SAM (Stop Annoying Me) is a sensory performance in which film, live music, and performance come together in a powerful experience about identity, trauma, and neurodiversity.

Memories, fears, and feelings of alienation come back to life when past and present flow into one another. What follows is an intense inner journey in which mental struggle, trauma, and recovery become palpable.

During O., SAM takes on a unique form in dialogue with the exhibition Autonomous by Ine Gevers (Stichting Niet Normaal) at Brutus, which centers on neurodiversity. Performance and exhibition together form one continuous experience. After the 25-minute performance, the audience moves from the performance space into the exhibition, where the atmosphere and themes continue. The performers reappear among the artworks and create unexpected interventions, blurring the boundary between performance and exhibition.

SAM is partly inspired by personal experiences and touches upon current societal issues surrounding mental health and the position of the individual within systems. The performance invites visitors to look at inner processes differently and opens a space for reflection, empathy, and new perspectives on human consciousness.

The result is not a self-contained performance, but an experience in which audience, space, visuals, and performers remain in constant motion.

On 29 May from 2.00 pm to 3.30 pm, we invite you to an in-depth programme centred on the exhibition AUTONOMOUS: a talk and guided tour by curator Ine Gevers.

During this session, Gevers will offer an accessible and thought-provoking introduction to the exhibition, with a particular focus on the concept of cognitive capitalism as an all-encompassing architecture. What exactly does this system entail? Why does it pose a challenge in our current society? And in what ways can we engage with it?

Drawing on sharp observations and examples, Gevers explores possible strategies, including the question of whether a ‘neurospicy take-over’ could be a form of resistance. There is also room for reflection: what if you actually feel particularly susceptible to the temptations of this ‘normalisation machine’?

The talk will be followed by a guided tour of AUTONOMOUS, during which the themes discussed will be brought to life further within the exhibition.

Please note! The talk and guided tour will be held in Dutch.

What is Timescaping?
Guided by artist Cristian Boscheri, Timescaping is an interactive group event that will move you through a series of scenario cards set in 2126. Each card drops you in a specific scene from a possible future: android rights, editable memory, synthetic intimacy, which challenges narratives of AI inevitably. These cards open a conversation to lead it into an unexpected direction depending on who is in the room. You can also create your own card with a scenario that matters to you personally.
The Timescaping session has many connection points to the AUTONOMOUS exhibition. Both share the same underlying idea: what happens to the ways we think, feel, and imagine when the world changes faster than we can make sense of it together?

The session is a chance to find answers to this question and start acting in real time with real people.

Come and join this session on 29 May 16:00 to 18:00. The tickets are limited, so make sure to secure a spot before it runs out!

This summer, from June 5 through 7, Brutus will host the third edition of the Levenslust Festival. The festival is a unique collaboration between the Levenslust Academy, Stichting Pluspunt Rotterdam, CVD, and Brutus Art Space, and is part of the exhibition AUTONOMOUS, curated by Ine Gevers

The Levenslust Academy is for Rotterdam residents in vulnerable situations who can make their voices heard through art. By collaborating with professional artists, artists from the Levenslust Academy develop their talents and establish themselves as creators in the city through the Levenslust Festival. Equal collaboration is central to this: all participating artists strengthen one another. This results in a thought-provoking exhibition in which the creative process is at least as important as the final result.

During the festival, the creative, personal, and social developments of all creators are celebrated. By approaching artists not based on their background, but on their vision and talent, the Levenslust Academy offers a platform for new perspectives.

A vibrant creative haven
During the festival weekend, the grounds and entrance of Brutus are transformed into a vibrant, creative haven. Visitors find themselves in a dynamic world where music, fashion, and visual arts converge. The Levenslust Academy embraces all disciplines and offers space to a broad mix of creators and perspectives. The participating artists are: Arturo, Barbara, Billie Turbo, Charlton, Denise, Floor Spits, Franky Vanity, Gilles, Guus, Heike, Ivon, Jolanda, Kenneth Letsoin, Lars, Mal, Mario, Mena, Milan, Marianne Kouwenhoven, Martijn, Marto, Meo Bhola, Nada van Dalen, Nelo, Nourdine, Peter, Ramsingh, Remy, Robbert, Robin, Sena Nyaku, Sigmond, Sillieman, Skillfulmatic, Sjoerd Labega, Theo, Ulrich Oron.

The festival demonstrates that art is not just something to look at, but also something that connects people and contributes to our well-being. During the Levenslust Festival, everyone—including the visitors—is an artist.

Come experience it for yourself:
Friday, June 5, from 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM – festive opening of the festival
Saturday, June 6, from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM – exhibition and live performances
Sunday, June 7, from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM – exhibition and live performances

On Friday 17 July, Brutus opens Wild Summer of Art 2026. Under the title The Treasure Hunt Edition, fifty Rotterdam-based artists present specific facets of their work across all spaces. From 17 July to 30 August, Brutus becomes an unmissable hunting ground for art explorers.

The curators of The Treasure Hunt Edition, Hajo Doorn and Cokkie Snoei, deliberately avoided an overarching theme or statement, opting instead for an intuitive approach. Based on nominations by fourteen scouts, a broad and diverse selection of artists was assembled. To turn this edition into a true 'treasure hunt', participating artists were invited to present an unknown, surprising or lesser-seen aspect of their work.

In their introduction, the curators take a deliberately restrained position. The artworks are given space to speak for themselves. No lengthy texts filled with complex concepts, insider jargon or social commentary; instead, the focus is on radical simplicity: the art speaks.
Essential to the experience of The Treasure Hunt Edition are Brutus's raw, industrial spaces. Visitors are invited to wander freely and discover the richness and quality of Rotterdam's art scene.