Exhibition: New Energy?
Kadir van Lohuizen is an internationally acclaimed photographer and filmmaker known for his keen eye and ability to capture major social issues in a compelling way. His work focuses, among other things, on the consequences of rising sea levels, the global food industry, and, this time, the global energy transition. Is this truly a transition, and how does it work in practice? Who benefits from it, and who suffers?
Of course, resources and profits are once again distributed unevenly, especially when it comes to extracting the raw materials needed to build wind turbines and other forms of green energy. Kadir investigated this as a filmmaker and photographer, gaining access to places where no one else is allowed to go. Through the combination of the large artwork on the exterior wall and the video inside, you can see what he has been through, what his perspective on the energy transition is, and whether he has hope for the future of Amsterdam Noord.
This year, Warming Up Festival is not asking how you can live more sustainably. It is asking why so many people, especially young people, have tuned out of a conversation that may affect them more than anyone.
Not out of indifference, but because of mental exhaustion. Because of climate anxiety and guilt. Because of a system that places the emphasis on individual responsibility, while the biggest polluters and fossil fuel subsidies largely remain out of the spotlight. And sometimes also because a climate movement that seems to demand perfection rather than participation.
You can’t save the world alone. Fortunately, you don’t have to. Warming Up Festival therefore takes a different approach: solidarity instead of penance.
For three days, the festival brings together art, journalism, music and conversation around the question of how individual choices relate to systems that are largely beyond our control, and where we can actually make a difference as a collective. It is a festival that makes room for imperfection, for doubt and for new forms of engagement.
More information and the complete program can be found here.
Description of the programme
New Energy? Consists of a 30-meter-long artwork on the exterior wall of the Tolhuistuin garden and a video on display on the ground floor of Tolhuistuin, next to the stairs leading to the restaurant.
The wall is always accessible, and this artwork will be on view from November 5, 2026, through February 2027.
The video can be viewed during Tolhuistuin’s opening hours (daily from 11:00 a.m. to midnight) starting November 19, 2026; the end date is unknown.
The design for this work was created by LMNOP, a multidisciplinary visual communication design studio.
The video was produced by Jesper Bauer (camera, lighting, sound, editing), and the content editing was done by LMNOP and Eva Verboon.
Together, these two components form the artwork 'New Energy?', commissioned by Tolhuistuin for the Warming Up Festival.
About our event partners
Kadir van Lohuizen is an internationally acclaimed photographer and filmmaker known for his keen eye and ability to capture major social issues in a compelling way. His work focuses on topics such as the consequences of rising sea levels, the global food industry, and, in this instance, the global energy transition.
