Discover Rotterdam after dark at Kunsthal Rotterdam

What happens in Rotterdam when daylight disappears and the city lights up? Who is still moving through the streets, which places stay awake and what stories unfold while most of the city is sleeping?

From 17 October 2026 until 7 February 2027, Kunsthal Rotterdam presents Drawn: Rotterdam! Three Rotterdam city illustrators – Tessa Biemans, Peyman Fazeli and Steef Offerhaus – each show their own perspective on Rotterdam at night.

Rotterdam after dark

Over the past months, the three city illustrators headed out into Rotterdam to capture the theme of ‘night in motion’. Their works offer glimpses into the many faces of the city after dark, from nightlife and passing ambulances to taxi drivers, graffiti writers and late-night snack bar staff.

Three artists, three views of the Rotterdam night

Tessa Biemans creates atmospheric chalk drawings that together form a mosaic of Rotterdam at night. Dancing crowds, the flashing lights of a passing ambulance and the moonlit Nieuwe Maas are combined with mysterious scenes and supernatural figures.

Peyman Fazeli works on a black background, using pencil and charcoal to bring light into the darkness. Glowing clouds, streetlights and bright spotlights allow different scenes to emerge from the night.

Steef Offerhaus, who previously worked as a designer and organiser in Rotterdam’s club scene, followed different communities into the night, including taxi drivers, graffiti writers and snack bar staff. He translated these experiences into colourful, psychedelic collages.

Rotterdam’s city illustrators

Rotterdam has a long tradition of city illustrators documenting changes in the city. Stadsarchief Rotterdam commissioned artists for decades, and in 2018 the tradition was revived in collaboration with CBK Rotterdam.

After the exhibition, the works by Biemans, Fazeli and Offerhaus will become part of the collection of Stadsarchief Rotterdam.