De Facto

Event

Van de Kaart Mimik Deventer 16 September 2026, Mimik

Gateways of Europe (NL)

The European external border is the deadliest and most violent border in the world, an estimated 2,000 people die here each year. Border control is in the hands of the member states; the European agency Frontex supports them and is responsible for monitoring. Frontex is expected to defend European values while simultaneously implementing an increasingly harsh migration policy. In the four-part documentary series Gateways of Europe, we see how the paper reality clashes with the daily reality at our borders. For this series documentary filmmakers Eefje Blankevoort, Els van Driel and Tomas Kaan were granted three years of access to Frontex: the European border agency that has come under fire in recent years due to human rights violations. They also followed key figures outside the agency who critically monitor the organization and its border policy.

Visible on Dutch broadcaster VPRO if you're in the Netherlands and if you use a VPN. | 10 Aug 2026

Articles

Feature Somaliland

Tourists as Ambassadors of a non-recognised Nation

Most maps don’t mark out Somaliland. But going there is getting easier. The self-declared republic, an autonomous region of Somalia, hopes that international visitors will function as de facto ambassadors to the non-recognised nation.

Aron Goossens | 6 Jul 2026

Feature

No Place Like Home

For Roma youth, belonging is not a place on a map — it is memory, music, and the recognition of a cousin you have never met.

Nina Yaminah Daneshvar | 2 Jul 2026

Review Kalakuta Republic

An Inside View Of Kalakuta Republic

Much has been written about Fela Kuti’s music and activism, but seldom do we get such a vivid view behind the walls of his Kalakuta Republic as in the new podcast series, Fear No Man.

Leendert van der Valk | 21 May 2026

Past event

Off the Map at De Richel, Amsterdam

With music from Ukrainian born Alex Tugushin about borders that turn into battlefields and documentary photographer Rachel Corner on trees that foreshadow and facilitate colonization. Further: graphic designer Floor Koomen on Nutopia, journalist Jorie Horsthuis on Hormuz and a quiz by researcher Suzanne Hendriks.

Suzanne Hendriks | 10 May 2026

Past event

Off the Map #2 at AINSI

With writer Philip Dröge about Moresnet, a musical experiment by Daan Soenens and his band, some nutopian imagining by graphic designer Floor Koomen and journalist Jorie Horsthuis about her visit to the Strait of Hormuz. And as always, a nerdy quiz by researcher Suzanne Hendriks.

Suzanne Hendriks | 15 Apr 2026

Feature

Waiting On the Water

A boat rests quietly on the calm waters of Haarlem, in the Netherlands. From afar, it might look like any ordinary vessel. But inside, it holds stories of loss, survival, and the heavy weight of uncertainty. ‘Waiting is a quiet battle. You wake up every morning not knowing what your future will be.’

Fanuael Hailemariam | 9 Apr 2026

Place of the week Ceuta & Melilla

Ceuta and Melilla

Ceuta and Melilla are Spanish exclaves on the north coast of Africa, separated from the Spanish mainland by the Strait of Gibraltar and the Mediterranean Sea. The government of Morocco has repeatedly called for Spain to transfer the sovereignty of Ceuta and Melilla, together with the rest of the Spanish plazas de soberanía on the North African coast to Morocco. Morocco has claimed that the territories are colonies.

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Hotel Europe at Fenix, Rotterdam (NL)

Mail! Maps! Travelling without moving! We love all of this. This Summer, Fenix, the Rotterdam art museum about migration, is showcasing Hotel Europe on their central square. This artwork, by Harald Vlugt consist of four large tables that form a giant map of Europe. Up close, you see that the map consists of hundreds of envelopes. The artist has sent out these envelopes, back in 1997. Some got delivered, some didn’t. Next to the artwork, there is a special table that functions as a global mailbox. At the kiosk, you can buy a postcard and a Fenix stamp. Take a seat, write a summer greeting and send it out into the world.

3 Aug 2026

Europe

De Facto recommends

K-Scar

This week, on the 27th of July, it’s 73 years ago since the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed, marking the still existing ceasefire between South and North Korea. The border between the two Koreas is a fascinating place that caught the attention of journalist Roland de Courson. He has been exploring the inter-Korean border, its history, landscapes, and the people living in its shadow and made K-Scar: A Journey Along the Korean Division. We recommend diving into this interesting online documentary project exploring everything border-related .

25 Jul 2026

De Facto recommends

Bonnefanten is presenting Malina Suliman

In The Studio #11, Bonnefanten in Maastricht (NL) is presenting Malina Suliman, a visual artist in exile, who sees her work as an instrument of social and political criticism. The exhibition includes an installation of two large maps of the world, through which she addresses themes like forced migration, violence and the idea of borders versus borderlessness. From June 13 till September 6.

Bonnefanten | 13 Jun 2026

De Facto recommends Kurdistan

Qaqnas

What does freedom mean for women today? Qaqnas is a powerful, musical ode to that question. In this new opera, made by composer Huba de Graaff and Dutch-Kurdish singer-songwriter Naaz, voice, electronics and resistance take centre stage. To be seen between 11-14 June at the Holland Festival in Amsterdam (NL).

Holland Festival | 4 Jun 2026

De Facto recommends

Designing the Nation State

Nationalism is the most influential ideology of the modern world. Even those who don’t eat an orange tompouce on King’s Day understand what ‘typically Dutch’ directness or gezelligheid means. And who could possibly imagine a world without passports, borders and citizenship? Go and watch this exhibition until 20 September 2026 in Design Museum Den Bosch (NL).

Design Museum Den Bosch | 20 Apr 2026

De Facto recommends

Dear stranger with Ece Temelkuran

A conversation with Turkish writer Ece Temelkuran about her personal experience of exile, and the political realities shaping our present moment. With an installation by Studio Julian Hetzel, where the audience is invited to the imaginary Embassy of The Untitled States to experience a series of encounters with strangers. April 22, de Balie (Amsterdam, NL).

De Balie | 15 Apr 2026

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