About W139

W139 is a leading production and presentation space for contemporary art in the centre of Amsterdam that has been paving the way for experimentation and new modes of autonomy, self-organisation, and collectivity within the arts for 44 years.

Since its founding in 1979—when the monumental building was squatted by a collective of artists—W139 has remained embedded in an engaged and intergenerational community of makers. As an artist-driven organisation, W139 puts experimentation at the forefront—providing space for artists to take risks and realise experimental, urgent, and ambitious projects.

As a platform for dialogue and encounter, W139 supports artistic dissent and facilitates radical imagination and solidarity. Situated in an increasingly gentrified area, W139 offers a rare yet accessible stage for experimental contemporary art in the city centre of Amsterdam.

As an incubator for the arts, W139’s programme responds to contemporary issues while simultaneously being anchored in a rich cultural history. Our programming includes large-scale exhibitions and public events—initiated and organised in collaboration with a diverse group of makers—as well as projects selected via open calls.

W139 is an active member of:
De Zaak Nu, the advocacy group of visual arts organisations in the Netherlands
MOKER, the Amsterdam association of visual arts organisations
Culturele Wallen, a partnership of cultural institutions in Amsterdam’s city centre

Vacancies

For information on vacancies, internship applications and volunteering at W139 please go to our vacancy page.

Team

Director: Annette Wolfsberger
Artistic team: Tomas Adolfs, Margarita Osipian
Guest curator: Megan Hoetger
Production: Dana Claasen, Cari Călinici (intern)
Community & Hospitality: Monica Liu
Communication: Levi van Gelder, Macarena Magaña Villar, Lies Kelder (intern)
Finances: Geer van der Klugt
Archive: Sofija Žadeikytė (intern)
Caretaking: Dil Ghale
Hosts: Fai Aldhukair, Dawid Dobosz, Jacob Dwyer, Ainhoa Hernández Escudero, Mariana Jurado Rico
And our amazing team of volunteers!

Board

Bart Rutten – chairman (artistic director Centraal Museum Utrecht)
Remco Mol – treasurer (business director Amsterdam Museum)
Susan Kooi – secretary (artist)
Marcel van den Berg – board member (artist)

Former team members

W139 would not be possible without the dedication and commitment of everyone who has worked for the organisation. Below is an overview of former staff members, board members, and interns of W139 up to and including 2022. We are currently still working on completing the list for before 2022.

Former team members
Christie Bakker, Nadia Benchagra, Jeanine van Berkel, Chun Han Chiang, Rosa Doornenbal, Dieuwke Eggink, Laura Grimm, Fadwa Naamna, Jorrit Paaijmans, Jowon van der Peet, Claudio Ritfeld, Sam Samiee, Helena Sanders, Anami Schrijvers, Jeroen de Smalen, Andreas Tscholl, Marloes van Vugt, Lih-Lan Wong

Former board members
Martijn van Boven, Irene Fortuyn, Erika Happe, Iris Kensmil, George Korsmit, Monique van der Poel, Farida Sedoc, Bart Stuart

Former interns
Yasaman Bathaee, Yahaira Brito Morfe, Rosa Álvarez Solano, Floris Rosenbaum, Fay Toxopeus, Kirsty McIntosh, Suze van der Tang, Fay Aldhukair, Ana Brichta, Ghaith Kween Qoutainy, Macarena Magaña Villar, Izzy Lee, Maya Asad, Monica Liu, Emily Read, Floris Rosenbaum, Jesse Vorswijk

History of W139

W139 was founded by a group of young artists who wanted to offer an alternative to the collections and exhibitions presented at Amsterdam’s museums and commercial galleries. In October 1979, a group of five artists (Guus van der Werf, Marianne Kronenberg, Martha Crijns, Reinout Weydom, and Ad de Jong) squatted the former theatre at Warmoesstraat 139, on one of Amsterdam’s oldest streets. The building was then being used as a warehouse by the neighbouring department store, de Bijenkorf. The artists felt that, before pursuing international careers, they needed a place in their own city where they could show their work to friends and peers.

The huge, cold, but bright space was an oasis in the dense and rundown city centre, a neighbourhood that in the early 1980s was dominated by drug dealing and sex work. W139 opened as a new exhibition space with performances and punk music every weekend, emerging alongside a wider counterculture in Amsterdam, a movement against the closed world of commercial art and museums. The artists lived and worked in the block of houses surrounding W139, and its opening hours ran from noon until after midnight. 

After nearly a decade, the energy of the first group of artists began to wane. An assembly was organized, bringing together about forty artists and designers connected to W139 to discuss its new direction and determine who would take responsibility for the next phase.

Ad de Jong, one of the founding artists, became the first director of W139. From 1990-1991 he succeeded in attracting the right people to establish W139 as a place for artistic risk and innovation. De Jong developed the principles that would shape W139: keeping the building as free as possible from external influences, placing artists at the centre, and securing its autonomy by finding a way to purchase the building. 

At the end of the 1990s, it became obvious that the building, and all of the Blauwlakenblok —the block that W139 is located in—was in dire need of renovation. Financial resources were pooled, and between 2005 and 2007, W139 temporarily relocated to the basement of the Post CS building, the former post office next to Central Station, while the building at the Warmoesstraat underwent renovation. In that period, the foundation Stichting Beheer 139 bought the building from the city.

Organisationally, from the early 1990’s onwards and lasting until 2012, W139 adopted a policy of appointing artistic directors for four-year terms, allowing each to shape the organisation to their own vision. During this period, the following artistic directors held the post: Dominique Pelletey (1992-1994), Theo Tegelaers (1994-1998), Jean Bernard Koeman (1998-2002), Ann Demeester (2002-2005), Gijs Frieling (2006-2010), and Tim Voss (2010-2012).

From 2012, W139 operated without an artistic director, placing artists directly in charge. The team of W139 was reduced to a minimum, consisting, at its smallest, of a financial director and a finance administrator. Groups of artists were invited to develop presentations for both the interior and exterior of the building. At the end of each working and presentation period, the group selected one of its members to form a new group. Through this approach, W139 sought to become a self-sustaining, primarily artist-led space, creating the conditions necessary for artists to explore and create freely. With W139 serving as the engine, the artists’ ambitions were fuel for the unpredictable.

Shortly after its 40 year anniversary, W139 faced a critical turning point with the loss of structural funding. In 2020, a large campaign to fight for the survival of W139 demonstrated the importance of solidarity and community within the arts, underscoring the collective support network that continues to sustain W139. In 2021, the artist-led model evolved into the current artist-initiator model, in which the artistic team of W139 develops the programme, inviting artists to co-create and co-curate exhibitions, and to develop new works. 

Approaching its 50th anniversary in 2029, W139 remains an essential voice within the gentrified Amsterdam city centre, continuing to explore new forms of autonomy, self-organization, artistic experimentation and collectivity.

Funders and partners

W139 is structurally supported by Amsterdam Fund for the Arts and Mondriaan Fund from 2025-2028.

Over the past years, W139 and its activities were additionally supported by:

2026
Prince Claus Fund
Cultuurfonds
Fonds21

2025
Cultural Participation Fund
The Culture Fund
Fund21

2024
Gieskes-Strijbis Fund
Mondriaan Fund
Amsterdam Fund for the Arts
Fonds21
Het Cultuurfonds
Creative Industries Fund NL
Netherland America Foundation
Iona Foundation
Het Nieuwe Instituut
Hartwig Art Foundation
Oedipus Brewing
Contributors of Supporting W139

2023
Gieskes-Strijbis Fund
Mondriaan Fund
Amsterdam Fund for the Arts
Gemeente Amsterdam
Het Cultuurfonds
Fonds21
Hartwig Art Foundation
Pictoright Fund
Oedipus Brewing
Contributors of Supporting W139
Pro Elisarion Association
Goethe Institut

ANBI

W139 has been designated by the belastingdienst (Dutch tax authorities) as a Algemeen Nut Beogende Instelling Culturele Instelling (Public Benefit Institution Cultural Institution) (ANBI CI). Because of this designated status, private individuals can make a donation to W139 with extra tax benefits. For more information, see the website of the Belastingdienst. If you want to make a donation to W139, visit our supporting page.

Official name: Stichting W139
Public Name: W139
RSIN / ANBI nummer: 008265240

ANBI 2025 (in Dutch)
ANBI 2024 (in Dutch)
ANBI 2023 (in Dutch)
ANBI 2022 (in Dutch)
ANBI 2021 (in Dutch)
ANBI 2020 (in Dutch)
ANBI 2019 (in Dutch)
ANBI 2018 (in Dutch)

Remuneration policy
The members of the W139 board perform their duties without remuneration. The board members only receive a reimbursement for incurred expenses. W139 uses a market conform remuneration policy for employees and freelancers as a starting point.

Codes

W139 adheres to the Cultural Governance Code, Fair Practice Code and Code of Diversity & Inclusion.

Website colophon

Concept & design: Anja Groten
Web development: Heerko van der Kooij