Rotterdam

Rotterdam joined ICORN in 2016. In Rotterdam, Verhalenhuis Belvedère offers a home and a place to work for an artist in residence for a period of one year. The Syrian author Adnan Alaoda was the first author hosted, in 2017. Since June 2018, Hamed Ahmadi and his wife Mojde live in the Verhalenhuis Belvedère.

Since its foundation in 2012, Verhalenhuis Belvédère has become an institution for culture, narration and encounter in only a few years, known to many and loved for its atmosphere. Verhalenhuis (which means Storyhouse in Dutch) Belvedère is a welcoming and warm place for a huge variety of visitors, who enrich themselves with stories, impressions and memories, who listen, observe, experience and share. Belvédère is also loved for its typical Rotterdam atmosphere and its environment. It has its home base on Katendrecht, an area in Rotterdam with a unique history and character.  

Verhalenhuis Belvedère wants to connect as many people and cultures as possible both with each other and the city through art, culture and (personal) stories.

As the first ‘House of Stories’ in the Netherlands, it focuses on Rotterdammers of today with roots all over the world. Rotterdam’s population is characterized by great diversity: a multitude of ethnicities, religions, cultures and subcultures, interests and customs, in all kinds of combinations.

The cultural programme of Verhalenhuis Belvédère consists of exhibitions, performances, storytelling, discovery (city)tours, publications, events and ‘meet and eat’ gettogethers such as the ‘Folk Kitchen’, which combines food with culture. The form is always different, the method the same: welcoming, positive, personal and inspiring. 

Belvedere welcomes over 15.000 visitors per year, the programme consists of approximately 700 performances of any kind. Every month the artist in residence presents - together with Verhalenhuis Belvedère - the Al Rewaq programme, a breeding ground for cultural exchange and creativity, by first ICORN writer hosted, Adnan Aloada.

Hosted At Home Everywhere - The ICORN Network Meeting & PEN International WiPC Conference 2019

At Home Everywhere - The ICORN Network Meeting & PEN International WiPC Conference, Rotterdam/Verhalenhuis Belvedere May 2019.

The CIty of Rotterdam and the Verhalenhuis Belvedère hosted the 2019 ICORN Network Meeting & PEN International WiPC Conference, which gathered more than 300 writers, artists, human rights defenders, city representatives, civil society organisations from all over the world, together with Rotterdam local writers, artists and cultural actors.