Autumn is when the cultural season in Amsterdam starts again, with many museums announcing their new exhibitions. It’s also the moment when people look for more indoor activities, hiding from the rain and the grey days among art and beautiful things. If you are like me and love looking at art on a rainy day, you will appreciate a list of new exhibitions opening in the next few months. And there are plenty; this list is by no means exhaustive.
I’ve picked some of the exhibitions and that caught my eye, including a few big names, some lesser-known artists and several good reasons to take a day trip to another Dutch city. I added a few art-related events as a bonus. So if you’re looking for something new to see this autumn, here are some exhibitions worth putting on your calendar.
Yayoi Kusama, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, 11 September 2026 – 17 January 2027.
A major retrospective (now becoming posthumous tribute) of Yayoi Kusama spanning more than seven decades of the Japanese artist’s work. The exhibition brings together paintings, sculptures, installations, drawings, collages, fashion and archival material, showing how repetition, patterns and infinity have remained central to her practice. It includes iconic works as well as pieces that reveal lesser-known aspects of Kusama’s long career.
Chez Matisse – Masterpieces from Centre Pompidou, H’ART Museum, 3 October 2026 – 14 February 2027.
This exhibition brings together more than 80 works from the Centre Pompidou, exploring Henri Matisse’s search for balance between colour, form and expression. Alongside Matisse’s work are pieces by artists he influenced, including Pablo Picasso, Mark Rothko and Barnett Newman. One of the highlights is La Blouse roumaine, a rare masterpiece that rarely leaves the Centre Pompidou.
Nadav Kander: The Edge of Things, Foam, 18 September 2026 – 20 January 2027.
This is one of the three solo exhibitions opening on 18 September. It brings together work from more than four decades of photographer Nadav Kander’s career. Known for his portraits of figures including Barack Obama and David Lynch, Kander also creates atmospheric landscapes, still lifes and studies of the human body.
Yoshitoshi. Master of the Moon, Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam, 1 October 2026 – 4 January 2027.
The Van Gogh Museum presents all 100 prints from Tsukioka Yoshitoshi’s celebrated series One Hundred Aspects of the Moon, created between 1885 and 1890. The exhibition also explores Yoshitoshi’s connection with Vincent van Gogh, who collected and closely studied Japanese prints.
EINDER, De Centrale Markthal, Amsterdam, 21 October – 1 November 2026.
For ADE’s 30th anniversary, artist Boris Acket and Making Waves present EINDER, a large-scale installation combining movement, light, sound and live music. An enormous textile surface, around 80 metres wide and 25 metres high, continuously changes shape through the movement of fans, creating an immersive environment. The installation forms the setting for upcoming concerts.
Names In Our Veins, Buro Stedelijk, 3 September 2026 – 3 January 2027.
FX Harsono and Vincent Ruijters explore identity, migration, memory and inherited trauma within the Chinese-Indonesian diaspora. Their work connects personal and family histories with broader stories of displacement, erasure and violence, bringing together different generations and perspectives on belonging.
Meesterwerk Amsterdam: How Was the City Depicted in the 17th Century?, Stadsarchief Amsterdam, 6 November 2026 – 7 March 2027.
This exhibition brings together some of the most iconic 17th-century views of Amsterdam, showing how artists such as Rembrandt, Pieter Saenredam and Jacob van Ruisdael not only documented the city but helped shape its image. It explores how Amsterdam was presented as wealthy, powerful and innovative, and asks how these historical images compare with the way cities are portrayed today.
Art events in Amsterdam
PAN Amsterdam, 1–8 November 2026. The Netherlands’ leading art, antiques and design fair returns to RAI Amsterdam with around 125 galleries, dealers and art specialists presenting everything from Old Masters and contemporary art to photography, design, jewellery and Asian art. This year’s Museum Spotlight is Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar, one of the Netherlands’ oldest museums, highlighting its collection of Old Masters and modern art and its connections between history, people and contemporary perspectives.
GLUE Amsterdam, 17–19 September 2026. A city-wide design route connecting more than 150 designers, studios, showrooms, galleries and other creative spaces, with this year’s programme exploring the theme of creating a home.
Amsterdam Art Week, 18–22 November 2026. Five days of contemporary art across Amsterdam, bringing together galleries, museums, project spaces, residencies and artists with exhibitions, openings, tours, talks and special events throughout the city.
Affordable Art Fair Amsterdam, 25–29 November 2026. A lively art fair at De Kromhouthal where more than 65 Dutch and international galleries present thousands of contemporary artworks, offering plenty of options for different tastes and budgets.
↪ For more events in Amsterdam this year: Events in Amsterdam: Your Month-by-Month Guide
↪ A guide of all Amsterdam Museums: Amsterdam Museums: A Complete Guide to All Museums in the City
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Exhibitions beyond Amsterdam
Van Gogh, All Our Paintings, Kröller-Müller Museum, 15 September 2026 – 3 January 2027.
For the first time in decades, all 88 Van Gogh paintings in the Kröller-Müller collection will be displayed together, making this one of the largest Van Gogh exhibitions of the century. The works are presented around the themes of faith, hope and love, three values that played an important role in Van Gogh’s life and art.
Anders dan gedacht: Romans in the Netherlands, Valkhof Museum, Nijmegen, 3 September 2026 – 22 November 2026.
This exhibition challenges the familiar image of the Romans in the Netherlands, using new research and archaeological discoveries to reveal a more complex picture of life along the Roman frontier. It explores how new technologies and different perspectives can change our understanding of the past.
Eva Besnyö – De bevrijde camera, Fotomuseum Den Haag, 5 September 2026 – 31 January 2027.
One of the largest retrospectives ever devoted to Eva Besnyö, using the Fotomuseum’s enormous collection of her work.
Thyssen-Bornemisza ❤️ Mauritshuis, Mauritshuis, The Hague, 15 October 2026 – 17 January 2027.
For the first time, the Mauritshuis and Madrid’s Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza exchange 25 masterpieces each. The Hague exhibition brings together exceptional works by artists including Jan van Eyck, Albrecht Dürer, El Greco, Bronzino and Piero della Francesca, exploring the many forms of love and connection found in these centuries-old paintings.
I Didn’t Cross the Border, the Border Crossed Me, Museum W, Weert, 17 October 2026 – 14 March 2027.
A group exhibition that explores the visible and invisible borders that shape our lives, from national boundaries to ideas about identity, gender, sexuality, home and belonging. More than 30 works by 17 artists examine themes such as migration, displacement, war, power and queerness.
Hals–Rembrandt, Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem, 6 November 2026 – 28 February 2027.
This exhibition brings together the work of two great 17th-century portrait painters, Frans Hals and Rembrandt van Rijn. Through carefully chosen pairings, visitors can compare their approaches to portraits other subjects, revealing both the similarities and striking differences in their styles.
I hope this list will inspire you to visit some of the cool museums in Amsterdam and the Netherlands, and let me know if there’s an exhibition you’re particularly looking forward to!
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