Amsterdam This Week: Making Room for Other Voices
A memorial wall, first-person accounts of homelessness and two events built around language and conversation give Amsterdam’s week an unusually attentive thread. Later, Halloween music and a Sunday chess event change the pace.
A place for names and testimony
Amsterdam begins the week with a difficult act of remembrance. AT5 reported on Monday, October 26, that Wall of Tears is due to go on display from Sunday, November 1, on Plein Theater’s side wall at Sajetplein, near Oosterpark. American artist Phil Buehler’s work, previously shown in New York, London and San Francisco, carries the names of 18,457 children killed in Gaza during the conflict. It also includes faces and scenes from graduations, birthdays and family gatherings. Plein Theater chose the quieter Sajetplein side of the building so people could stop and reflect away from the busier Mauritskade.
Another Amsterdam project is making space for people who are often discussed rather than heard. AT5 reported on October 26 that support workers Denice Kampinga and Jovanka de Boer use their free time to record conversations with people experiencing homelessness for their YouTube channel, Let them Speak. At Nieuwmarkt, they interviewed Jean-Claude, 37, who has lived on the street for around seven years. De Boer, who draws on her own experience of addiction, argues that current first-hand perspectives are too often absent from conversations about services and policy.
A midweek choice shaped by language
Vítor Sá is scheduled at Boom Chicago on Wednesday, October 28, at 20:30 CET. The performance will be entirely in Portuguese, a detail that makes this a particularly focused choice for Portuguese-speaking residents and visitors rather than a language-neutral theatre night. Admission is mobile-only. The organiser has not enabled ticket transfer or resale, though the event information says those functions may be activated closer to the date.
The weekend pick: programme plus conversation
The main weekend pick is NOFX: 40 Years of Fuckin’ Up (2026) + Q&A: El Hefe, scheduled for Friday, October 30, at 21:45 CET at Melkweg. The pairing of the named programme with a Q&A gives the evening a conversational component that distinguishes it from this week’s straightforward music listings. Doors are scheduled to open 30 minutes before the start. Entry uses a changing smartphone barcode, so a screenshot will not work; Cineville bookings require the pass to be scanned at the Melkweg box office.
Halloween after dark
For a much later Saturday option, Sumibu Halloween Night is scheduled at Club ANNIE on October 31 at 23:00 CET. Its Halloween date and late start set it apart from Friday’s Q&A programme and Wednesday’s Portuguese-language performance. The listing places the event in the music category and directs attendees to Melkweg for the detailed timetable. Admission is handled through an updating barcode on a smartphone rather than a static image.
A different kind of Sunday evening
Sunday brings a marked change of subject with The GothamChess Europe Tour 2026, scheduled for November 1 at 20:00 CET at Theater Amsterdam. Categorised as a sports event, it offers a chess-centred alternative to the week’s music and theatre choices. Admission is mobile-only, and the organiser has not enabled transfer or resale, although the listing says that may change closer to the event. Check each organiser’s latest timing and entry instructions before setting out.
Written with AI assistance from local reporting and organiser listings; event plans can change. Times in the story are local to the city.
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