An interdisciplinary arts organisation based in Amsterdam.

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Sonic Acts

Sonic Acts is an interdisciplinary arts organisation based in Amsterdam. 

Founded in 1994 to present new developments in electronic and digital art forms, Sonic Acts has gained prominence with its biennial international festival — an intensive art, theory and technology gathering motivated by changes in the ecological, political, technological and social landscape. Sonic Acts is also a leading platform for international projects, research and the commissioning and co-production of new artworks, often working together with local and international partner organisations such as independent and institutional cultural incubators, universities and kindred festivals.

In the course of its 30-year history, Sonic Acts has been a site for experimentation: a place to exchange, think, create, learn, and act. By presenting artistic investigations and research, Sonic Acts aims to advance experimentation and in turn provide a podium for dynamic perspectives that can be tools for discovery, growth, development, and emancipation – vital to understanding the complexities of our contemporary world.
 
With a focus on talent development, Sonic Acts supports a community of emerging artists through the residency and mentorship programmes [Overexposed](https://sonicacts.com/discover/overexposed) and [Underexposed](https://sonicacts.com/discover/underexposed), as well as through the commissioning and production of new artworks. The festival and year-round activities bring together artists, curators, critical thinkers and a curious, diverse audience. Next to its biennial festival, Sonic Acts organises [Workshops](https://sonicacts.com/archive/filter/Workshops), reading and listening groups focused on applied knowledge and addressing ecological concerns; and [Night Air](https://sonicacts.com/discover/night-air), a programme about pollution combining in-depth talks with films, live performances, and a club night. Sonic Acts publishes the magazine _[Ecoes](https://sonicacts.com/archive/ecoes )_ about art in the age of pollution, as well as books, music releases, and online publications in connection to its festival, commissioned works, and research projects.
 
Through this wide range of cross-disciplinary programmes, Sonic Acts explores the rapidly changing relationship between art, science, technology, and politics. The exhibitions, club nights, screenings, workshops, and symposia are grounds for radical audiovisual performances and installations, contemporary visual art, avant-garde film, progressive club music, and innovative new media, celebrating and fuelled by compelling artistic and critical perspectives.
 
Sonic Acts partners with a number of institutions across projects. As an ongoing member of both de [Zaak Nu](https://www.dezaaknu.nl/over-ons) and [MOKER](https://moker.amsterdam/), they join local forces to support the presentation and development of visual arts in Amsterdam and the Netherlands. Other completed collaborative projects have included the four-year art, research and commissioning project [Re-Imagine Europe](https://re-imagine-europe.eu/), initiated by Sonic Acts and organised in collaboration with ten cultural organisations across Europe; the [Progress Bar](https://sonicacts.com/discover/progress-bar) series, highlighting the latest tendencies in radical sound and club culture alongside urgent conversations about politics and society at large; the [Sonic Acts Academy](https://2020.sonicacts.com/about), a biannual forum dedicated to artistic research; and [Murmansk Prospekt](https://murmanskprospekt.net/), a collaboration exploring the impact of human beings on the planet. Earlier projects include the international research and commissioning project [Dark Ecology](https://sonicacts-frontend.vercel.app/discover/dark-ecology), as well as the programming of three editions of the [Kontraste Festival](https://sonicacts-frontend.vercel.app/discover/kontraste) in Krems, Austria.

History

The Sonic Acts Archive collects documentation about works, events, and people, including audio-visual material, essays, interviews and publications that have been presented across Sonic Acts’ multi-faced programming.

Having evolved from a niche event for enthusiasts, blending academic music with cutting-edge electronic sounds, into a thematic festival and commissioning body that foregrounds the cross-pollination of art, music, science and technology, the institutional archive generated as a result focuses on the production of new media art. It documents the processes of creating new media works and practitioners’ engagement with “new technologies”, the networks of people (artists, curators, producers, and technicians that attend to it) and the material histories of tools and procedures used by artists (across visual, sound and film media) to present and create such works. Finally, it illuminates the crucial role of the festival as a site of creation of artistic work, equivalent in importance to the artist's studio, the darkroom or the writer’s desk – a goal that echoes the intentions behind the very founding of Sonic Acts Festival back in 1994.

The Sonic Acts Archive advocates for social memory, for sensorial experiences and ‘hard to discipline’ artworks and performances that require specific presentational formats and participatory audiences of a festival setting to exist.

The physical archive is currently accessible by appointment. Access to material or assistance with research projects can be arranged by contacting us at [archive@sonicacts.com](mailto:archive@sonicacts.com).

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**Funders 2023–2024**\
[Creative Industries Fund NL](https://www.stimuleringsfonds.nl/en)\
[Amsterdam Fund for the Arts](https://www.amsterdamsfondsvoordekunst.nl/en/)\
[Cultuurloket DigitALL](https://cultuurloketdigitall.nl/)\
[Mondriaan Fund](https://www.mondriaanfonds.nl/en/homepage-2/)\
[Provincie Noord-Holland](https://www.noord-holland.nl/)\
[Netherlands Film Fund](https://www.filmfonds.nl/)\
[Fonds 21](https://www.fonds21.nl/)\
[Hartwig Art Foundation](https://www.hartwigartfoundation.nl/)\
[Het Cultuurfonds](https://www.cultuurfonds.nl/)\
[Cultural Participation Fund](https://cultuurparticipatie.nl/)\
[Performing Arts Fund NL](https://fondspodiumkunsten.nl/)\
[Stichting Zabawas](https://www.zabawas.nl/)\
[Gravin van Bylandt Stichting](https://www.bylandtstichting.nl/)\
[Re-Imagine Europe](https://re-imagine-europe.eu/), co-funded by the European Union\
[Erasmus+](https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/)

**Partners, Collaborators & Friends**\
A4, Academy of Motion Pictures Museum, All Rent, Amsterdam School for Cultural Analysis, Antenne Books, ArtScience Interfaculty, ArtEZ, Atheneum, BeamSystems, BEK – Bergen Centre for Electronic Arts, Berlin Art Book Fair and Festival, Bimhuis, Borealis Festival, Canal++, De Appel, de Bijloke, De Zaak Nu, Disruption Network Lab, Elevate Festival, Environmental Humanities UvA, Eye Filmmuseum, Field Station Friesland, FieldARTS, Forte Marghera, Garage Noord, Galerie Khoshbakht, Goethe-Institut Niederlande, Hackers & Designers, Het Hem, Het Lage Noorden, Hogeschool voor Kunsten Utrecht, Idea Books, INA GRM, Institut Français NL, Jacuzzi, JaJaJaNeeNeeNee, kanaal40, Kentalis, Kontejner, Kontrapunkt, La Biennale di Venezia, Ledlease, Looiersgracht 60, Michel Waisvisz Archief, MOKER PO_i, Muziekgebouw, NADD, Netherlands Institute for Cultural Analysis, Nieuwe Instituut, OT301, Oude Kerk, Paradiso, PAV – Parco Arte Vivente, Partyzaan, Radio Web MACBA, Radio Worm, Rijksakademie, Ruigoord, Rupert, SALWA, San Seriffe, Semibreve, Showcare, Singelkerk, SoundLAB, Spatial Media Laboratories, Stack Magazines, Stichting de Vrolijkheid Almere, Stichting Huygens-Fokker, Stichting IMC Weekendschool, Studio405, STUK, Subbacultcha, Teatro alle Tese, Tempel, Underbelly, Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Universiteit Utrecht, University of Hong Kong, W139, We Are Public, WG Theatertechniek, Willem Twee Studios, Zone2Source


Funders

Stichting Sonic Acts is door de Belastingdienst aangewezen als culturele Algemeen Nut Beogende Instelling (ANBI). Deze status geeft donateurs de mogelijkheid een financiële gift fiscaal van de belasting af te trekken.

**Bank- en factuurgegevens**\
KvK: 34198520\
BTW NR: NL814129201B01\
RSIN: 814129201\
IBAN: NL31RABO0115136169\
BIC: RABONL2U\
Adres:

Stichting Sonic Acts\
Weteringschans 6-8\
1017SG\
Amsterdam

**Directeur**\
Lucas van der Velden

**Raad van Toezicht**\
Mariette Dölle\
Nduka Mntambo\
Joost Rekveld (Voorzitter)


Sonic Acts hanteert de salarisrichtlijn van De Zaak Nu. De raad van toezicht verricht haar werkzaamheden onbezoldigd.

**Doelstelling**\
De stichting heeft ten doel het bevorderen van activiteiten en onderzoek op het gebied van de electronische muziek, de nieuwe media, kunst en cultuur en voorts alles wat daarmee inde in de meest brede zin des woords verband houdt of daartoe bevorderlijk kan zijn.

[Annual Report 2021](https://portal.sonicacts.com/uploads/Sonic_Acts_Annual_Report_2021_38ba1ba1d3.pdf?updated_at=2022-10-12T08:18:44.351Z)\
[Annual Report 2022](https://portal.sonicacts.com/uploads/Sonic_Acts_Annual_Report2022_LR_81c55f78bd.pdf?updated_at=2023-09-14T14:58:52.187Z)\
[Annual Report 2023](https://portal.sonicacts.com/uploads/Sonic_Acts_Annual_Report_2023_10ca0867bc.pdf?updated_at=2024-11-27T16:47:31.474Z)

[Jaarrekening 2021](https://portal.sonicacts.com/uploads/Sonic_Acts_Jaarrekening_2021_c5c97ce666.pdf?updated_at=2023-04-11T11:23:29.806Z)\
[Jaarekening 2022](https://cms.sonicacts.com/uploads/Sonic_Acts_Jaarrekening_2022_79954f3f5c.pdf)\
[Jaarrekening 2023](https://portal.sonicacts.com/uploads/uploads/Sonic_Acts_Jaarrekening_2023_5cf5cd5027.pdf?updated_at=2024-10-15T13:22:57.836Z)

[Download het Standaardformulier publicatieplicht ANBI algemeen](https://cms.sonicacts.com/uploads/standaardform_pubplicht_anbi_algemeen_2023_900a94ce57.pdf?updated_at=2024-10-16T08:40:05.774Z).

[Hoofdlijnen beleidsplan](https://portal.sonicacts.com/uploads/25501789_f26cec10d2.pdf?updated_at=2023-04-11T11:25:54.092Z).


ANBI

We do not have any vacancies at this time.

Vacancies

Sonic Acts aims to provide a safe and open forum for everyone. We are committed to creating a positive experience for our audience and artists free of intimidation, harassment, discrimination, aggression, sexism, and threatening or disrespectful language or behaviour regardless of gender identity, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, race, ethnicity, or religion. 

We follow and uphold this Code of Conduct in everything we do and it applies to everyone involved – both working or visiting Sonic Acts events. We also communicate it to all participating artists, our employees, partners, and freelancers who work with us. 

Sonic Acts reserves the right to revoke access to events for those who engage in inappropriate behaviour. If someone reports a breach of this Code during our events or in our online spaces, we will work with the complainant to determine an appropriate response. Please notify our staff members or email us at [info@sonicacts.com](mailto:info@sonicacts.com).

Remember to…\
… encourage a safe environment free from harassment and discrimination\
… be actively inclusive and challenge all discriminatory behaviours\
… respect boundaries and be mindful that each person has different boundaries\
… be aware of and challenge your own prejudices and privileges\
… respect how people choose to identify\
… listen if someone challenges you about your own behaviour\
… take care of your health and safety\
… respect the privacy of others

Code of Conduct

These house rules apply to both Sonic Acts organisation and employees and the visitors of its events. When buying a ticket to our events you agree to the following conditions and instructions given by the (event) staff. For all cases and/or situations not provided for in the house rules, the organisation reserves the right to impose additional rules verbally and/or in writing to which the visitor is bound.
 
The regulations have been drawn up to ensure order and safety during events:
 
- If ticket irregularities are discovered, such as false and/or duplicate tickets, or an attempt to gain access without a valid ticket, access will be denied, and a report will be made to the police.
- Tickets purchased online are strictly personal and non-transferable. You may be asked to identify yourself with a valid ID.
- Entering the event site is entirely at the visitor's own risk. The organisation is not liable for any injuries or damage caused to visitors and/or visitors' goods. This also includes theft and loss.
- Bringing professional sound recording and video equipment is not permitted, unless accreditation has been agreed in writing with the organisation.
- It is not permitted to distribute flyers, undertake promotional activities or trade goods on or near the event site without consultation with the organisation.
- The judgment of the security staff is binding. If prohibited items are found, you will be handed over to the police. Confiscated items will not be returned.
- During Sonic Acts events photo and sound recordings are made. Upon arrival, visitors tacitly give the organisation permission to reproduce, make public and/or use these recordings for promotional purposes. Would you rather not have us use a photo of you? Please contact us at [info@sonicacts.com](mailto:info@sonicacts.com) and we will remove the photo(s) in question.
- The house rules of the location have priority over these rules. If there are no house rules, rules drafted here will apply.
- In the event of disruptive behaviour, Sonic Acts and/or the venue reserves the right to remove individuals, as well as deny further access to the site and/or to the Sonic Acts events for a specified or indefinite period of time on the basis of Article 138 of the Criminal Code and Sonic Acts Code of Conduct.

House Rules

If you have any questions for Sonic Acts, including press enquiries, booking proposals or shop-related queries, please contact us at the relevant email address:

info@sonicacts.com\
residency@sonicacts.com\
press@sonicacts.com\
shop@sonicacts.com\
bookings@sonicacts.com

Sonic Acts\
Weteringschans 6–8\
1017 SG Amsterdam\
The Netherlands