Oude Kerk

The Oude Kerk in Amsterdam aims to connect past and present, with contemporary art in Amsterdam’s oldest monument.

The Oude Kerk is the city’s oldest building, probably founded as a wooden chapel in a hamlet on the river Amstel. The river IJ flowed up to the church, where boaters moored and prayed for a safe return home. Over the centuries, the chapel would grow into the imposing church.

Today, the church is still used for church services on Sundays, but the rest of the time it is both a monumental place where an important part of Amsterdam’s history has left its mark and where contemporary art enters into a relationship with that historical environment.