Program in the Academiehuis

There is a special story behind a number of notable individuals buried in the grote kerk . Get carried away by the impressive stories.

Discover the hidden treasures of the Academiehuis. This is still a central place of meeting, reflection, art and culture. The enormous building shows the wealth and power of the city through the ages and can be read like a history book full of fascinating contradictions. The audio tour takes you in 30 minutes through the stories hidden behind an inconspicuous washbasin, the large choir screen and the enormous pulpit. Ask for the audio tour of The Greatest Museum of the Netherlands at the front desk at Academiehuis.

'Draden van het Overijsselse slavernijverleden' portrays the stories of slavery history in Overijssel in a special way. Where for a long time it was thought that colonial history was mainly something of the west of our country, nothing could be further from the truth. Many traces of this painful history can also be found in Overijssel.

On March 8, 2025, the fourth edition of the Nieuwe Garde Comics Market will take place in the Grote Kerk Academiehuis in Zwolle. With 150 young, diverse and innovative comic book creators from the Netherlands and Belgium, the Academiehuis Grote Kerk in the heart of Zwolle will again be filled to the brim with comics, merchandise, comics, manga and more.

Zwolle is full of beautiful monumental buildings, but there is also a dark side to many of these buildings. The dark side of the slavery past.

By now it is already a household name in Zwolle: the Hart voor Zwolle games night. Also this year a new edition will take place! Old-Dutch games, board games and FIFA on the PlayStation - you don't want to miss this! 🎲🎮 Do you dare to compete in a fanatical shuffleboard competition, or do you just come for a fun evening? Anything goes!

When Sara Smiles is a Dutch gathering platform about fair and sustainable clothing, founded and run by Sara Dubbeldam (36), sustainable fashion activist. With critical articles about the clothing industry, sustainable brand analysis, Brand Guides and activist work on Instagram, Sara fights for a fairer fashion world - without making sustainability boring or complicated. Her goal: to enthuse as many people as possible to take steps (too).

This Saturday at 4 p.m., the Leeuwenbergh organ in Academiehuis Grote Kerk will be played. After the concert there will be an opportunity to donate for the restoration of the world-famous Zwolle Schnitger organ.

During the yoga session, Laura will help you become aware and come into the now. The theme of awareness will be the theme of the session. A wonderful way to start your Sunday.

What role do the arts play in systemic change? Artists can aptly represent and articulate change, and dare to question the dominant logic. Upon completion, you will have a clear picture of the value of art and collaboration with artists in complex change processes and the sustainability transition. Experience how artistic power is in everyone, and how you can tap into it during the third Studium Generale!

On the night of February 4-5, 1825, large parts of Overijssel were hit by a disaster of unprecedented magnitude. During a heavy northwesterly storm and a simultaneous spring tide, the dikes along the Zuiderzee, the Zwarte Water, the IJssel and the Vecht broke in as many as 65 places.

On this day, the Schnitger organ will be heard again for the first time since December 2018. To celebrate this, you are cordially invited to the Schnitger Festival. A varied program for young and old dedicated to the world-famous organ. All proceeds will benefit the restoration of the Schnitger organ!

The world-famous Schnitger organ awakens on Saturday, March 22, 2025. The rugwerk - the first part to be playable again - will sound again for the first time since 2019 in front of the public. How much we have been looking forward to that! Although the rugwerk is only part of the organ, it is still so large that you can get a good impression of the sound of the entire organ, as it should sound in 2026.

Every month, the Philosophical Café Zwolle and the Academiehuis organize a philosophical conversation on a theme that concerns us all. It is an open conversation, a dialogue, in which the aim is not to convince each other or to win the discussion, but to listen, to question each other, to wonder, and to go home with more questions than you came with. The premise is that it is worthwhile to engage in conversation and to share and explore together our experiences, ideas and feelings about a topic. This in an open way, to wonder, to be surprised and to move forward in your thinking.

This Saturday at 4 p.m., the Leeuwenbergh organ in Academiehuis Grote Kerk will be played. After the concert there will be an opportunity to donate for the restoration of the world-famous Zwolle Schnitger organ.

Gerda Havertong and Ronald Snijders reveal the resonance of slavery in stories, songs and children's songs. They are accompanied by percussionist and trumpeter Walther Muringen and pianist Glenn Gaddum. They will give a concert, including a lecture with a video about Bigi Cayman.

Experience Bach's St Matthew Passion in the Academiehuis Grote Kerk Zwolle. The St. Matthew Passion is considered the favorite composition in the Netherlands during the Passion period and is entrenched with Dutch audiences. The Bach Choir & Orchestra of the Netherlands are specialists in performing this composition. The musicians in the orchestra play authentic instruments from Bach's time and they are among the top European baroque orchestras. The singers are praised for their dynamic and expressive sound. Together, these musicians are able to convey symbolism, emotion and comfort to you, the listener, like no other.

In the 18th century, composers tried to perform their music in as many places as possible. Sometimes local circumstances forced them to modify the original scoring. For example, sometime between 1717 and 1720, Bach added two gamba parts to an older concerto for two violas, cello, double bass and basso continuo because his lord in Köthen played that instrument. In 1721, Bach sent the new version with five other concertos to the Margrave of Brandenburg. Today you will hear the original of this sixth Brandenburg Concerto. Of the fourth Brandenburg Concerto, Bach replaced the violin solo with a harpsichord part years later in Leipig in order to shine as a keyboardist himself.

It was composed nearly three hundred years ago, but Bach's St. Matthew Passion still manages to deeply move millions of listeners every year in the days before Easter.

On Sunday, April 13, 2025, we reflect together on that special night in 1945: the night of Zwolle's liberation. How did the people of Zwolle experience this special night in 1945? Did they feel it coming or did they not dare to believe it yet? Historian and journalist Nynke de Jong will take you back to April 13, 1945 this evening, framed by stories by Jan Terlouw and others, dance and music by MICHA and others. Free at last!

This year former mayor of Rotterdam Ahmed Aboutaleb is holding the Thorbeckelezing in Zwolle on the theme of "democratic leadership" in our time. In all the social and political turbulence, much is expected not only from mayors but also from political leaders, not to mention the prime minister.

Requiem for Unreality is a slightly philosophical and musical performance written by none other than Toon Tellegen. When the first-person narrator, played by Hans Croiset, has a special encounter with an angel, he says goodbye to the "unreality," which, according to the angel, is life.

Climate philosopher and activist Chris Julien discusses the role of activism in systemic change. How can citizens take action and contribute to structural system change?

Every month, the Philosophical Café Zwolle and the Academiehuis organize a philosophical conversation on a theme that concerns us all. It is an open conversation, a dialogue, in which the aim is not to convince each other or to win the discussion, but to listen, to question each other, to wonder, and to go home with more questions than you came with. The premise is that it is worthwhile to engage in conversation and to share and explore together our experiences, ideas and feelings about a topic. This in an open way, to wonder, to be surprised and to move forward in your thinking.

After World War II, what happened to Overijsselians suspected of collaboration? The Central Archive of Special Jurisdiction (CABR) will be public as of 2025. This archive contains files of nearly half a million Dutch people who were suspected of collaborating with the German occupation forces. The CABR is located in the National Archives in The Hague. However, Collection Overijssel also holds a small archive of the Special Administration of Justice.

Polyphony from the Low Countries: it didn't get any fancier in 1500! Especially composers from French Flanders were sought after by wealthy music lovers as far south as the Alps. Compère, Josquin, Agricola and Ghiselin brought their unique sound to Ferrara, Milan, Naples and Florence. Their grandiose counterpoint meandered into the portfolio of local composers such as Cara, Tromboncino and Pesenti. Dutch mezzo Sophia Faltas pairs French chansons and Middle Dutch superhits with the better Italian lute work.

After the euphoria of the liberation of Zwolle in WW2, it was time to take stock. The city was ailing, there was a typhoid and diphtheria epidemic, an energy shortage and damage that needed to be repaired.

Vivaldi's masterpiece the Four Seasons in Zwolle! The Bach Orchestra of the Netherlands performs Vivaldi's famous Four Seasons with Spanish violin virtuoso Enrique Gómez-Cabrero Fernández as soloist.

When in the infamous year 1566 in Flanders the flame of the Iconoclasm caught fire and in a short time a storm of destruction swept through the Low Countries, the name of Hermannus Moded was much mentioned. He would have been one of those who incited the people with his fierce (hage) sermons to the violence in which many churches were damaged and art treasures destroyed. And all in the name of the Reformed faith new at the time, which had come north from Switzerland and France. It will play an important role in the Revolt that breaks out in 1568.