Varia

Building community networks without bosses

Sat, 14 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Date: Saturday 14th November 2026
Time: 14:00–18:00
Location: Varia (Gouwstraat 3, Rotterdam)
Access: Free entrance

The digital communication infrastructure we rely on today is centralized and prone to surveillance and censorship. A political decision, a climate disaster, a power outage, and our network goes quiet. This workshop doesn’t wait for the crisis. It starts from the premise that building our own communications layer is possible right now, with devices already in drawers or on their way to the bin, and open tools.

Resurrection with Sevgi Tan

Sun, 04 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Resurrection is a series of workshops where participants explore death in digital infrastructures, devices, technologies or understandings.

Extratonal Special #10: Bodies Write Machines Write Bodies

Fri, 02 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Can we enjoy the singing of printers? Can bodies bear being operated as machines? This Extratonal Special: Bodies Write Machines Write Bodies will be a sonic dive into these questions.

How to Organise ... and Unionise?!

Fri, 02 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

How to Organise … and Unionise?! is a slow moving reading group beginning this summer and running into autumn, hosted in three venues in Rotterdam; A Tale of A Tub, Extra Practice and KIOSK, with a final gathering in Utrecht with Four Siblings.

CANCELLED — Sonic Exploration of Safety & Belonging in Cities

Sat, 26 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This workshop has been cancelled.

Counter Coloniality Study Group: Soap opera, telenovela, and all that TV drama

Fri, 25 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The fifth session of the Counter Coloniality Study Group will have a show and tell format. What soap operas and tv drama that’s have been imported and aired in your local television, and dubbed in your language?Come in and share your favourite tv soaps, iconic characters, and dramatic dialogues.

Dissenting Decisions for HNI After Summer School

Thu, 24 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Dissenting Decisions is a collective experience; a work-in-progress card game in which we share the pain and pleasures of working with others.

Extratonal Education #10: Touching Music / Knowing Music - Using Access as a Creative Tool

Sat, 19 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This workshop aims to explore how music can be experienced beyond the ears—through touch, vibration, movement, and the body. By combining Ali Robertson’s experience as a Neurodiverse, partially deaf and untrained musician with new approaches to tactile sound, we will aim to create music together that is accessible, engaging, and meaningful across diverse abilities.

Extratonal Infrastructure #28: Ali Robertson, Kate Bjork and Maoro Bultheel

Sat, 19 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Summer is almost over; time to go back to school, or better yet… to Extratonal! We kick off our second semester of extratonality this year with three thought-provoking performances.

Seasonal Computing Broadcasts #01

Fri, 18 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Varia members talk about their experience with the practice of Seasonal Computing

Prikbord.page walk-in hour

Wed, 16 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Prikbord.page is a collective calendar for artistic and cultural events in Rotterdam, organised by cultural free spaces and other idiosyncratic places. Would you like your events to be shared on prikbord.page, come by! If you’ve been using the calendar and noticed some bugs, come by! If you have some fun ideas for the calendar, come by! If you’d like to join the team in some way, come by!

Digital Fortresses: Webinar #2, Invisibilised Sites

Wed, 09 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Join the Digital Fortresses Project to learn from and with researchers and activists working on understanding and exposing digital infrastructures that underpin and uphold imperialist/capitalist systems across different sectors and geographies, and how we can collectively resist them. The 3-part webinar series, will take place online weekly from 2nd September - 16th September at 6PM (BST). The Digital Fortresses Project is hosted by TNI and TITiPI.

Beyond Carbon: An Immersive Screening

Fri, 04 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Beyond Carbon is an immersive screening that transports viewers to an Indigenous Dayak village in West Kalimantan, Indonesia.

How to Organise ... and Unionise?!

Sun, 30 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Counter Coloniality Study Group: Cold War Current. Conspiracies No Longer Exist

Fri, 28 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

For the fourth session of the Counter-Coloniality Seed Study Group, we will take a closer look at the logics of conspiracy and conspiracy theories.

HTML Day

Sat, 08 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Varia joins HTML day. Come hangout and write some html in whatever way you want. No coding skills required, All levels of HTML writers, coders, developers and admirers welcome.

AFNR Radio with Renée Verhoeven

Wed, 05 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The AFNR Team continues broadcasting their conversations with different people involved in food networks around Rotterdam

Calm Coding

Mon, 27 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A lowkey social hangout for those who like to write computer programs in the company of other people.

Counter Coloniality Study Group: the dream of energy as energy - NEW DATE

Fri, 24 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Varia’s Counter Coloniality Seed organises a Study Group in 2026. We (usually) meet on the last Fridays of the month, from 14 - 16/17h, in Varia. For the third session, we will focus on solar energy imaginaries.

Self-medicated practices: self-diagnosis

Fri, 24 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The third session of Self-medicated Practices looks at self-diagnosis.

AFNR Radio with Lotte de Jong

Mon, 20 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The AFNR Team continues broadcasting their conversations with different people involved in food networks around Rotterdam

Extratonal Special #9: Multispecies Festival 2.2

Sat, 18 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

More Multispecies! How do brown rats, silverfish and city birds relate to board games, puppet theater and generative music algorithms? Come join us at the second event of our Multispecies Festival this year to find out!

Rat King: on Migration of the Brown Rat

Sat, 18 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

During this game session we will take a look at the movements of the brown rat and explore how their migration intersect with climate change, colonial navigation, human expansion, global trade, and ongoing efforts to eradicate them.

Homemade Computer Club #04: What is a Network?

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Homemade Computer Club is a gathering of people curious about what a homemade computer can be.

A Matter Of Listening

Sat, 04 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A soundwalk and live performance that lets you hear Charlois through field recordings, improvisation, and the hidden rhythms of more-than-human city life.

A Matter of Listening: sound mapping workshop

Sat, 04 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A workshop for listening to Charlois through its overlooked acoustic niches, and mapping the city through the sounds of non-human life, infrastructure, and interference.

Mess Fest

Sat, 27 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Mess Fest with Caregivers Unite X Doodle Dabble

Self-medicated practices: open call for texts

Tue, 16 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Open call for text contributions

Repair café

Sun, 14 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Our repair cafe is a moment to hang out together and learn how to repair our own small electronic equipment, such as computers, audio equipment, printers, etc.

Greetings to AI Crawlers

Sat, 13 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

How can we protect our websites from data scraping by tech giants?

Extratonal Special #8: Multispecies Festival 2.1

Fri, 12 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

How do city rats, Japanese knotweed and aquatic animals relate to board games, shadow theater, and deep space? The Multispecies Festival returns to find the answer to this question by showcasing new collaborations and connections between different species in the field of performance.

Extratonal Eduation #9 - Band on the spot: Jamming as art methodology

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This workshop will make a welcoming space for FLINTA to jam and improvise.

The Peculiar Supply Chain of Data: Data Centres as Infrastructures of Empire

Thu, 04 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Join us for a lecture, conversation and videogame walk through all about data centres

Miscalculating Risk: Organising Divestment in University

Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Continuing the Miscalculating Risk series, this session focuses on how technology enables the surveillance of communities at both national and global scales, and, crucially, how we can collectively organise to sever the links and ties between universities and companies producing violent technologies.

Counter Coloniality Study Group: Amongst us in the undercommons

Fri, 29 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Varia’s Counter Coloniality Seed organises a Study Group in 2026. We (usually) meet on the last Fridays of the month, from 14 - 16/17h, in Varia.

Luddites Anon

Sat, 09 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This workshop is for anyone interested/concerned/curious about how modern technologies impact our day to day experiences.

Moving Fragments

Fri, 01 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Moving Fragments: Visualising your inner message through collage making is a feminist poster making workshop by Yen Yi Lee.

Data Walk (Testing) CameraSpotter

Sun, 26 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

For anyone interested in surveillance tech in public space and discussions around the topic

Colonial Infrastructures #6: Resisting Knowledge Erasure, with Learning Palestine

Sat, 18 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

As part of the Colonial Infrastructures series, this 6th edition will focus on knowledge under duress and its circulation in times of repression. How do we gather to disseminate knowledge that was erased and dispersed? Considering destruction and censorship as acts of colonial force, Resisting Knowledge Erasure will focus on efforts of circulating knowledge via shadow libraries, fugitive archives, infoshop repositories, and other unsanctioned collections.

Common Knowledge x Varia

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Join us for an informal conversation between members of Common Knowledge and Varia.

Extratonal Ecuation #8: Envisioning Online interfaces

Sat, 04 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

During this workshop we will take a deep dive into existing online audio platforms, such as Soundcloud, Spotify and Bandcamp. While listening and sharing each other’s music or sounds, we imagine an online community of enjoying each others sound files and sharing the process of their making. A community for listening to each other through tender ears and curiosity.

Extratonal Infrastructure #27: Cat Woywod, Djfroggy69, Diyar and Mitsitron

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

It’s time for another Extratonal Infrastructure on a Good Friday! It will involve soundscapes made by field recordings, voices, electronics, DJing, glitch, malfunction, atonality, guitars and coding. Sounds will be voiced from queernees, black culture, autoimmunity and grief.

Counter Coloniality Study Group: is AI in the room with us?

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Varia’s Counter Coloniality Seed organises a Study Group in 2026. We (usually) meet on the last Fridays of the month, from 14 - 16/17h, in Varia.

Spring Seed Swap

Tue, 24 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Calling all garden enthusiasts!

Extratonal Special #7 @ Eiland van Brienenoord

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This year, the Platform for Extratonality is organizing a series of programs in collaboration with some of its favorite artists. Our next guests are the interdisciplinary duo The Postpeople, with whom we’ll be creating a very hot festival on the Brienenoord Island.

Extratonal Infrastructure #26: Bernat Boronat, rAIN and Pau Jordà

Fri, 20 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This year, the Platform for Extratonality is putting together a series of programs in collaboration with some of its favorite artists. Our next guest is interdisciplinary musician Bernat Boronat, with whom we will explore several extended techniques.

Varia prints SomeTimes 9

Sun, 15 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Varia prints SomeTimes.

AFNR Team Broadcast

Thu, 05 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The AFNR team sat down to discuss their own interests and relationships to the subjects and themes we’re discussing with our interviewees.

AFNR x Rural Technology

Tue, 20 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The fourth show in a series of radio broadcasts that examines rural technology.

Biocraft with household organic waste. Make, shape, grow.

Sun, 18 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A workshop turning household organic waste into fungus powered biobased stuff.

B(r)oilerplates for Fictionality

Sat, 17 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

In the third installment of ‘B(r)oilerplates for Fictionality’, we turn our attention to the fictive in relation to poetry. Our guest Çağlar Köseoğlu will guide this session through the work of Lebanese-American poet and artist Etel Adnan. A central point of reference will be The Arab Apocalypse, Adnan’s poetic response to war and imperial violence, which continues to resonate amid the ongoing genocide in Palestine.

Extratonal Infrastructure #25: Eric Kinny, Bibiri and Caeso.

Sat, 17 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A new year full of extratonality is knocking at the door. We start things off with our 25th infrastructure event

Varia prints SomeTimes 7 & 8

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Varia prints all the news that can fit in SomeTimes.

Biocraft with household organic waste. Make, shape, grow.

Sun, 11 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A workshop turning household organic waste into fungus powered biobased stuff.

Maisa in Webland: Detouring UX Destinies - Book launch and workshop

Thu, 18 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Join us for the launch of the book Maisa in Webland: Detouring UX Destinies by Maisa Imamović which will be preceded by a workshop with her.

AFNR x Rural Technology

Tue, 16 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The fourth show in a series of radio broadcasts that examines rural technology.

Extratonal Extravaganza #3 - Another round around the sun

Sat, 13 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The end of the year is near! As per tradition we will celebrate in style by organizing an extratonal extravaganza. A selection of special friends and guests will perform a variety of 10 minute acts. There will be snacks, drinks and good times all around, while we look forward to the future of extratonality!

AFNR x Rural Technology

Tue, 09 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The third show in a series of radio broadcasts that examines rural technology.

'Why Read Together?' Publication Launch

Sat, 06 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

After a year of reading sessions organised in different spaces throughout Rotterdam; After many hours spent perched behind our laptops, writing, editing, 3d sculpting, designing, debating word-choices in the comment sections of online documents; After a month of tensely awaiting the arrival of our companions, our small but abundant books, we are thrilled to announce the launch of our publication ‘Why Read Together? On Companions, Co-conspirators, and Breathing Words’, published with HumDrumPress.

Geographies of Return and Death Cafe

Thu, 04 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Geographies of Return brings together two practices that trace the contours of memory, loss and landscape; mapping spaces where the personal meets the historical, outlining the processing of grief.

Colonial Infrastructures #5

Sun, 30 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

As part of the Colonial Infrastructures series, this 5th edition will focus on knowledge under duress and its circulation in times of repression. How do we gather to disseminate knowledge that was erased and dispersed? Considering destruction and censorship as acts of colonial force, Resisting Knowledge Erasure will focus on efforts of circulating knowledge via shadow libraries, fugitive archives, infoshop repositories, and other unsanctioned collections.

School of Algorithmic Solidarity

Sun, 30 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

In this session, the eeefff collective presents the conceptual foundations and recent fieldwork of The School of Algorithmic Solidarity, an itinerant research project established in 2022 to explore emotions and affects shaped by technologies, the possibilities of solidarities in dispersed situations, to critically investigate digital colonialism and value extraction, to elaborate new circumstances through social experimental site, co-acting and collective ways to imagine - to aim towards ‘infrastructures of imagination’.

Extratonal Infrastructure #99699: NDNMK Solutions, himera, Dodentocht and KULSHEDRA

Sat, 29 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The Platform For Extratonality invites a number of their favourite artists to curate their own extratonal takeover. First up: NDNMK Solutions, the softest power!

London Permacomputing Club: Literate Programming Workshop

Sun, 23 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

During this session we will discuss the role of code as a tool for communicating methodology to human audiences. Through practices of Literate Programming and explanatory storytelling, we will explore the forms of the ‘repair manual’ and the relationships we form with our functional possessions.

Extratonal Education #8: Cozy Pillows

Fri, 21 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Come and learn how to make cozy pillows with Riccardo Santalucia, using hand crochet techniques - no hooks required - and sharing stories in the process. If you’ll make more than one pillow, consider donating it to Varia for a great cause

Extratonal Infrastructure #22: Ardore, Bat Lúlla, Kaðlín Sara Ólafsdóttir, Mitsitron and Snug Bug

Fri, 21 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Following in the footsteps of Riccardo Santalucia’s pillowmaking workshop we will test its results during a second offering of cozy drones. A wide range of extratonal drone artists will help you get comfortable and sink into a wonderful world of cushions and padding.

B(r)oilerplates for Fictionality

Sat, 15 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Horta in the Dark is a speculative writing workshop inspired by the Star Trek episode Devil in the Dark. Together with Marjolein van der Loo, we’ll explore how empathy and imagination can bridge encounters with the non-human.

Homemade Computer Club – What is a File?

Fri, 14 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The Homemade Computer Club is a gathering of people curious about what a homemade computer can be.

Queer Bar Night

Thu, 13 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The 🔮 Queer Bar Night in Varia 🔮 is a sibling queer bar of the Vereniging Poortgebouw. This one will be run by some queer Feministas and Varia neighbours who are joining forces for more queer bars in the city to come together 💜

Self-Medicated Practices

Sun, 09 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The second public moment of this research thread will focus on (mostly Western) herbalism—the rootstock of what we now call conventional medicine. For this event we invite the Garage School of Medicine.

Self-medicated practices publication

Sun, 09 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This publication accompanies the self-medicated practices research thread in Varia, and is built in two parts: on diy medical devices and on herbalism and other alternative medicinal practices.

Biocraft with household organic waste

Sat, 08 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

In this session, we will talk about the human-centered specificities and differences between initiatives doing stuff with technology (gossip, folklore, craft, aesthetics, scenes). In order to discuss them we propose a plastic-fictional etymology of these 5 words as a game to explore and map the multiple natures of ‘doing things with technology’.

Palestine Cinema Days 2025 | When I Saw You

Sun, 02 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

On November 2, the anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, Film Lab Palestine are organising over 500 Palestinian film screenings around the world.

Doodle Dabble Emo-Pancake Brunch

Sat, 01 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Join Doodle Dabble for a brunch and have a bunch of fun making delicious emo-pancakes!

TROPICAL MORDOR

Sun, 26 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

A MICROFESTIVAL of tropico-digital fever dreams, unpacked. A LECTURE by journalist Alan Robles on the underdocumented microhistories of how the Philippines shaped the world’s digital culture wars. A MONSTERCLASS on troll hunting—for femmebots only—facilitated by Alan and Clara Balaguer. A GIFT SHOPPE for revolutionary merch and other publishing rarities from JMS Legacy Foundation and comrades. AND MERYENDA brought to you by post-colonial hospitality culture.

Rural Technology

Wed, 22 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The second show in a series of radio broadcasts that examines rural technology.

Common Dirt

Fri, 17 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Together with Expeditie Ratterdam, we’ll be exploring Charlois to observe rats in their familiar surroundings. Maarten Bel and Niek Hilkmann will open the conversation between humans and rats, shedding light on our complex relationship in all its facets and from different perspectives.

Rural Technology

Tue, 14 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The first in a series of radio broadcasts that examines rural technology.

B(r)oilerplates for Fictionality

Sat, 11 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Extratonal Infrastructure #21: Woody Veneman and Truus de Groot

Fri, 10 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

As part of Halte Charlois, the Platform Voor Extratonaliteit is organizing its first pub crawl through the many cafés of Charlois. Along with the iconic duo Veneman and De Groot, we’ll explore the quintessential Dutch phenomenon of ‘smartlappen’ (sweet songs).

Pibliothèque workshops

Sat, 20 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

For 2 days, Lionel Maes and the research group Les nouveaux habits du colportage (Alexia de Visscher, Alice Néron, Léonard Mabille) will be running a workshop on an offline, local and collaborative tool of sharing digital books

After Summer School @ Varia

Fri, 19 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Join the After Summer School 2025! During theAfter Summer School (18–21 September) over 20 public classes will take place throughout Rotterdam, presenting the city as a hub for knowledge that deserves to berecognized and included in the city development. How can we change the city by looking,listening, writing, archiving, collaborating, activating, researching, designing, and walking differently?

Community technology from below

Thu, 18 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

fauno is a software developer, organiser and worker-owner at Sutty.nl). His work and activism focus on investigating, re-thinking, adapting, modifying, and implementing ecological and resilient technologies, especially autonomous, collectively managed infrastructure. On Thursday evening, September 18th, we will have an informal show & tell. We will be learning about fauno’s work, and have space for discussion & dinner afterwards. Everyone is welcome to join!

Caregivers Unite

Sat, 13 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

A series of semi-public meetings of cultural workers who are also caregivers.

Futile Data. Cold War Current: Artist talk with Francis Hunger

Fri, 12 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Francis Hunger’s practice combines artistic research and media theory with the capabilities of narration through installations, video essays, radio plays, performance. Currently he co-teaches the class for Emergent Digital Media at the Academy of Visual Arts, Munich and is co-editor of Carrier-Bag.net.

What would a socialist database look like? Cold War Current: Speculative worksession with Francis Hunger

Fri, 12 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This worksession takes political commentator Aaron Bastani’s naïve call for a “Fully Automated Luxury Communism” serious and conceptually investigates how today’s capitalist production databases could be converted to socialist databases.

Vakbond Precaire Netwerken

Sun, 07 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

VPN is an apprenticeship-based technology school for radical organizers. It offers an IT curriculum to otherwise underserved communities and organizations advancing social justice causes. We train politically self-motivated individuals who aim to set up and maintain digital infrastructure for themselves and their communities. We stand for direct action and mutual-aid, to end our dependence on technology monopolies. We work in the here and now towards a grassroots alternative for digital technology and society.

Extratonal Infrastructure #20: Dagg3r, Kovač FM, Valerio Conti and Omarleen

Sat, 06 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The Platform for Extratonality comes back from its summer rest with an evening full of poetry, noise, magic, vacuum cleaners, vocals, older media, field recordings and arabic maqams.

How to Organise? Open Call

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Are you in a collective based in or around the Netherlands? We would love to host you for a learning session around ‘How to Organise?’.

Money Talks

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

‘Money Talks’ is a form of tools sharing that plays with the format of a talk show to converse about the tricky topic of money.

Miscalculating Risk: Everyday Complicity

Tue, 02 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Continuing the Miscalculating Risk series (Policing Technologies in The Netherlands and Supermarket Surveillance) together with Sanne Stevens, in this session we will focus on the increasing militarisation of everyday practices through their dependence on the Big Tech industry. We will look more closely into the mechanisms of imperialism and colonisation inherent to Microsoft products and discuss ways to organise in our homes, our work lives, and in institutions, towards divestment from these complicit technologies.

Varia prints SomeTimes 6

Sat, 02 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Varia prints all the news that can fit in SomeTimes. In this (sixth) Some Times issue, we trace the slow pulses and tangled contradictions of Seasonal Computing. A year haped by breakdowns and recalibrations, by small gatherings and structural questions. We start with a member text, Ode to Our Discomfort, that unsettles the tired gospel of “growth through discomfort,” naming the violence in asking the already-exposed to shed more safety. What does comfort mean when some never had it? What does risk require, and of whom?

Common Dirt Map - Presentation

Sun, 13 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Get to know the common dirt of Charlois: from the neglected patches of earth around the plane trees to the communally managed facade gardens. On the 13th of July, we will present a map that takes you along some of the most fascinating pieces of urban nature that the district has to offer; from the Arie Berkelaarpad to the Kromme Zandweg and beyond. Together we will look at how nature finds its way between buildings and pavement. Let’s go for a walk!

Haunting the Network: Gendered Surveillance and Media Memory. How can visibility become a trap? with Nabila Ernada

Thu, 10 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

In this presentation, Nabila Ernada will share research exploring postcolonial surveillance, feminist resistance, and the architectures of visibility in Indonesia, from the weaponised image of Gerwani (a feminist group violently disbanded in the 1960s) to contemporary forms of algorithmic control.

Extratonal Special #6: Open Mic #1 - Voicing Complexities

Sun, 06 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

We are thrilled to invite you to our first Voicing Complexities Open Mic! Come to share a small performance, sound piece, poem, insight connected to unheard knowledges, under represented mediums, internalized voices. Come with something you are working on and would like to share with a welcoming audience.

Poetics of Computing Open Call

Sat, 21 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

An Open Call to join an intimate collective exploration group to meet and practice together three times, each 3h long –on Saturday 21 June, Saturday 12 July, Saturday 13 September– with refreshments being served.

Free your e-reader!

Sun, 15 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

A calm, friendly workshop about jailbreaking your e-reader, a way to remove restrictions and take back some control over a device you already own.

Cold War Current Listening Session: a sonic training for conspiracist cultural workers

Fri, 13 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

We are excited to announce a joint venture between The Institute of Cognitive Prosperity and NDNMK Solutions! In celebration of this new partnership, there will be a free showcase of some of our newly developed methods for cognitive maximisation and transcorporeal hemisphere synchronisation.

Night of confusion

Mon, 09 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Inviting you for a gathering of improvisations, philosophies and uncertain manifestations designed to charge the varia space with layers upon layers of fun. Between these layers we might find both practical and theoretical questionings concerning technology, art and especially sound making, challenging experiences of time, representation and love.

Extratonal Education #7: Voicing Complexities

Sun, 01 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The workshop is a public moment of the artistic research “Voicing complexities”, which questions gender classifications through sound. As a starting point, we will listen to public sound libraries and data sets. We will observe their categorisations and the narratives they reinforce. Later, together with Mitsitron and Ester Venema, in a safer facilitated space, we will record (our own) sounds of exclusion

Extratonal Infrastructure #19 - The Cozy Drone

Sat, 24 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The Platform For Extratonality invites you to an evening full of cozy drones to sink into. We provide the ideal setting

Self-medicated practices DIY devices

Sun, 18 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

In this session, we will look into DIY methods of making medical tools more accessible, demystify the way they work, make it easy to repair and source materials and keep track of data for personal use.

Marginalia

Sat, 10 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Join us for a workshop on writing in the margins using Marginalia an open-source and free, collaborative article annotation and publishing platform. This platform foregrounds non-linear, messy, entangled knowledge creation using annotations, hyperlinks, scribbles, and more. It is for those seeking online space for communal learning, wild experiments in reading and writing, and intervening into the text to make room for themselves in it. The workshop will be led by Arran Lyon, a creative technologist/coder, computer scientist, hacker and Senka Milutinović, a designer, researcher, writer. Both are a part of the ARK collective and have an interest in storytelling and knowledge creation with technology.

Doodle Dabble 2025

Sat, 03 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Doodle Dabble is back! With story books, casset tapes, and a recorder!

Extratonal Special #5: Multispecies Festival

Fri, 25 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000

How do flowers, plants and animals think about karaoke, ceramics and newspapers? During this two-day multispecies festival, the platform for extratonality explores different ways to give other species a place within the creative field.

Cozy Writing Jam

Mon, 21 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Join us for a relaxed evening where musicians and writers create side by side. The idea is simple

Common Dirt Map - Try-Out

Sun, 20 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Get to know the Common Dirt of Charlois with the help of the Common Dirt Map. From the Arie Berkelaarpad to the Shared Grounds behind the Gouwplein; you can find them all on the map!

Colonial Infrastructures: Hair as Global Commodity with Yi Zhang and Bo Wang

Sat, 19 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000

During this Colonial Infrastructures worksession we will continue investigate systems of commodity, processes of labour and assembly, and global import-export relationships through the intimate object of hair.

XPUB Declarations Special Issue Launch

Fri, 18 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Hello! during a 3 months Special Issue, XPUB investigated the questions asked by the Declarations artistic research: on the poetic materiality of the CSS web-standard and its visual-political-cultural impact on our practices. On the 18th of April we welcome you at Varia to present our works!

A Color With A Body And A Place with Karla Claudio

Sun, 06 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Boricua artist Karla Claudio hosts a talk, film screening and workshop about Caribbean dye plants and their colonial histories.

Extratonal Special #4.2: Illustrations

Sat, 15 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The Platform Of Extratonality invites you to a two-day celebration of graphic music. On Saturday, March 15, we explore the interaction between illustration and music at Roodkapje.

Extratonal Special #4.1: Graphic Scores

Fri, 14 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The Platform Of Extratonality invites you to a two-day celebration of illustrative music. On Friday, March 14, we organize an evening with three lectures/performances on graphic notation at Varia.

Welcome to the fediverse

Sat, 01 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Welcome to the fediverse is a zine made ad-hocly in preparation for the Social In The Media get together event hosted in Varia on the 7th of February 2025.

performative script reading USHERING IN SOME ALTERNATE EGOS

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

A performative script reading by Antye Guenther and Philippine Hoegen. What started as a flirtatious and whimsical exercise in collective script writing, developed into a collaborative exploration of our loves, fears and desires regarding work and research…

Social in the Media get together

Fri, 07 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

If in the light of recent events, you’ve been curious to look into alternative social media that doesn’t run on an ad-based model, or is a big-tech owned walled garden, or if you are curious to meet other people who have accounts on the fediverse and beyond, please feel welcome to join us on the 7th of February where we’ll explore some alternatives to dominant social media and get started sharing in a more convivial manner.

WATER OF LOVE by and with Valentina Vella

Fri, 17 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

A Performance + Open Book with Q&A with the participation of

Breaking Down Whiteness

Thu, 16 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

On January 16 we will start with Breaking Down Whiteness, an awareness raising study group about internalised racism. It will be a peer-to-peer working space for and from white people, where we will work with Layla F. Saad’s book “Me And White Supremacy” and follow the learning framework set out by the book over the course of 7 weeks.

Investigative Journalism workshop

Sun, 15 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This workshop will begin with a presentation by Naima Cornelia on the methods behind the story, what questions to ask, where to find those answers, and how. and then a hands-on session where we will discuss different ways to tackle a research question. We start by seeing what information we can find online, try some google-search techniques, see what we can dig up and go from there.

Extratonal Extravaganza #2 - Celebrating 2 Years of Extratonality

Sat, 14 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The end of the year arrives soon, but the end of extratonality is nowhere in sight. To celebrate another year full of extratonal milestones we once again organize a celebratory cabaret with a fine selection of extratonal artists!

Game & Watch: Movie Night with Balay Habi Collective

Fri, 13 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Our final Game and Watch series will conclude in a movie night, where we will be happy to host you for a screening of “Walang Rape sa Bontok” (Bontok, Rapeless) from Habi Collective..

New Members for 2025

Wed, 11 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

We are looking for new members to join our collective space, Varia.

Declarations Pen Pals

Fri, 06 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Dear CSS writers, web-artisans and declarative artists, Declarations is organising its first meetup at Varia in Rotterdam. Declarations is an ongoing artistic research project into the poetic materiality of the CSS web-standard and its echoes on design and artistic practices. For that occasion we decided to focus two days on CSS inside emails.

Game & Watch: Indigenous representation in Videogames

Fri, 06 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

During this Game & Watch we will collectively play two contrasting videogames to consider how Indigenous narratives are shared and considered in gamified realms. We will examine the representation of Indigenous peoples as well as the roles they are cast in the videogames ‘Never Alone’ and ‘Sid Meier’s Colonization’.

Solidarity Network(ing)

Sun, 01 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

We want Varia to be used by people who live in the neighbourhood. Is it already happening but we’ve never met you all together, we’d love to have a moment to formalise how this can work for everyone. With conversation and food we want to set up ways to organise and coordinate the access for Varia. How can we help each other across our extended solidarity networks? What are our responsibilities to one another and how can we communicate clearly? This is a gathering to share our expectations and needs for this space that we (can) all use.

Extratonal Infrastructure #17: Dianaband, Vegetable Wife with Jae-hyung Park and Lucija Gregov

Sat, 30 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Join us for a new episode in the extratonal infrastructure series - the extra in Rotterdam’s cultural life. Be on time and it is fine!

Game & Watch: Cold War Ideologies

Fri, 29 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The times of Cold War seem long gone, yet they significantly impact present cultural ideologies that repeat and evolve in contemporary creative production. This evening gathering is the starting point of a series that tries to expose the influence of the Cold War across present day narratives, technologies and geopolitics.

Whine, Dine and Decline

Thu, 28 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Whine, Dine and Decline is a dinner and conversation around the local foodscape of the Netherlands and it’s potential future in the context of climate change.

Miscalculating Risk: Supermarket Surveillance

Sun, 17 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

In continuation of the Miscalculating Risk

Vernacular Echoes: Sounds and Collective Expressions

Sat, 16 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

What is the role of the vernacular in sound knowledge and modes of organisation? Knowledge and information organisation are deeply powerful acts, which relate to how we envision the world. This event further develops an ongoing thread about the ways the vernacular (re)orients language and technology and generates other forms of knowledge sharing and organising. Khamoosh is a participatory artistic research project that mediates conservation and restoration by exploring the sonic heritage of Iran through recorded sounds of everyday life; sounds less heard or even silenced. Golnoosh and Maryam, two members of Khamoosh, will begin by presenting how Khamoosh as a process-based project operates, and share insights to their own roles within the Khamoosh community.

Extratonal Infrastructure #16: QOA and Primeiro

Fri, 15 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

November is home to multiple interventions by The Platform For Extratonality. During this intermediate music event we welcome QOA and Primeiro, two artists with a tendency to enthrall through elemental improvisations.

Homemade Computer Club - Session #02

Fri, 15 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The Homemade Computer Club is a gathering space for those curious about computers.

Poetic Calm Coding

Mon, 11 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The first Calm Coding session in November will be dedicated to poetic gestures in computing which have the potential to reconfigure these controlled operational spaces. Through conversation and experiments, this session will softly start a research thread around this topic, for which we welcome you to bring ideas and experiments of what poetic computing could mean, what it could do and undo.

Common Dirt (Autumn Edition)

Sun, 10 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Get to know the shared land of Charlois; from the neglected patches of land around the town squares to the communally managed street gardens. During this autumn walk, we’ll explore together how nature finds its way into Rotterdam’s urban landscape.

Palestine Cinema Days Around The World - Naila And The Uprising

Sat, 02 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

In 2023, Film Lab Palestine had to postpone their Palestine Cinema Days festival. Instead of celebrating cinema in Palestine, they brought Palestine to the world in 86 cities, across 139 venues, spanning 41 countries. November 2nd marks the day the Balfour Declaration was signed, and in an effort to amplify Palestinian voices, we are joining Palestine Cinema Days Around The World and are screening Naila And The Uprising directed by Julia Bacha.

Extratonal Special #3: Sound Is Political

Fri, 01 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

We are moved to invite you to our 3rd Extratonal Special

Listening To The Cracks

Sat, 26 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

“Listening to the Cracks” is a research project that explores the often-inaudible sounds of urban nature. Together with Matthias Hurtl and Yoana Buzova, participants will engage in a listening session in Gouwplein, Oud-Charlois, to uncover voices and frequencies that are typically overlooked or dismissed as nuisances.

De Beweging 010 Launch

Sun, 20 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

On October 20 from 10:30 to 14:00 in the Gemaal op Zuid we will come together in Rotterdam for the first meeting of the 010 movement. The goal of the meeting is to get to know each other and discuss how we can work together to reclaim our city.

Homemade Computer Club - Session #01

Fri, 18 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The Homemade Computer Club is a gathering space for those curious about computers.

Calm Coding x PrePostPrint Local Meetup

Mon, 14 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

F/LOSS publishing tool users, unite! If you’re curious to explore Free/Libre and Open Source Software to make publications and layouts with, or have already worked with these tools and are looking for ways to exchange with others, please join us!

Common Dirt (Seedy Friday)

Fri, 11 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Common Dirt is an ongoing series of events organized by Varia, in which we take a critical look at the cross-connections between biology and technology in Rotterdam.

Solarigraphy

Sun, 06 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Diana Pankova will share her work and process on ‘Solarigraphy - a hand-crafted technology aimed at the star(s)’, teaching us how to make your own camera out of a beer can (or any light-tight container)! During this workshop she will share a specific way of capturing sun, that anyone can do, but most don’t even think about. You can bring your own empty beer can (or not empty so you can have it for a drink later!)

Semi-True Interpretation of Fictionality Part III: The Fun-DING Body-ody-ody led by Toon Fibbe

Sat, 05 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

For the last session in our Fictionality Series we invited artist Toon Fibbe, who proposed to turn our professional selves into (drag)characters, with Anna Delvey serving as our guide and teacher, but not without looking at the (fictional) performativity of funding bodies first…

Extratonal Infrastructure #15: Nightshift, (S)LOW FREQUENCIES and Become Hees Black Cod

Thu, 03 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Every month, The Platform for Extratonality gives the latest musical tendencies a stage at Varia. For October we have invited three groups that will challenge your dreary mindset. With the help of sunny improvisations, they are bound to disperse the autumn clouds for a while!

Track, Manage, Store?

Sun, 29 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This workshop is a point of entry into a broader discussion looking towards new tech that is making it ever more simple and accessible to ‘capture nature in a single click’. During the workshop we will explore digital conservation techniques and their impact, while considering how digital conservation techniques might shape the future landscape.

Varia prints SomeTimes 5 on Seasonal Computing

Sat, 28 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Varia prints all the news that can fit in SomeTimes. The fifth issue is dedicated to the temporary, the not quite ready yet, the flourishing, and the almost over. Our public programme in 2024 is titled Seasonal Computing. This issue of SomeTimes is dedicated to Seasonal Computing and all its seeds, apple-cores, mini-pears and the flourishings and wiltings that have happened and will soon come to be.

Calm Coding x PrePostPrint Local Meetup

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Extratonal Infrastructure #14: Nina Ryser, taupe, Jason Kolàr and Rio Vaupes/Uapes

Wed, 04 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Extratonal Infrastructure is back for a second batch of irregular musical performances in the heart of the south of Rotterdam. Join us on the 4th of September for a dizzying array of notes, pauses and passes as we once again welcome the latest extratonal tendencies to varia.

Extratonal Residency: Trains Always Bring You To The Future

Fri, 09 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Join us for a celebration moment of our extratonal resident Ål Nik’ end of art residency! She will share her sonic experiments and creations from the last 3 weeks.

Miscalculating risk: Policing Technologies in the Netherlands

Fri, 12 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

In light of the increasing use of data-driven policing technologies, how can we understand and find ways to address the impact of their deployment? As surveillance technologies become more and more entangled in everyday life, what are our possibilities of response? Who or what are the key players in these considerations? Sanne Stevens and Jair Schalkwijk will join us to unpack these questions.

Social In The Media

Mon, 01 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Within the past six and a half years, Varia has experimented with the work of instituting a cultural organisation outside the confines of Big Tech technologies. What kind of cultural work is made possible when your organisation’s digital infrastructure is using free and open source software built by peers, digital services hosted by friends, and digital resources shared by activist organisations? What possibilities materialise when the tools one uses can be shaped in accordance with cultural workers’ habits and needs? Which conditions can be collectively defined, and which ones do we have to operate within? While there are no obvious or definitive answers to these questions, they set a ground for experimentation, where the tools used for mobilising a space are part of the cultural work itself. This zine shares some of the approaches Varia has developed, in collaboration with peers and friends, that hopefully expand the imagination of what cultural life and work might be shaped by.

Common Dirt (Summer Edition)

Sun, 30 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Common Dirt is an ongoing series of events organized by Varia, in which we take a critical look at the cross-connections between biology and technology in Rotterdam. During this summer excursion we will investigate the workings behind identification apps, such as ObsIdentify and Pl@ntNet. We will start in the garden of het O’tje, next to Attent.

^ x Varia

Tue, 25 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The ^ collective will be visiting Varia at the end of June. This visit is a follow-up from last November, when a few Varia members visited ^ in Ireland to take part in the Irish Design Week, and get to know the collective and their local network. During their time in Rotterdam, we aim to re-explore our local landscape, infrastructure and networks informed by our different migration backgrounds, focusing on our solidarity network, paths of access to local resources and the support structures that sustain the cultural sector in Rotterdam. On Tuesday the 25th, we will have a day of collective reflection and a chance to get to know ^, where everyone is invited to discuss and have a drink.

Semi-True Interpretation of Fictionality (Series)

Thu, 20 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This is the second of three installments wherein we collectively would love to further explore ‘fictionality’ in its various critical potentials to tell alternative/yet untold stories. This time we want to focus on NEOLOGISMS

Colonial Infrastructures: on Containerisation. Bike tour around Rotterdam Port with Yeon Sung and Czarina Calinawagan

Sat, 08 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This worksession intends to be a moment of collective learning, to make tangible invisible colonial mechanisms of hierarchy and oppression that are prevalent in everyday communication technologies, yet often difficult to comprehend.

☆ noiserr 26-5 ☆

Sun, 26 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Noiserr is an expanded Reading and Listening and Doing group focused on sound, and specifically, noise and noise philosophy. We read, act, think, sniff noise and the noise related and then we Talk or Do something about it in a Group setting.

Doodle Dabble

Fri, 24 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Doodle Dabble is a workshop for children to dip their toes in the pond of Varia. It is an invitation to observe and jump in different puddles of the space. Let’s move our bodies, play games, and doodle around! As part of Varia’s Accessibility Seed research thread, Varia is opening its space with an intention to learn from children how they intuitively find their ways to access spaces and reside in multi-language situations with playful manner. Happening every last Saturday of the month, it is one of the three repeating workshop series (25th May, 29th June, 27th July) with a guest artist Chaeyoung Kim.

Extratonal Infrastructure #13: Nene Moné, VJ Varvara, Manu Louis, Yannis Patoukas, Nicolás Kliwadenko and Brandnetel

Fri, 24 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The 13th edition of Extratonal Infrastructure will focus on the concept of exaltation. In our understanding music can be a means to elevate spirits to a higher level. In May, the platform for extratonality invites a number of artists to varia who have dedicated themself to this cause through dynamic rhythms, decontextualized juxtapositions, spontaious improvisation and unified chaos.

Colonial Infrastructures: on Fashion with Chinouk Filique de Miranda and Denzel Veerkamp, with Misha Bleijs, Madeleine and Nathan Schotvanger

Sat, 18 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Common Dirt (Spring Edition)

Fri, 17 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Common Dirt is an ongoing series of events organized by Varia, in which we take a critical look at the cross-connections between biology and technology in Rotterdam.

Extratonal Special #2: Puzzling Printers Camp

Sat, 04 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Printers are one of the biggest frustrations that modern technology has brought us. During the second Extratonal Special event, the platform for extratonality turns these frustrations upside down. Together we explore the hedonic performative aspect of exceptional printers.

Queer Bar Night - Special Edition: Queer Workers' Karaoke

Thu, 02 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The 🔮 Queer Bar Night in Varia 🔮 is a sibling queer bar of the Vereniging Poortgebouw.

Extratonal Education #5: Undead Printer Hacking Workshop

Sat, 20 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

In this workshop, we explore the inner workings of printers. With a DIY and DIWO approach and by hacking and modifying obsolete printers we find different uses and meanings for them. Is there a printing beyond having driver problems? Can we repurpose e-waste printers in something beyond frustration?

Extratonal Education #4: Live coding jam session with Mitsitron & Magda Arques

Fri, 19 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Live coding jam session is a performative evening to experiment with live coding together.

Queer Bar Night

Thu, 04 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000

🔮 Queer Bar Night Varia 🔮 starting in April as sibling queer bar of Vereniging Poortgebouw

Peripheral centers and feminist servers

Thu, 28 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Peripheral centers and feminist servers investigate multiple approaches to the conditions of serving. It interrupts the endless flow of data that fuels the economy, exposing the cracks and gaps of the techno-scientific paradigm imposed on society. Where commands are executed, connections made, trust exchanged, and resources shared.

Semi-True Interpretation of Fictionality (Series)

Sat, 23 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This is the first of three installments wherein we would love to collectively explore ‘fictionality’. Coming from fiction, becoming adjective and then noun again, what could fictionality mean? Why and how does this notion continue to be relevant in our contemporary times of post-truth, post-facts and widespread anecdotal questioning of scientific knowledge? What kind of imaginary power does fictionality have? And how could engaging with the porous space between fiction and non-fiction help to envision other kinds of presents and futures?

Dead Web Club Presents: Sunrise With Sea Monsters

Thu, 21 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Dead Web Club invites you to join the first of our Dead Web Cinema Club events, where we put the glowing beam of the projector on the topic of data, servers, hard drives, online forums, and virtual worlds.

Stock Taking Sense

Sun, 17 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

In this text, we report on the first stage of the Tool Sheds fellowship that Varia is participating in at Het Nieuwe Instituut. During this fellowship, we focus on Varia’s public-facing digital channels of communication and access to the collective infrastructure we maintain.

Extratonal Infrastructure #12: Lottie Sebes, Davide Luciani, NDNMK Solutions and Birds WG

Fri, 15 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

According to the meteorological calendar, March is the first month of the year. However, for extratonality there is no beginning or end. Like an Ouroboros, our efforts consume themselves, only to breathe new life into our expressions. This infinite alchemical cycle is present everywhere in the work of the artists we have invited for the 12th edition of Extratonal Infrastructure. Join them on their travels on the cosmic roundabout!

8m Counter Cloud Gathering

Fri, 08 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

On the 8th of March, Varia will open its doors for the 8M Counter Cloud Gathering as part of the Transnational, Anti-Colonial, Trans*Feminist Counter Cloud Action Day.

noiserr resurrection {noise reading & listening & etc. group}

Fri, 01 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Extratonal Education #3: Oud-Charlois PCB-Dérive

Sat, 24 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This workshop deals with the discarded electrical junk of the residents of Oud Charlois. Together we will search through the garbage on the streets to filter out the electronic waste!

Extratonal Special #1: Someone's Trash Is Someone's Treasure: The (Dis-)Harmonics Of Waste

Sat, 24 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Every 2 months, under the name ’extratonal special’ the platform for extratonality will invite artists and thinkers to investigate particular extratonal themes and subjects in and around Varia. Our first special programme is dedicated to the (dis-)harmonics of waste. Discover your inner trash!

Anti-colonial tech: a conversation

Fri, 16 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000

During the event, participants will share modest proposals for moving networks and political engagement away from toxic cloud environments. From Counter Cloud Action to Digital Discomfort and trans*feminist servers, the techno-disobedient practices they share will unsettle computationally mediated depletion, activating paths towards anti-colonial tech.

Extratonal Infrastructure #11: Vida Vojić, Laura Agnusdei, Bernat Sanjuan and Hollowmist

Fri, 26 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

With renewed vigor, Extratonal Infrastructure returns with a fresh program for 2024 that continues to stretch musical paradigms. During our first event of 2024 we won’t reveal all of our plans just yet, but rest assured

Digital Discomfort: Read-Write-Chaos

Fri, 19 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The Digital Discomfort Working Group proposes a one-day gathering to collectivelly engage with the questions and praxis of discomfort aesthetics as a potential form of contemporary (techno)political resistance.

Extratonal Infrastructure #10: Extratonal Extravaganza - Celebrating 1 Year of Extratonality

Thu, 14 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Extratonality comes with many milestones. To celebrate one full year of extratonality at Varia, we’re organizing a celibratory cabaret on the 14th of December. During this event we’re going to look back at the many highlights of our programme this year and lay out our plans for 2024. There will be food, extratonal cake and short performances by several members of the extratonal community.

Varia prints SomeTimes 4

Tue, 12 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Varia prints all the news that can fit in SomeTimes

LIBRARIAN SWARM (Fuzzy Mirror Solidarity Network for Palestine)

Sun, 10 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Calling all amateur, professional, and aspiring librarians (or anyone who wants to help out)! Librarian Swarm is a collective effort to turn a bibliography spreadsheet on Palestine into a free digital library for public self-education. This digital harvest will be hosted with open source software on several shadow libraries.

Doing the Dishes and then Revolution

Sat, 09 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Doing the Dishes and then Revolution is an event in two parts on doing things collectively.

Biotope Charlois: Winter Walk

Sun, 03 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Get to know the Biotope of Charlois; from the rats in the Maas to the bats in your cavity walls. Together we will investigate how nature makes good use of Rotterdam’s urban planning and technological infrastructure to make the city their home. Ecologist André de Baerdemaeker will guide us through Charlois and its surrounding area, from the derelict Wielewaal to the docks of the Waalhaven, to see what thrives between the asphalt and concrete.

Sometimes Not Available feat. Transfeminist Digital Care Network

Thu, 30 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Sometimes Not Available considers the need for interrelation and support for existing feminist server efforts, and for connecting around collective practices of developing, hosting and implementing tools and methods that reflect local needs, interests and conditions. On the 30th of November we will be joined by The Transfeminist Digital Care Network who will share their work.

PrePostPrint Local Meetup

Fri, 24 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

F/LOSS publishing tool users unite! On Friday 24 + Saturday 25 of November we’re organising a gathering in Varia.

Sometimes Not Available feat. la_bekka

Thu, 23 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Sometimes Not Available considers the need for interrelation and support for existing feminist server efforts, and for connecting around collective practices of developing, hosting and implementing tools and methods that reflect local needs, interests and conditions. On the 23rd of November, Inés and Martu from la_bekka will join us in discussing these matters.

Extratonal Infrastructure #9: Rebetiko Against The Machine, athinx, Illusory Essay of Noise, The Salty Sebastians and dj broodje

Sat, 18 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

‘Extravagant’, ’extragalactic’, ’extralogical’ or ’extratonal’; by adding the prefix ’extra’ we indicate something ’non-ordinary’. Get ready for another exceptional evening in Rotterdam Charlois with performances that go beyond our common understanding!

HTML Zine Club

Sat, 11 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

HTML Zine Club is a workshop making a personal-scope of web publication. Webzines, like print zines, are personal, story-based publications, but can also be made interactive and nonlinear through code, using basic programming languages such as HTML, CSS, and a bit of JavaScript (if you like!). In this workshop, an artist Nami Kim will lead participants who have little to no coding experience on how to craft their own webzines, centred around programming with care.

Palestine Cinema Days - Stitching Palestine

Thu, 02 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Film Lab Palestine are not able to host their yearly festival this year; “Palestine Cinema Days”, so the film festival will instead be hosted all over the world through different groups. In an effort to amplify Palestinian voices, we are screening Stitching Palestine directed by Carol Mansour at 8:00 p.m. at Gouwstraat 3, Rotterdam.

Colonial Infrastructures Worksession with Yasmine Boudiaf and film screening with Riar Rizaldi, Simnikiwe Buhlungu and Tessa Mars

Fri, 27 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Dysfluent Issue 2 Magazine Launch

Sat, 21 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The launch of Dysfluent Issue 2, a magazine about people who stammer.

Statement of solidarity with the people of Palestine

Tue, 17 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Statement of solidarity with the people of Palestine

Extratonal Education #2: Demystifying the Æther with Matthias Hurtl (MTHS)

Fri, 13 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000

During the second edition of the Extratonal Education workshop series, we explore the world of electromagnetic waves and their ubiquity in our lives, together with Mathias Hurtl (MTHS). After being introduced to special hardware and Software Defined Radio, participants will acquire radio signals from different frequency bands. The workshop is free; afterwards there is a vegan dinner.

Extratonal Infrastructure #8: Christof Migone, Matthias Hurtl (MTHS) and the Postpeople

Fri, 13 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The question of extronality concerns not only ‘how’, but also ‘where’. With both eyes open, this extratonal event will focus on acoustic tools to locate sonic oddities and performative gestures, from endoscope cameras to satellite receivers.

Varia prints SomeTimes 3

Thu, 12 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Varia prints all the news that can fit in SomeTimes

Extratonal Infrastructure #7: So-Fi, Joris Anne, Lyckle de Jong and DJ Thor Kissing

Sat, 23 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Extratonal Infrastructure is back from the holidays. With a freshly charged battery, we continue the second half of our extratonal program of 2023. This time our event is dedicated to the New Dutch Naïvity, which means Dutch-language pop music for a new era!

Varia Afhaal: Stock Exchange

Fri, 15 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Varia Afhaal are thematic gatherings based around the common experiences, everyday technologies and home economics of food preparation.

Performance Night

Sat, 26 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

PERFORMANCE NIGHT organised by Alaa Abu Asad, Merve Kılıçer and Ulufer Çelik.

Rotterdamse Belhuizen

Thu, 13 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Belhuizen (call shops which in The Netherlands functioned also as internet cafes) are places where access to technology has been made possible through the practical acquisition of knowledge related to specific usages, as most shops are operated by diaspora members connecting community members from within and outside of Europe. For migrant populations in Rotterdam, they are points of entry to local internet infrastructure, which enables the pursuit of everyday life.

Varia Afhaal: Chip Shortage or Chips on Demand

Thu, 06 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Varia Afhaal are thematic gatherings based around the common experiences, everyday technologies and home economics of food preparation.

Gardening as Electricity Making

Sat, 24 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

We invite you to ‘Gardening as Electricity Making’, a workshop that celebrates the interplay of soil, electricity, life, and the internet.

Extratonal Infrastructure #6: Janneke van der Putten, Mitsitron and Toine Horvers: richtingen/kwartet

Fri, 16 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Extratonality is a vocation. As such, it requires a voice. This is why Extratonal Infrastructure invited several experimental vocalists to look into the many afforandances of the vocal cords. Join us for our final event before the summer break!

COVERT TECHNOLOGIES #1: FOAMING

Sun, 04 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

a drag workshop w/ Anne Ampersand | Marko Gutić Mižimakov

Extratonal Education #1: SuperCollider Audio Synthesis Workshop with Kauê Werner

Sat, 27 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

In the first edition of the Extratonal Education workshop series Kauê Werner will give an introduction to sound synthesis with the programming language SuperCollider. No previous knowledge is necessary! Just show up with a laptop & headphones and have fun. The workshop is free and after the workshop there will be a free vegan dinner.

Extratonal Infrastructure #5: Conjunto Media Luna, Kauê Werner, Mitze Apocalipze & Chucho Vinilo and AnikaTheAbsurd x Vitrinekast Soundsystem

Sat, 27 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Extratonality not only transcends disciplines, but also understanding. The May edition of Extratonal Infrastructure is dedicated to the unknown and the elusive. With a program consisting of Colombian Cumbia and cutting edge experimentation this edition will prove to be another step towards extratonal synergy.

Calm Coding

Mon, 22 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

A lowkey social hangout for those who like to write computer programs in the company of other people.

New Members

Sat, 20 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

We are looking for new members to join our collective space, Varia.

Clothes Swap

Thu, 11 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

B.Y.O.Clothes, shoes, accessories, all garments you want to exchange are welcome in our clothes swap evening! There will be mirrors and concealing curtains to try on your possible new wardrobe.

Extratonal Infrastructure #4: Marlene Fally & Mehrnaz Khorrami, Ragnar Árni Ólafsson & Luke Deane, M_oo and Post-talk

Sat, 29 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

In our imagination everything appears different than it really is! This premise is a fundamental part of an extratonal understanding. In april extratonal infrastructure will once again invite exceptional artists to Varia in order to approach the concept of extratonality from even more unexpected angles than before. Put on your work and dancing shoes for an evening beyond your wildest imagination!

South Explorer 2023 Varia Radio Relay

Sat, 22 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Varia joins south explorer for the 2023 edition Varia will fill the ether on the PMR Band with reports on neighborhood activities, random chatter and South Explorer updates. Experimental loempias, kombucha fizzzzes and cocktails will also be served

Varia prints SomeTimes2

Sat, 22 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Varia prints all the news that can fit in SomeTimes

Launch of Performing Patents Otherwise: Archival conversations with historic clothing inventions

Sat, 15 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

This event launch will start with a performative reading and activation of the online platform ‘Performing Patents Otherwise’. It will follow with a series of conversations on its making process, from the data collection and curation to how the interface facilitates access to these datasets while encouraging critical interpretation and discussions. We will also showcase the short video documentation of ‘I, Martha Gowans,’ a performance for two sewing machines, a voice and a computer based on a clothing patent filed by Martha Gowans in Dundee in 1903.

Sharing Programming Knowledge with Kit Kuksenok

Sat, 01 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

In this workshop, Kit draws on their research in software engineering education and experience in technical pedagogy to host a space to share experiences of how we navigate programming knowledge. They ask

Read & Repair - Innards of technology with eeefff and Danny Tirthdas van der Kleij

Thu, 30 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

From August 2022 to April 2023, Varia Library and Rotterdam Electronica Depot hold Read & Repair events on the last Saturday of every month. For this month, we will be exploring the theme Innards of technology with eeefff and Danny Tirthdas van der Kleij

Hosting with others

Fri, 24 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

This publication is a transcription of a conversation that took place at AMRO ‘Debug’. It was organized by servus.at at afo architekturforum oberösterreich, to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and ideas about the practices of art hosting and cultural providers such as the ones managed by many of the members of the festival community.

care for code - documentation session

Thu, 23 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Let’s write some code documentation! For your new coding project, for the cryptic library you downloaded recently, for a script that you want to share with others! Enter the documentation sessions. Two hours where to sit with source code and write something about it.

Extratonal Infrastructure #3: Mik Quantius, Parasnol & Ruisvogel

Fri, 17 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Extratonality comes in many consistencies; some clear and fresh as a bottle of spring water, others hazy and thick as mud. The third edition of Extratonal Infrastructure is dedicated to these parameters, with performances by Mik Quantius, Parasnol and Ruisvogel. Everyone is welcome!

A Traversal Network of Feminist Servers (ATNOFS) publication

Mon, 13 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

A Traversal Network of Feminist Servers (ATNOFS) is a collaborative project formed around intersectional, feminist, ecological servers whose communities travelled between each other in 2022 to share and extend their knowledges through live gatherings. From these six sessions, a publication gathering resulting materials, thoughts and reflections was made.

Narrowcast (publication)

Thu, 09 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Made by the Varia BroadCats team (aka Broadcats ˚ᆺ˚) Narrowcast publication is a manual that records the history and genealogy of the streaming space of Varia called Narrowcast from around 2020 until 2023.

International Trans★Feminist Counter-Cloud Strike: Dancing in the ruins of Big Tech

Wed, 08 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

On March 8th join us in dreaming and dancing in the ruins of Big Tech! On this day, we will be having conversations on how to minimize our use of cloud-based applications, discussions on the implications of the cloud regime, reading, streaming, broadcasting, sharing food, and dreaming up alternative methods of otherwise exuberant joyful survival, while connecting to other transnational striking networks.

Sensible World Of Soccer - Varia Cup 2024

Thu, 02 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

After 4 years of waiting, Varia will finally host the 2024 Cup of the classic football game, Sensible World of Soccer. Become a goal scoring superstar hero!

Book launch: Cyberfeminism Index

Sun, 12 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000

On February 12 at 5 p.m., Varia will host the book launch for designer and editor Mindy Seu’s Cyberfeminism Index. The event will feature a performative reading by Seu, a casual conversation with audience members, and light refreshments.

Extratonal Infrastructure #2: Eric Kinny, Tisa Neža Herlec & Friso van Wijck

Sat, 04 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The search for extra tonalities continues! Join us for the first event of the year including performances by Eric Kinny, Tisa Neža Herlec & Friso van Wijck. A trip around the world, for which you only have to travel to the Gouwstraat!

Toward a Minor Tech

Thu, 02 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Varia has been invited to work on the production of the 12th edition of this Peer-reviewed Newspaper, a publication series of research/PhD workshops investigating contemporary digital culture. The newspaper is made within a wiki-to-print environment and will be presented during the Transmediale festival on Thursday 2nd of February.

Read & Repair - Who has the key? with Vijai Maia Patchineelam and Gordon Douglas

Mon, 16 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000

From August 2022 to February 2023, Varia Library and Rotterdam Electronica Depot hold Read & Repair events on the last Saturday of every month. For this month, we will be exploring the theme Who has the key? with Vijai Maia Patchineelam and Gordon Douglas.

More-than-computational reflections (in the form of a report)

Mon, 19 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

In 2021, Ania Molenda and Andrea Prins contacted us about a project they are doing called Beyond The Essay, where they are researching forms of online reading and writing with a specific focus on the essay in the field of architecture critique. Within the Beyond the Essay meetings, we proposed three scripts to engage with text in collective situations that respond to existing computational artefacts, namely tags (__MAGICWORDS__), indexing formats (x-dexing) and word2vec (word2complex).

Fine Art End Term

Tue, 13 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

This radio show presents a collection of audio pieces made by second-year students of the Willem de Kooning Academy Define Art major!

Remnants of Future Voices

Sat, 10 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

In this workshop we will explore ancestral cosmology through the figure of the clone in artificial voice technologies. The workshop will experiment with artistic approaches to future and past-oriented dialogues using voice avatars of ourselves and others, considering the implications of creating a clone that may speak to generations beyond our own lifetime and say things we have never said.

Push to Talk Partyline

Thu, 08 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

During a 3-day hands-on workshop we’ll investigate license-free radio as a low-tech and low-power medium for keeping in touch with each other. We want to look at radio as a medium that you can participate in instead of consuming it. We’ll explore the aspects of locality and community present in radio.

Extratonal Infrastructure #1: Zad Kokar, Vanita & Johanna Monk, TBA (joak)

Thu, 01 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

On Thursday, December 1, three musical performances will introduce all extratonal tendencies. Experience them together with Zad Kokar, Vanita & Johanna Monk and TBA (joak).

Streaming with Infrafem (Radio Alhara, Pukllasunchi, Clara Balaguer, Varia Broadcasts)

Fri, 25 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Join us through the radio waves this early Friday evening for a discussion about radio practices of the Palestinian station Radio Alhara, who have just celebrated two years on the air, and Pukllasunchi, who organise a radio for Andean children, amongst many other things, in Peru.

Streaming with infrafem IRL (after thoughts)

Fri, 25 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Through the making of Varia’s Narrowcast, Varia got in touch with a network of groups and collectives that are building their own digital infrastructure or are interested in exploring alternative ways of doing things together online. The platforms and online spaces started to feed cultural and social processes throughout the pandemic in 2021. Varia took part of this cultural development by hosting online tools as part of the collective infrastructure of the group, but also by sharing knowledge and playful methods.

Feminist Hack Meetings #7 - FHM sits & eats around Mutual Aid

Thu, 24 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000

For our last meeting of this year FHM is hosting a dinner party! We will be hanging out, eating together and connecting with local feminist/LGBTQAI+/community-oriented groups and persons in Rotterdam…..

Colonial Infrastructures Worksession with Arthur Asseraf and Miriyam Aouragh

Fri, 18 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000

This two-day worksession intends to be a moment of collective learning, to make tangible invisible colonial mechanisms of hierarchy and oppression that are prevalent in everyday communication technologies, yet often difficult to comprehend.

Read & Repair - Dissecting the Game with NDNMK Solutions and Lídia Pereira

Fri, 18 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Ex Machina: Auto-magically

Tue, 15 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Technology and magic, two words that at first seem to clash with each other. However, they share some common ground. On December 16th at Varia become a technomancer and use your phone as a magic wand to explore our cyborg publication.

Zine camp 2022

Sat, 05 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Come hang out and check out our publications at Zine camp 2022!

Happy 5 year anniVARIAssary!

Fri, 04 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Varia invites you to its 5-year anniVariassary!

Radio Activity - I smell Patchouli

Fri, 21 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

I smell Patchouli. Every hippie wears it. Radio Activity stream!!! A scent based radio broadcast. Smell you later!

Publishing Partyline

Fri, 14 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Join us for the Publishing Partyline on the 14th and 15th of October, to dive into the dependency relations that are being formed when working with web-to-print techniques, between designers-and-tools and between tools-and-standards.

Concert: Burger Service & Thor Kissing

Fri, 07 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Friday, October 7 promises to be a beautiful day. Two Dutch-singing pop talents (Burger Service and Thor Kissing) are going perform in Varia and that is certainly something!

Booklaunch: Volumetric Regimes

Tue, 04 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Join us to celebrate the launch of the paper edition of Volumetric Regimes: Material Cultures of Quantified Precence, a book compiled by Possible Bodies (Femke Snelting en Jara Rocha)!

Plaintext Protocol Partyline

Fri, 16 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000

On the Friday the 16th and Saturday the 17th of September 2022, we are hosting the Plaintext Protocol Partyline, in which we will explore and experience plaintext protocols as a communication medium.

Read & Repair - Poetry and Finance feat. Sara Hamadeh and Toon Fibbe

Tue, 13 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000

From August 2022 to January 2023, Varia Library and Rotterdam Electronica Depot hold Read & Repair events on the last Saturday of every month. In September, we will be exploring the theme Poetry and Finance. The READ will be guided by Sara Hamadeh and the REPAIR by Toon Fibbe.

Concert: KRAMP + Bloedneus & de Snuitkever

Fri, 22 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

On Friday, the 22th of July, Varia will once again host an evening of music. This time with KRAMP (who will present his new release on Bergpolder Records) and Bloedneus & De Snuitkever. It’s been a while!

Read & Repair - Vegetality and Virtuality feat. Georgiana Cojocaru and Bérénice Staiger

Tue, 19 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

From August 2022 to January 2023, Varia Library and Rotterdam Electronica Depot hold Read & Repair events on the last Saturday of every month. In August, we will be exploring the theme Vegetality and Virtuality. The READ will be guided by Georgiana Cojocaru and the REPAIR by Bérénice Staiger

Walk of Fame - The Return

Fri, 08 Jul 2022 00:00:00 +0000

On April 4, 2022, after 32 years of existence, the Rotterdam Walk of Fame came to an end. The last sixty tiles of this well-known star sidewalk near the Metroplein and Ahoy were dismantled. Since then, Rotterdam has been missing one of its most noticeable landmarks. Fortunately, we managed to retrieve one of these special tiles. On July 8, at the start of the summer holidays, the tile of none other than Shrek will be reinstalled on the corner of Gouwstraat and Wolphaertstraat. Everyone is welcome at the green unveiling at 7 p.m. sharp. There will be snacks, drinks and music.

Varia x d12n LIMITS hub

Tue, 21 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000

We’re delighted to invite you to our LIMITS-hub, an open and informal gathering moment taking place during the Eighth Workshop on Computing within Limits this June 21st/22nd. As this year’s LIMITS will be taking place online, we are setting up a hub, to have a physical space to meet. Come along to watch the conference together!

Hold & Release Partyline

Fri, 10 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Calibre remains to be popular among amateur librarians and digital libraries. Over time, the software was supplemented by many new features and plugins. Now, we want to revisit the digital library as an extensible space, and step back into the imagination of the library as a generative and social environment.

Feminist Hack Meetings #6 - How about access?

Sat, 04 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000

This FHM session is for us to reconsider the accessibility of online realms. We will learn about this in two parts, first through a guest talk from artist-design duo MELT, who will share their research and practice around accessibility.

Graanschuur tarwewijk: documenta 15 pre-pre-preview

Fri, 03 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000

As you may already know, a number of Rotterdam-based artists & hackers are busy working on projects related to documenta 15. These projects are happening in collaboration with ruangrupa, the artist collective from Jakarta Indonesia who are running the artistic direction of documenta this year. As documenta 15 approaches, we’d like to have a moment to eat together, share what we’re up to and discuss over some drinks. It can also be a moment to focus on our local ekosistem.

DAAP x Varia public workshop

Sun, 29 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Join us for an open and free workshop on Sunday, May 29th 11am–4pm, at Varia and learn more about the Digital Archive of Artists’ Publishing and how you can start using this resource, too!

Hunting Mosquitos (research-in-progress)

Fri, 27 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000

This evening, Angeliki Diakrousi will present the Hunting Mosquitos, a research in progress on ‘The Mosquito’, a technology used in hangouts in Rotterdam, that emits high-frequencies to deter the youth from loitering in public space.

Infraschool Open Day

Wed, 25 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000

You are warmly invited to the launch of the Infraschool, an experimental peer-to-peer learning project that aims to explore local community infrastructure, co-operative organisation and digital tools.

Streaming with InfraFem

Fri, 22 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Streaming With Infrafem is a moment of exchange of communal strategies, infrastructural knowledge, and design choices starting by redefining the notion of streaming. We will explore ways of ‘streaming’ to each other by listening, waiting and responding, both through text (for example via collaborative editors), through audio (for example via the streaming audio/video servers), and other means.

Varia prints SomeTimes

Fri, 22 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Starting from today, Varia will print all the news that can fit in SomeTimes

A Traversal Network of Feminist Servers (radio broadcast)

Sat, 26 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A Traversal Network of Feminist Servers (ATNOFS) is a collaborative project of Varia, LURK, Constant, HYPHA, Feminist Hack Meetings and ESC formed around intersectional feminist, ecological servers. In the first session at Varia during the weekend of March 26 and 27, we will focus on tools and methods to make space for understanding what feminist publishing infrastructures could be.

Feminist Hack Meetings #4 - One family plenty connections

Sat, 18 Dec 2021 00:00:00 +0000

With Sofia Boschat-Thorez. Do you have regular conversations with family and friends outside the Netherlands using intant messaging, like Whatsapp, or Facebook groups or an other application? Have voice messages, stickers and video calls become your main mode of communication with them? Come for a tea and a discussion about how we all use these apps, how they have changed the way we interact with each other, what we find useful about them and what more we wish they could do. All together we will make a small publication with everyone’s contribution.

The User Condition #04 - 'Losing Your Data is Good for You' - with Dave Young

Sat, 18 Dec 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Experienced users might be surprised: nowadays it is totally possible to use a computer device and have no clue whatsoever about files and folders. While the file/folder paradigm is still foundational within computers, it is increasingly buried under layers of smart interfaces: search boxes, automatically curated collection, phone manager apps, etc.

Double publication launch: Learning How to Walk While Catwalking and Vernaculars come to matter

Fri, 17 Dec 2021 00:00:00 +0000

XPUB and Varia are delighted to invite you to this double launch of the publications Learning How to Walk While Catwalking and Vernaculars come to matter on Friday the 17th of December.

Radio Activity - a Wireless Orchestra

Fri, 17 Dec 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Second year students from the Willem de Kooning Academy’s Define Art major, together with Yoana Buzova and Angeliki Diakrousi explore the deviant potential of creating their own broadcasting infrastructures and utilizing it as a space for sharing and making work, but also to make things public.

Vernaculars Come To Matter

Fri, 17 Dec 2021 00:00:00 +0000

What is the role of the vernacular in language and technology? Vernaculars come to matter brings together a range of stories and practices that address this question. In this publication, the vernacular appears in the counterdictionairies and formatterings of language; as a plurivocal remix bringing together recycled skills, diskarte practices, and humble templates; at eye level in the reverse diasporic circulation of Dutch-Turkish street photography; as an ongoing struggle with bureaucratic rigidity while transitioning gender or name; as a way to navigate the Leftove.rs archive of MayDay Rooms, where the ephemera of radical, anti-oppressive, and working class movements requires a very particular attention; or in the attitudes of photo editing software, such as ImageMagick, manifested as software culture.

Ch◉re◉graph◦ng C◉d◦ng ↭ ↝ tales from real-time collaborative audio-visual coding ↜

Sun, 05 Dec 2021 00:00:00 +0000

An event dedicated to sharing experiences and on-going projects that explore different modes of collaborative live coding with a focus on audio-visual composition.

'Dear [neutral] language, (...)'

Sat, 04 Dec 2021 00:00:00 +0000

In this worksession WordMord will present their investigations of how coding can destabilise traumatic language. The group has also invited Allisson Parrish to conduct the workshop ‘Creative Writing with Computers, Noise and Mulch’.

Read & Repair - Community Memory feat. Elodie Mugrefya and Amy Suo Wu

Sun, 28 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Every last Sunday of the month the Varia library and Rotterdam Electronics Depot are open. In 2021 our Read & Repair sessions will be paired, we will take two months to explore one theme. During October and November 2021, we will be exploring the theme Community Memory. For November, the Read will be guided by Elodie Mugrefya and the Repair by Amy Suo Wu.

pad-publishing @ zine camp

Sun, 07 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

During this workshop we will experiment with models of resonant publishing using Etherpad and web2print techniques, in which actions of writing, processing and lay-out making continuously cross each other.

Feminist Hack Meetings #3 - Feminist Futurotopixs: inventing feminist technologies

Sat, 06 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Spideralex will introduce us to Feminist Futurotopixs. This workshop will enable participants to dream, invent and desire together feminist technologies. They will invent narratives, speculative fiction and radical imaginaries that work as alternatives to existing oppressive or dystopian models. The workshop is oriented at co-designing stories and creating new worlds as processes to imagine and dream together about feminist desired futures.

Read & Repair - Community Memory feat. Sofia Boschat-Thorez

Sun, 31 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Every last Sunday of the month the Varia library and Rotterdam Electronics Depot are open. In 2021 our Read & Repair sessions will be paired, we will take two months to explore one theme. During October and November 2021, we will be exploring the theme Community Memory. For October, the READ will be guided by Sofia Boschat-Thorez.

Juan Pablo Pacheco Bejarano + Dachen Bao @ Varia with a screening of ~~~~ by Sami Hammana

Fri, 29 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Juan Pablo will share his research on the Atlantis-2 submarine cable and its landing site in Conil, a small coastal town in the south of Spain filled with ruins of colonial and information infrastructures. Dachen Bao will share his research conducted as part of the self-organised collective ‘Chongqing Work Institute’(重庆工作研究所). The second half of the gathering will open a space to collectively reflect on infrastructures as contentious production and mediation of reality, proposing a collective mode of research on media technologies that operates from a relational and networked proximity.

The User Condition #03 - With Anaëlle Beignon

Thu, 29 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +0000

The third episode of The User Condition series will take place just before the holidays! On the 29th of July, French designer Anaëlle Beignon will discuss with Silvio Lorusso about design approaches that take into account the use of obsolete devices.

Feminist Hack Meetings #2 - Polyphonic Radio Ensemble

Sat, 24 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Let’s create a radiophonic piece together! Reni Hofmüller will introduce us to radio and the idea of catching the waves artistically and technically. We invite you to join a radio improvisation work, by using and adapting the time- and material structuring method of the Polyphonic Ensemble. Through this collective radio work, we will engage with a techno-feminist approach.

Relearn 2021 curved

Thu, 22 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +0000

This year’s edition will take place in and focus on Rotterdam. We aim to explore the importance of self-organisation and the use of experimental tools to build alternative systems and economies within the urban fabric of Rotterdam.

Blue Links - XPUB Graduation Show

Sat, 17 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Blue is the sky, blue is the ocean. Blue is our mood (sometimes). Blue are the paths that have not yet been followed. Varia hosts this year’s graduation show of the master Experimental Publishing (XPUB), Piet Zwart Institute, Willem de Kooning Academy, Rotterdam.

Digital Solidarity Networks

Thu, 01 Jul 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Digital Solidarity Networks is an online shared listing of tools, practices and readings for digital solidarity, conviviality and togetherness. It is a resource for individuals, groups and organisations that want to break out of the suffocating webs of Big Tech in their everyday life and cultural work. In May and June 2021, three public sessions were organised which aimed to create a conversational space in which to collectively relearn how digital tools co-shape our everyday life and cultural events. Collective relearning is a practice that emerges from an interest in shared learning environments with as many teachers as there are students. This publication is a documentation of the collective learning moments.

Read & Repair - The Automated Body feat. Katarina Jazbec and MELT (Loren Britton + Isabel Paehr)

Sun, 27 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Every last Sunday of the month the Varia library and Rotterdam Electronics Depot are open. In 2021 our Read & Repair sessions will be paired, we will take two months to explore one theme. During May and June 2021, we will be exploring the theme The Automated Body. The text selection for Read in June was made by Katarina Jazbec and the Repair is hosted by MELT.

Digital Solidarity Networks - How can we rethink digital infrastructures in terms of capacity and care?

Thu, 10 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Notions of scale, usability, collectivity and agency play an important role in generating possibilities for technological self-determination in an attempt to imagine computational infrastructures differently. How can we imagine technological attitudes that don’t rely on data extractivist models? How do we make space to reconsider the figure of the user? And what if digital tools can be adapted to the specificities of each situation? For the third event, we will be joined by TITiPi (Miriyam Aouragh, Seda Gürses, Femke Snelting, Helen Pritchard) who will speak about infrabels.

Read & Repair - The Automated Body feat. Angeliki Diakrousi

Sun, 30 May 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Every last Sunday of the month the Varia library and Rotterdam Electronics Depot are open. In 2021 our Read & Repair sessions will be paired, we will take two months to explore one theme. During May and June 2021, we will be exploring the theme The Automated Body. The text selection for Read in May was made by Angeliki Diakrousi.

Digital Solidarity Networks - What are lessons learned from alternative, decentralised or federated infrastructures?

Thu, 27 May 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Notions of scale, usability, collectivity and agency play an important role in generating possibilities for technological self-determination in an attempt to imagine computational infrastructures differently. How can we imagine technological attitudes that don’t rely on data extractivist models? How do we make space to reconsider the figure of the user? And what if digital tools can be adapted to the specificities of each situation? For the second event, we will be joined by LURK (represented by Aymeric Mansoux and Roel Roscam Abbing) who will speak about lessons learned from alternative, decentralised or federated networks.

Digital Solidarity Networks - How can we reconfigure digital networks across timelines and communities?

Thu, 20 May 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Notions of scale, usability, collectivity and agency play an important role in generating possibilities for technological self-determination in an attempt to imagine computational infrastructures differently. How can we imagine technological attitudes that don’t rely on data extractivist models? How do we make space to reconsider the figure of the user? And what if digital tools can be adapted to the specificities of each situation? In this presentation, Dušan Barok will briefly discuss their genealogies, varieties and dilemmas.

The User Condition #02 - With Brendan Howell

Mon, 17 May 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Time for the second episode of The User Condition series! On the 10th of May, artist and reluctant engineer Brendan Howell will converse with designer without qualities Silvio Lorusso about – ominous soundtrack — N E T S T A L G I A.

Plaintext Partyline

Sat, 08 May 2021 00:00:00 +0000

On May 8 (Saturday) & May 9 (Sunday), Plaintext Partyline explores the modest space of the rigid X-Y axis of plaintext. Varia members and friends spend a weekend exploring this old, but not old-fashioned technology. Various outcomes will be presented online and in the windows of Varia.

Read & Repair - Sense-full Pedagogy feat. K MacBride and Yun Lee

Sun, 25 Apr 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Every last Sunday of the month the Varia library and Rotterdam Electronics Depot are open. In 2021 our Read & Repair sessions will be paired, we will take two months to explore one theme. During March and April 2021, we will be exploring the theme Sense-full Pedagogy. The Read session for April is hosted by K MacBride and the Repair session is led by Yun Lee.

Read & Repair - Sense-full Pedagogy feat. Supreme Connections

Sun, 28 Mar 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Every last Sunday of the month the Varia library and Rotterdam Electronics Depot are open. In 2021 our Read & Repair sessions will be paired, we will take two months to explore one theme. During March and April 2021, we will be exploring the theme Sense-full Pedagogy. The text selection for March was made by Varia Library group member amy pickles.

The User Condition #01

Tue, 23 Mar 2021 00:00:00 +0000

What are the conditions for a computer user to gain agency, defined here as the ability to evade automatisms? What is the user’s horizon of autonomy within a built world made of software programmed by somebody else, when its logic is made inaccessible in the name of convenience?

FHM #1 - Feminist Servers: Backups, migrations, and other painful stories

Sat, 13 Mar 2021 00:00:00 +0000

The work session focuses on the migration of mailing lists between an old and a new server ran by feminists involved in the Systerserver project. The work session is co-hosted together with Mara and is made up of two parts. The first part is a technical hands-on backup/migration process and the second is a discussion around the connections between feminist servers and the travel path of this migration.

Read & Repair - Wireless Imagination feat. Agustina Woodgate and Dennis de Bel

Sun, 28 Feb 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Every last Sunday of the month the Varia library and Rotterdam Electronics Depot are open. In 2021 our Read & Repair sessions will be paired, we will take two months to explore one theme. During January and February 2021, we will be exploring the theme Wireless Imagination. The Read session for February is hosted by Agustina Woodgate and the Repair session is led by Varia group member Dennis de Bel.

Read & Repair - Wireless Imagination feat. Danny van der Kleij

Sun, 31 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Every last Sunday of the month the Varia library and Rotterdam Electronics Depot are open. In 2021 our Read & Repair sessions will be paired, we will take two months to explore one theme. During January and February 2021, we will be exploring the theme Wireless Imagination. The text selection for January was made by Varia Library group member Danny van der Kleij.

Read & Repair feat. Minimal Viable Learning

Sun, 13 Dec 2020 00:00:00 +0000

How can minimal technologies maximise a learning experience? What could ‘minimum’ ‘viable’ ’learning’ be? During this Read & Repair, we will explore minimal viable forms of learning with Etherpad. Etherpad is a collaborative text editor that is often used within the practices of Varia members and their peer networks.

Read & Repair feat. Christina Karagianni and Anita Hrnić

Sun, 25 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Every last Sunday of the month the Varia library and Rotterdam Electronics Depot are open. Each session of Read & Repair is looking at a different text, sometimes guided by a guest. The guests for this edition are Christina Karagianni and Anita Hrnić.

The first expedition Into the Shepard Zone

Sun, 04 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000

This will be a strange evening, during which the wet, dark and yet undiscovered basement of Varia comes to life and transforms every audible sound into a shepard tone.

Varia in het Otje – Ipanema, Unruly Strings and Tino

Sun, 04 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Summer has passed and autumn has arrived. To keep in touch with the times Varia has invited several musicians to the garden of the Otje to contemplate on the passing of the seasons. To what extent does the tilt of the Earth’s rotational axis, away or toward the sun, influence their music? Let’s find out on the 4th of October!

Wet Signal Voice Gardens (launch & event)

Tue, 29 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0000

An event exploring the hierarchies, difficulties and politics of voice in the digital domain, arranged for the launch of web-based artwork Wet Signal Voice Gardens by Kari Robertson.

Read & Repair - Neoliberalism with Dutch Characteristics: The Big Fix Up of the Netherlands and the Practice of Embedded Cultural Activism

Sun, 27 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Every last Sunday of the month the Varia library and Rotterdam Electronics Depot are open. In this next edition we are reading the text *Neoliberalism with Dutch Characteristics

Magiun magazine & Fizz club launch

Sat, 19 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Join us for an afternoon of food! Alice Strete presents the new food magazine Magiun and Varia announces the start of a new open membership food and fermentation club. Expect Kombucha, sourdough bread, ASCII art and other tasty treats.

Century 21 Calling - We Got The Room Until Noon

Sat, 12 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Join us for an educational Century 21 Calling screening. Learn how to keep your face to face meeting from turning into full-on anarchy!

BPW Rotterdam Woonspreekuur

Tue, 01 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Please feel welcome to join us for an evening of discussion, co-learning and reflection on the housing situation in Rotterdam, our rights as tenants and how we can support each other to work towards solutions for more safe, secure and affordable housing.

Read & Repair - The Means of Communication as a Means of Production

Sun, 30 Aug 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Every last Sunday of the month the Varia library and Rotterdam Electronics Depot are open. This Sunday we will dive into a text written by Raymond Williams in 1978, called The Means of Communication as the Means of Production.

Subject: Writing with(out) gestures!

Sat, 29 Aug 2020 00:00:00 +0000

This Saturday, Joseph Knierzinger will present ongoing investigations into the combination and modification of ancient media and rediscovered methodologies!

Dat Conference stream - solarpunk, the decentralised web and peer-to-peer technology

Thu, 30 Jul 2020 00:00:00 +0000

We’re streaming talks from DatConf at Varia for a little while. Feel welcome!

Read & Repair feat. stone throw - session 2

Sun, 26 Jul 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Every last Sunday of the month, the Varia Library and Rotterdam Electronics Depot are open. Varia is hosting a special edition of Read & Repair that will be split into two(!) collective reading and conversation sessions. One will be online and one will be in our physical space, as a series of events to discuss matters of abolitionist technology & community-driven systems of accountability, while generating anonymous, consensual debris for stone throw, a temporary online work to share our resources and reflections.

Read & Repair feat. stone throw - session 1

Thu, 23 Jul 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Read & Repair feat. Digital Solidarity Networks

Sun, 28 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Every last Sunday of the month, the Varia Library and Rotterdam Electronics Depot are open. This Sunday, we will turn to Digital Solidarity Networks, a recent ongoing collective initiative around digital tools that don’t follow an exploitative business model.

RE#SISTER: Corporeal Whispers - Stream

Sat, 27 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Corporeal Whispers is a composition for remote collaboration, based on the idea of “The Exquisite Corpse”, a surrealist game, a protocol that plays with concealing and revealing, collectively creating the yet unknown drawing of a body.

3 Adventures in the Ether

Fri, 19 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Welcome to 3 Adventures in the Ether, a text-based adventure game to be played on Varia’s windows. There are three possible starting points: LIVE STREAMING, VIDEO CALLING and INSTANT MESSAGING. Once you select one for the start of your adventure, you will be faced with a multiple choice question. You play by picking one of the options and following the instructions, which will lead you to the next question, and so on and so forth.

Niek Hilkmann - Groeten uit Charlois (Stream)

Fri, 19 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Lend your ear to a special broadcast from Charlois, dedicated to an upcoming album by Niek Hilkmann and presented by Jacco Weener.

Read & Repair feat. Deaf Republic Reading

Sun, 26 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Every last Sunday of the month, the Varia Library and Rotterdam Electronics Depot are open. This Sunday, Amy Pickles is organising some loose exercises and scores for reading and discussing collectively an excerpt from Ilya Kaminsky’s Deaf Republic.

Century 21 Calling - Gone Surfing - Stream

Sat, 25 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Tune in for another online version of Century 21 Calling. Let’s explore the information superhighway together!

We hope this email finds you well* - a radio drama series

Sat, 18 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Writing an email is not dissimilar to writing a script. On Saturday, Varia hosts a livestream of scripts and scores written and performed based on a series of emails.

Century 21 Calling - Party Line - Stream

Sat, 21 Mar 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Tune in for an online version of Century 21 Calling on the topic of telecommunication and conference calls. Join ’the party line'!

Sensible World Of Soccer - Varia Cup 2020 - Postponed

Sat, 21 Mar 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Due to the current circumstances the Varia Cup will be postponed. We’ll keep an eye out for a new date to compete. Become a goal scoring superstar hero at the Sensible World of Soccer Varia Cup 2020! It’s time to bring the classic football game to the south of Rotterdam. Varia will be host to both an amateur cup as well as a pro cup - anyone can play!

Radio on the radio - Online Stream

Sat, 14 Mar 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Due to the current situation and public health concerns the event will not be public in the physical space of Varia but will be STREAMED online. Radio on the radio is a live, intermittent radio program with performances that in one way or another discuss radio. It will feature descriptions of radio tools, unboxing and unpacking of radio hardware, radio silences, interviews about radio, radical radio noise, radio-active female monstrosities…

Feminist Hack Meetings: Servers

Sat, 29 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0000

The Feminist Hack Meetings are a series of informal research meetings and workshops that aim to explore the suggestions, urgencies and potentials of feminist hack & tech initiatives.

Read & Repair feat. readings & listings: open licenses edition

Sun, 23 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Every last Sunday of the month, the Varia Library and Rotterdam Electronics Depot are open. This Sunday, we are joined by Manetta Berends, who will host the first edition of a readings & listings session around open licenses.

Ctrl-Alt-Save

Fri, 21 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Ever had a hard-drive crash? lost data? cloud back did not really backup? Time Machine did not have a past do go back to? Many questions around backup and data storage exist and many issues need to be resolved. From large database to a small personal collection, data storage affects everyone and many so-called solutions exist but are they really solutions?

Heath Bunting - in conversation with the Voluntary Fire Brigade of the Apocalypse

Mon, 17 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Heath Bunting visits Varia to share his past and present projects against control systems, in conversation with Florian Cramer and the Voluntary Fire Brigade of the Apocalypse.

Alles Flex? Call me Intern, City Dragon

Sat, 08 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0000

A screening of the documentaries ‘Everything Flex?’ and ‘Call me Intern’, both of which look at the consequences of the ongoing flexibilization of both housing and work. In addition, Sam Kreuk will present his musical solo project City Dragon. An evening full of documentaries, debate and a music!

Read & Repair feat. The Bootleg Library

Sun, 26 Jan 2020 00:00:00 +0000

The Varia Library and Rotterdam Electronics Depot are open every last Sunday of the month. This Sunday, we’re joined by The Bootleg Library, a shared digital and physical library of bootlegged texts.

Feminist Hack Meetings

Sat, 25 Jan 2020 00:00:00 +0000

The Feminist Hack Meetings are a series of informal research meetings and workshops that aim to explore the suggestions, urgencies and potentials of feminist hack & tech initiatives.

BPW Rotterdam Huurdersspreekuur + Meet and greet

Mon, 25 Nov 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Bond Precaire Woonvormen (BPW) organizes another round of their tenant consultation plus meet and greet at Varia on Monday the 25th of November. You are welcome to join us for an afternoon and evening of discussion, co-learning, reflection on the housing situation in Rotterdam, our rights as tenants and how we can support each other to work towards solutions for more safe, secure and affordable housing.

Music: Niek Hilkmann, Vulva, Rowan Van As, G. de Singer Songwriter and DJ Wanneer

Sat, 16 Nov 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Another musical night at Varia! Join us for an evening full of singers, songwriters, noise and cardboard!

Century 21 Calling - Camp Century

Sat, 09 Nov 2019 00:00:00 +0000

With Donald Trump’s eagerness to buy Greenland, a new spotlight have been put on this island. However, it is not something new for Greenland to be in the centre of international geopolitics. With the melting of the ice sheets, new trade routes opening and a huge amount of mineral, oil and gas deposits, a new rush for the artic has started.

Entreprecariat: Everyone Is an Entrepreneur. Nobody Is Safe. Mini Book Launch

Sat, 09 Nov 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Join us for an image roulette session: together with Lìdia Pereira, Silvio Lorusso will randomly dig into his research directories to exhume entreprecarious memes, illustrations, screenshots, artworks, etc.

THE SOCIAL IN THE MEDIA: On Digital Interdependencies (Varia Visits ODD)

Mon, 21 Oct 2019 00:00:00 +0000

A report of Varia visiting ODD in Bucharest

Floppy Totaal

Sat, 19 Oct 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Floppy Totaal visits Varia for another round of dual-layered action. At ‘Floppy Totaal: Double Density’ you can join members of the Floppy Kick music label during a live recording and publishing workshop in the afternoon. The subsequent evening program is filled to the brim with performances by Kisszántó and Eoforwine, presentations and conversations with Joak and Jason Scott and a long distance contribution by Michael Ridge.

One evening, Two launches, Three takes

Sat, 28 Sep 2019 00:00:00 +0000

We are all very glad to invite you to the launch of the second issue of **Networks of One’s Own

BPW Rotterdam Tenant Consultation Hours + Meet & Greet

Mon, 23 Sep 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Join us on Monday the 23rd of September for an afternoon or evening of discussion, co-learning and reflection on the housing situation in Rotterdam, our rights as tenants and how we can support each other to work towards solutions for more safe, secure and affordable housing.

Music: Able Noise, Goldblum and Piyojo

Sat, 14 Sep 2019 00:00:00 +0000

A new season has arrived; time for some fresh concerts at Varia! Kicking of the second half of 2019, we organize an event where three stirring acts will show their craft.

Century 21 Calling - Crystals Go To War

Sat, 24 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Century 21 Calling is back; still showing archival industrial films, corporate infomercials, TV reports and historical documentaries that shaped the imagination of tomorrow and hold them up to the light of the present.

Bibliotecha, building and maintaining an off-line digital library

Sat, 06 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Bibliotecha is a toolkit to maintain local off-line digital libraries. With it, communities can create and share collections of digital publications in their local area. Technically Bibliotecha relies on a small single board computer (such as a RaspberryPi) running free and open source software to serve digital publications on an open Wi-fi hotspot. Using a laptop, phone or tablet visitors can connect to it and books can be retrieved or donated via the browser. Since it is a low-power device you can power it with a USB powerbank and take it with you everywhere.

Relearn 2019 curved

Fri, 07 Jun 2019 00:00:00 +0000

This year’s edition of Relearn takes the form of multiple sessions, spread over the (bezier) curve between (possibly Amsterdam)-Rotterdam-Brussels-Paris. This Relearn session in Rotterdam is the first control point on the curve.

Activating an archive

Fri, 31 May 2019 00:00:00 +0000

At the end of last year, De Player approached Varia to develop a web-publication for their Pushing Scores project archive. The project investigated the state of the arts of composing scores in a contemporary environment and spanned over 2-3 years.

BPW Rotterdam Tenant Consultation & Introduction

Mon, 06 May 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Please feel welcome to join us for a day of discussion, co-learning and reflection on the housing situation in Rotterdam, our rights as tenants and how we can support each other to work towards solutions for more safe, secure and affordable housing.

Century 21 Calling - Safety First

Sat, 20 Apr 2019 00:00:00 +0000

During the fifth screening of our Century 21 Calling series we will take a look at how to stay safe in an insecure world. Rules change over the decades; What was once seen as a completely safe thing to do, is now extremely deadly. How do you stay safe in the traffic? What are the dangers around the office? Where can your children play safely? These questions and many more will be addressed during this informative evening.

Open Day @ Varia

Sat, 13 Apr 2019 00:00:00 +0000

During the next edition of South Explorer Varia will host its second annual open day.

Dear Cultural Intitiative, there is an Elephant in the Room

Fri, 12 Apr 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Addressing our digital dependencies as self-organised spaces.

The Network We (de)Served, (XPUB Special Issue #08)

Thu, 04 Apr 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Dear guest, we traveled from home to home by bicycle, setting up homeservers. As friends and companions on this Infrastructour, we studied our routers over drinks served by our hosts. Where possible we installed our servers in our homes, in other cases we had to depend on another member of the group.

The Call Of The Kettle

Fri, 15 Mar 2019 00:00:00 +0000

There is more between heaven and earth than humankind! Therefore, we would like to direct your attention to your fellow ‘inanimate’ object on the 15th of March. On this day five special acts will showcase their intimate relationship with their sewing machines, toasters, fans and working gloves. All this under the guise of ‘The Call Of The Kettle’; the first object oriented music evening at Varia!

Conversas at varia

Wed, 06 Feb 2019 00:00:00 +0000

In February, Varia has the pleasure to host one of the nomadic Conversas evenings. Conversas is a series of bi-weekly informal meetings made so that we can get to know each other, share projects, stories or interests.

Varia New Year's Reception

Fri, 11 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Varia New Year’s Reception

Christmas at Varia - With adammmmmmmmmmmm and Logosamphia

Sat, 22 Dec 2018 00:00:00 +0000

A cold wind is blowing through Charlois; leaves are falling from of trees, birds fly to the south and people start waxing their ice skates.

Century 21 Calling - I'd Buy That For A Dollar!

Sat, 15 Dec 2018 00:00:00 +0000

During our fourth and final screening of Century 21 Calling this year, we will honour the holiday season by taking a look at the development of ‘the shopping experience’.

Welcome to the � Federation - Mastodon and The Fediverse

Sat, 08 Dec 2018 00:00:00 +0000

What could community-owned social media look like? A public Wtt�F discussion on Mastodon, the Fediverse and translations.

Maximum Velocity

Fri, 07 Dec 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Pitch, timbre, texture, volume, duration and form; These are the secret ingredients to most compositions. The question remains however; Is there also room for something extra? And what could that extra element be? Today we will focus on the concept of velocity by showcasing concerts by musicians working with both speed and movement in their compositions and performances!

Pushing Scores with De Player

Thu, 29 Nov 2018 00:00:00 +0000

During this evening we focus on the archiving of the Pushing Scores project by DE PLAYERl; A project on the contemporary meaning of the ‘graphic score’, which has been running for the last 2-3 years. What are the possibilities of graphic scores, in a day and age in which graphic notation is still usually seen as a ‘drawing’, serving as some kind of sheet music?

Druk: An Evening With Cantos Deus & Bohman Family

Sat, 24 Nov 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Because we can’t always keep the pressure on, we’ve added a musical intermezzo during Woodstone Kugelblitz

Woodstone Kugelblitz: Druk in Varia

Fri, 23 Nov 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Some things are more useful to know than others.

RecycleReduceReuse and where is Repair Workshop (full)

Thu, 22 Nov 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Over the last couple of centuries rapid changes in technology, economic fluctuation, technological replacement and planned obsolescence have resulted in a fast-growing surplus of (electronic) waste around the globe. An equally growing demand has risen for the re-purposing, repair, disposal and salvaging of this material, generating different methods that each have their own impact on the economy and environment.

Choreo-Graphic-Hypothesis Book Launch

Thu, 15 Nov 2018 00:00:00 +0000

< meta content=‘choreographic scores; programming scripts; notation systems; languages; poetics; composition; improvisation; process; temporalities; code; coding; emergence; error; failure; opportunity; interface; human-computer interactions; design; web; site; action; dramaturgy; movement; presence; (a)live; performance; performativity; affect; body; vocabularies; syntax; discourse; voices; speech; public; privacy; transparency; digital; physicality; embodiment; collaboration; trans- disciplinary practices’; name=‘corpus terms’ >

Looking Back - Varia Anniversary

Fri, 09 Nov 2018 00:00:00 +0000

It is a rule of life that everything that moves forward, must also one day also look back.

Inter-Planetary File System unearthed

Thu, 01 Nov 2018 00:00:00 +0000

During this workshop, we will look at the successes, the pitfalls and the potential of this protocol. We will install it, go through the basics, discuss how it differs from other P2P protocols like dat and what types of usage it enables.

Life Hacks: Space

Wed, 31 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0000

What shapes the daily routine of a telemarketing sales agent? How to go beyond the co-working model when it comes to organize a place for collaboration? What’s the territorial and political role of furniture within the semi-domestic area of the artist’s studio? Are life hacks a form of liberation or yet another burden? Together with author and designer François Girard-Meunier, the WORKNOT! collective (Arvand Pourabbasi and Golnar Abbasi), Varia, the Centre for Everyday Technology (represented by Roel Roscam Abbing, Manetta Berends and Niek Hilkmann) and XPUB (the Experimental Publishing program of the Piet Zwart Institute), we will tackle these and more questions during an evening dedicated to spaces that are at once entrepreneurial and precarious.

The Big Bounce - Century 21 Calling

Sat, 20 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0000

During our third screening of Century 21 Calling, we will be taking a look at the development of satellite communications. From the shiny orbs of the 1950s to our present day SATCOM systems.

In the Beginning ... Was the Commandline

Thu, 18 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0000

In this workshop we will focus on command line tools in relation to plain text. During the day we will dive into the social-cultural history of the command line interface, explore the materiality of plain text on a computer and discover a wide range of command line tools.

The Key to Casio (and Yamaha too)

Fri, 12 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0000

In celebration of all casio’s, yamaha’s and other home keyboards worldwide Varia will host an exclusive event called ‘The Key To Casio (And Yamaha Too)’.

Considerate Cake Confection (full)

Thu, 11 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0000

In our understanding, food as a commodity finds its most revealing expression in the form of the cake. In this workshop we investigate the history of culinary hegemony by collectively baking a specific sweet recipe that showcases the way we perceive and partake in food today. Not only will we be analysing the origins of specific ingredients and recipes, we will also focus on the political economy and class dynamics that engender taste and ingredient accessibility. The actual confection of this cake will provide us with an opportunity to hack into the requirments involved in such practices and turn the table around.

Concert: Crimson Butterfly, Evamuss and St. Fractalium

Fri, 14 Sep 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Crimson Butterfly (Russia) is a cosmoenergetic alliance of two cats with synths and laptop. Evamuss (Peru/The Netherlands) was a project of the Peruvian Chrs Galarreta (aka: Sajjra, DiosMeHaViolado, Tica, among others alias). St. Fractalium (Russia) St.Fractalium is an audio-visual duo from Nizhniy Novgorod, Russia, residents of local cult place Black Ho.

Streaming The Techno-Galactic Guide to Software Observation Stream @ Varia

Fri, 07 Sep 2018 00:00:00 +0000

The Techno-Galactic Guide to Software Observation is the obsessive fantasy of optimization turned on its head and stuck to the ceiling of a self-reflecting elevator. It is the ultimate book, with almost 300 pages of dos and don’ts, of forgotten histories and un-inevitable futures, of mindful agile actions and improvisational service architectures, of any and all things that you can and cannot imagine needing in a techno-galaxy.

Concert: Matheus Silva and Theo Krantz Album Release

Fri, 17 Aug 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Theo Krantz is an American artist currently based in New Mexico. Matheus Silva is an electronic artist originating from Brazil.

What Remains - Final Playtest

Fri, 22 Jun 2018 00:00:00 +0000

It is 1986. You just came home from a skate session when a Nintendo game cartridge falls into your hands. Excited to find out what kind of game is on the cartridge, you visit your friend who just bought a brand new Nintendo console two weeks ago. You plug in the cartridge and …

What a website can be

Wed, 13 Jun 2018 00:00:00 +0000

This website is built with a static site generator. This article delves into the implications of both ‘static site’ and ‘generator’ for its design process.

Moving Monument - Presentation

Sat, 02 Jun 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Long before there were people in Charlois, there was already water. Water is always on the move and always finds a way. Historically, fountains were gathering places that occupied a central place in village- and city life. Often they were installed to commemorate a great battle, a plague epidemic or some other historical event, donated by the municipality or a patron. Unfortunately, Charlois currently has no working fountain. Niek Hilkmann and Anne Kolbe want to remedy this shortcoming and temporarily give Charlois a mobile fountain that is not tied to a single place or interpretation. After an opening ceremony, held on the 2nd June around 13:00, next to Varia, the fountain can be seen during the weekends of the Charlois Speciaal festival, in search of new meaning and appreciation.

Welcome to the � Federation - The Ecosystem is Moving

Fri, 01 Jun 2018 00:00:00 +0000

On the 1st and 2nd of June varia will host ‘The Ecosystem Is Moving’, a lecture by and worksession with Daniel Gultsch about federated instant messaging, open source software and the sustainability of open systems.

Century 21 Calling - Rising to the High-Rise

Sat, 26 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000

During our second screening of Century 21 Calling we will take a look at the development of the workplace.

Infinite Outwardness

Fri, 18 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Since the beginning of time, space has captured the imagination of artists around the world. On the 18th of May varia is proud to present ‘Infinite Outwardness’; a music event based on the bounties of space, where several artists will present their idiosyncratic view on space exploration. Ranging from playable space junk to cosmic toilets, this will be an evening to remember!

Wojtek Szustak - Space Junk Workshop

Fri, 18 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Wojtek Szustak is an electronic intermedialist from Krakow who works with and around music and space junk. In preparation of ‘Infinite Outwardness’ he will conduct a synthesizer junk workshop at Varia where we will make new electronic instruments from old rubbish we find on the streets of Charlois.

Open Day @ Varia

Sat, 12 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000

On the 12th of May, varia opens her doors and invites you to join an afternoon of informal conversations, workshops and demos. There will be free coffee, tea and software!

Concert: CLM and Maria Violenza

Tue, 17 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Varia presents two concerts by three incredible musicians from Italy.

Century 21 Calling

Sat, 14 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Once we were all promised a better tomorrow with robots, atomic powered cars and inflatable plastic homes. After the second world war the promises of technology made it seem like everything was possible. However, it seems like much of this optimism might have been a bit premature. Where is the dream of tomorrow now? Do we still dare to dream of the future?

Algologs

Fri, 16 Mar 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Algologs = a 1 + 1 day dialog with algorithmic practices. This two-day event is an extention of Algolit, a workgroup where text-based practices and algorithms meet.

It Is As If We Were Doing Work

Sat, 10 Mar 2018 00:00:00 +0000

A few months have passed since the 11th issue of the Pervasive Labour Union zine was launched, but the topics that were touched upon are yet to be digested.

Solutions and problems in Extratonality

Fri, 16 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0000

The 4th International Conference on the solutions and problems in extratonality titled ‘Extratonality - Opening Doors Is Not Enough’ focuses on an evaluation of practices in the field of extratonality.

New Year's reception

Fri, 19 Jan 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Varia has big plans for 2018! We would like to share these with you during a special New Year’s reception as part of the season opening of the galleries and projectspaces in Oud Charlois. Besides drinks and salty snacks, there will be a special robomop-performance.

34c3 screening session

Wed, 27 Dec 2017 00:00:00 +0000

For those that didn’t make it to Leipzig this year we’re gathering to watch the 34c3 livestream in Varia.

The secret life of machine screenings, season 3

Wed, 20 Dec 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Technology is everywhere, sometimes it hides its face underneath a mask of everydayness, but we can only guess what goes on in our vacuum cleaner, telephone or copy machine.

Soup & Talk - Inox Kapell

Sat, 16 Dec 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Varia gets a visit; from Inox Kapell, the insect man from Wespbaden.

The secret life of machine screenings, season 3 (cancelled)

Sun, 10 Dec 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Technology is everywhere, sometimes it hides its face underneath a mask of everydayness, but we can only guess what goes on in our vacuum cleaner, telephone or copy machine.

homebrewserver.club: calendars session 2

Thu, 30 Nov 2017 00:00:00 +0000

A second gathering around self-hosted calendars.

Screening: The Secret Life Of Machines, season 2

Sun, 19 Nov 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Technology is everywhere, sometimes it hides its face underneath a mask of everydayness, but we can only guess what goes on in our vacuum cleaner, telephone or copy machine.

homebrewserver.club: calendars session 1

Thu, 16 Nov 2017 00:00:00 +0000

A first gathering around self-hosted calendars.

The secret life of machine screenings, season 1

Sun, 05 Nov 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Technology is everywhere, sometimes it hides its face underneath a mask of everydayness, but we can only guess what goes on in our vacuum cleaner, telephone or copy machine.

Opening Space

Fri, 03 Nov 2017 00:00:00 +0000

After a few weeks of finishing up the space Varia opens her doors on friday the 3rd of november from 20:00 onwards.

homebrewserver.club

Sat, 14 Oct 2017 00:00:00 +0000

A monthly gathering for those who (wish to) host their own online services from home, rather than using commercial and privacy unfriendly alternatives.

Relearn Rotterdam

Tue, 29 Aug 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Relearn is a collective learning experiment with as many teachers as it has participants. It is motivated by the possibility to displace parameters of/for research, studying and learning.

Rotterdams electronica depot

Sun, 09 Apr 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Since many of the independent electronics stores in Rotterdam have permanently closed their doors, it has become nearly impossible to hop on a bike and quickly get some parts. In response to this Varia started the Rotterdam Electronics Depot, a community resource where members can purchase common parts parts at cost.

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