro Stedelijk. From December 2023, under Rita Ouédraogo’s leadership, Buro Stedelijk has grown into a vital platform exploring contemporary art, culture, and design. Since the appointment for the curatorship is for three years, the recruitment for a new curator will start this Summer.

Over the past few years, Buro Stedelijk has given the floor to innovative artistic practices. From the powerful work of Julianknxx, Miles Greenberg, and Ola Hassanain to the recurring To Be Determined-series featuring artists such as Kenneth Aidoo, Nazif Lopulissa, Lorraine Hellwig, Mirre Yayla Séur, Marcel van den Berg, and Kevin Osepa, Buro Stedelijk continues to be a space for experimentation and exchange. Buro Stedelijk has explored new formats with artists like Müge Yılmaz and Anna Hoetjes through the speculative Feminist Sci-Fi Reading Group, and builds bridges with both international and local artists including Va-Bene Elikem Fiatsi, Joël Andrianomearisoa, Narges Mohammadi, Geo Wyex, Martin Toloku, Simomo Bouj, and many others.

Buro Stedelijk Manifestation #43. Photo Dre Amponsah

Through close collaborations with a wide range of organizations, Buro Stedelijk constantly creates new opportunities. These include off-site manifestations, such as an annual collaboration with Keti Koti Westerpark, and public-facing projects like the window print series in our Studio Space at the Paulus Potterstraat. Rita Ouédraogo: “The strength of Buro Stedelijk lies in this very diversity: from one experiment to the next, from local to global, we continue to seek unexpected encounters—moments where collective imagination and diverse voices meet. We have worked with almost 200 amazing collaborators, and I am proud that we have been able to give this impetus to the contemporary art field in Amsterdam.”

Rein Wolfs: “We developed Buro Stedelijk because we aim to offer a missing link in the city between the studio, the art schools, the galleries and the museum. As intended, it has become a lively place that is independently managed by the curator and the Buro Stedelijk team. Thanks to the generous support of Ammodo and Fonds21, we were able to initiate Buro Stedelijk, and we are now looking forward to the next phase. We are also open to collaborating with new partners to further strengthen our base. Buro Stedelijk is not only a laboratory for talent development of young artists and makers, but also of curators. That is why the term is deliberately for three years, and a new curatorial talent will soon be given the chance.”

Rita Ouédraogo: “I always knew I wanted to embrace the temporal nature of this work. Three years that would inevitably fly by, but years that could hold immense possibilities. Leading Buro Stedelijk has been intensely demanding, yet I'm profoundly grateful for what we've accomplished with amazing collaborators. Despite countless obstacles, we discovered joy and found our rhythm through the simple, radical act of showing up, again and again. I am very much looking forward to the remaining manifestations in 2025.”

Rita Ouédraogo, Manifestation #1. Photo Ernst van Deursen
Queue at Buro Stedelijk. Photo Maarten Nauw

MANIFESTATIONS IN 2025

  • Manifestation #53: I Must Still Grow in the Dark, the current group show with co-curator Stephanie Noach, until 17 July 2025
  • Manifestation #52: To Be Determined with Dion Rosina, Thato Toeba, Razia Barsatie and Sarojini Lewis, 28 August — 23 October 2025
  • Feminist Sci-Fi Reading Group with Müge Yılmaz and Anna Hoetjes on 25 October
  • Manifestation #78: Levens Compensatie Loterij with Suzie van Staaveren and Robbie Schweiger, 6 September 2025, Volgermeerpolder
  • Manifestation #79: Museumnacht with Ndayé Kouagou, 1 November 2025
  • The last Manifestation in Buro Stedelijk’s Central Space opens on 20 November 2025: The Belly of Momo with Kevin Osepa (a solo that is not a solo, Kevin Osepa in collaboration with many others)
  • The last manifestation of 2025: Manifestation #85: Buro Stedelijk’s Publication Book Launch + Buro Stedelijk X Garage Noord X Sichuan Territory After Party (artists to be confirmed), 27 November 2025.

    For more info, see: www.burostedelijk.nl.

RECRUITMENT NEW CURATOR BURO STEDELIJK
The independent advisory board of Buro Stedelijk, which includes representatives of the Stedelijk, the Rijksakademie and De Ateliers, is involved in the recruitment for the position of curator, which will start this Summer. The advisory board functions as an organ between Buro Stedelijk and the Stedelijk Museum and ensures that Buro Stedelijk operates as independently as possible within the Stedelijk. The vacancy for curator will be announced via the websites of Buro Stedelijk and the Stedelijk Museum, among other places. The curator will be appointed for a period of three years and will start per 2026.