Artist-Driven Playground
Brutus does not identify as a museum, but as an artist-driven playground—a place where makers are free to experiment across a wide range of disciplines.
With 6,000 square metres of raw, industrial space, the former harbour complex in Rotterdam West is among the largest exhibition venues for contemporary art in the Netherlands. Brutus is a cross between a labyrinth and a time machine, a shelter and a launch pad, a laboratory and an industrial ruin, a cabinet of curiosities and a think tank. Within the former harbour warehouses in the M4H area of Rotterdam West, a world revolution of the imagination is being prepared—led by artists.
Cultural Cluster in Rotterdam West
The Cultural Cluster is a development project initiated by Brutus founder and artist Joep van Lieshout. It is a future vision for the M4H area, designed to inject new energy into the liveability of this raw industrial zone without losing the distinctive character of Rotterdam West. The Cluster is envisioned as both a residential area and a cultural centre for the city of Rotterdam.
In the future, Brutus will become part of this new Cultural Cluster being developed at its current location. Within the cluster, Brutus will form the epicentre of an artist-driven philosophy, bold exhibitions, and a raw, experimental spirit.
Minimum Restrictions & Maximum Creative Impact
Brutus is a place where both large-scale and small-scale group and solo exhibitions are curated and produced. Artists are given carte blanche to experiment with art, scenography, and storytelling that move beyond conventional paths.
There is no white cube or sterile museum space at Brutus. Instead, visitors encounter unpolished industrial halls where boundaries dissolve—both for artists and audiences—allowing exhibitions and art to be experienced without limitation. At Brutus, minimal restrictions are applied to enable maximum creative force, unfiltered.
This results in oversized installations, theatrical productions, performances, film screenings, and exuberant celebrations. The themes explored at Brutus touch on issues central to everyone’s lives, ranging from climate change and migration to social exclusion and the perversion of power. Visitors are invited to wander through the complex, to form their own opinions or actively participate. Here, distinctions disappear: between art expert and layperson, autodidact and established artist, forklift driver and professor. Here, everyone is an insider.
Brutus as a Unique Backdrop for Art
To offer insight into the identity of Brutus, Muze, the magazine of Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS, published a compelling textual portrayal of Brutus and its annual exhibition Wild Summer of Art (2025):
“Forget the white, serene museum gallery. Anyone stepping into Brutus in Rotterdam enters a different world. A carefully curated exhibition about memories, set within a landscape of raw concrete floors, rusted steel beams, and the echo of an industrial past.”
From the memories embedded in the Brutus building itself to its role as a raw backdrop for artists, Nasty Magazine from Milan also wrote about Brutus and its exhibition Everything is True – Nothing Is Permitted (2025):
“Brutus is itself a direct challenge to the conventions of the global art world. Its rough, unfinished walls, cavernous halls, and unpredictable spatial arrangements resist the neutralising effect of the white cube. Here, art cannot be isolated from the world outside—it bleeds into the architecture, into the history of the space, and into the psyche of the viewer.”
Background
Brutus is a non-profit organisation located in the former harbour area of Rotterdam, known as M4H. Founded in 2008 by artist Joep van Lieshout, Brutus became an independent foundation in 2022, acquiring museum and ANBI status under the leadership of director Sanne ten Brink.
Brutus consists of two foundations: Brutus Space and Brutus Base. Brutus Base presents all projects and activities related to the work of Atelier Van Lieshout, while Brutus Space facilitates projects and activities by other artists.
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