Archival tigers and other beasts: open house at the IISH
On Saturday 4 October, the IISH will be open to anyone who would like to get to know the IISH better. This year marks our 90th anniversary, and there is plenty to see and do at the IISH for young and old alike. Join a guided tour of the archive depot, take part in a creative workshop and view some very special archive material.
The open day ties in with the theme of this year's History Month: “Natural”. And in the 90 years that the IISH has been in existence, nature has been well represented in our archives. Here's what you can do:
- Join a guided tour of the archives.
- Create your own artwork with leaves and flowers in a cyanotype workshop organised by the Grafische Werkplaats Amsterdam. This historical technique, also known as blueprinting, allows you to make photographic prints. At the end of the workshop, you can take your artwork home with you!
- Take a pedal boat to the floating islands near the IISG and learn more about the vision of their creator, Robert Jasper Grootveld, whose archives are managed by us.
- You can also watch Nico Boink's film Drijfland, which is about these floating gardens.
- Visit one of our mini-exhibitions with “natural” material from our collections. We are displaying the herbariums (collections of dried plants) of the revolutionary Rosa Luxemburg (1871-1919), the anarchist historian Max Nettlau (1865-1944) and Provo and activist politician Roel van Duijn (1943), as well as a book with drawings of tulips from the seventeenth century. We also show the archives of climate movements such as Greenpeace, as well as the Vegetarian Society (founded in 1894). A unique opportunity to see this material!
- Go on safari and discover what creatures live (or want to live) in our archives – from Dutch silverfish to bird feathers from New Guinea. There will also be a lecture on fungi that love old archive material.
- Become a researcher with your (grand)children and go on a treasure hunt through archives about Greenpeace and seals, Animal Day and collections of buttons from all kinds of environmental organisations.
- You can make your own buttons.
Good to know
- A guided tour starts every hour (so 12:00, 13:00 etc.). The tour lasts approximately 45 minutes.
- The cyanotype workshop starts at 12:30 and 14:30. However, you can also join in between the workshops to create your own work.
- At 13:30 and 14:30, Jan Dijksterhuis from the Westerdijk Institute will give a lecture on the fungi that (want to) nestle in our archive material.
- At 15:00, the film Drijfland will be screened.
- The IISG is wheelchair accessible.
Practical
Date 4 October 2025
Time 12:00 - 17:00
Location Cruquiusweg 31, Amsterdam
Admission Free. You can just walk in, but it would be very helpful for the organisers if you could send an email to let them know you are coming. You can do so via event@iisg.nl.
Collaborations
Grafische Werkplaats Amsterdam: GWA offers courses in various traditional techniques such as letterpress, lino, woodcut and bookbinding, for adults and children. More information can be found on their website.
Raft builders: The raft builders of Amsterdam create floating gardens that give the Eastern Islands more greenery and biodiversity. They build rafts according to the principles of Robert Jasper Grootveld. More information can be found on their website.
Westerdijk Institute: The Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute is a research institute that conducts research into fungi and their biodiversity. They have an extensive collection of living fungi and associated metadata that is frequently used. More information can be found on their website.
