About the space
Van Abbehuis is a house for contemporary art. The name is derived from the history of the space, located in the former residential villa of the Van Abbe family across from their museum. The exhibitions and public programme don’t operate separately, but relate through the rooms that take shape through the public domain. The infrastructure of the space guides the way in which the exhibitions and residencies are carried out: the multifunctional spaces with architectural elements are based on the former residential function: a gallery space, a working office, a library, a café, and a garden. On the top floors, studio’s of different local artists are housed.
About the building
The Van Abbehuis was built in 1919 by cigar manufacturer Henri Van Abbe. He and his family used it as their home, across the street from the museum they founded. Initially, the house was named Berthenja, after father Henri and his sons Albert and Jan; later, with Albert as its last resident, it became the Albert van Abbe House. Over the years, Henri placed works by renowned artists that he had collected in the house and factory. Various elements reflecting the building’s past can be found throughout the rooms. Latticework, stained glass by Toon Berg, and historic crackle floors are examples of the building’s original character. Commercial rental of the various rooms is negotiable; please contact us for the possibilities.
Stichting AVA
In 1957, Van Abbehuis was left as a residence. Albert van Abbe donated the building to the municipality on the condition that it be used for cultural purposes. Since 2021, the AVA Foundation has managed the building at Bilderdijklaan 19 in Eindhoven. After the renovation in 2026, which will preserve the original details, the Van Abbehuis will be further developed into an open and lively meeting place for art and culture in the city. The program is supported by multi-year subsidies from the municipality of Eindhoven, the province, and various national cultural funds.
Bilderdijklaan 19
5611 NG Eindhoven
www.vanabbehuis.nl
Open
Thu–Sun 13:00–17:00
Cultuur Eindhoven (structural)
Cultuurfonds (incidental)
Levendig Brabant (incidental)
Mondriaanfonds (incidental)
Iris Desauw-Gorgen education & volunteers
Agustina Gutierrez Lama marketing & communication
Fréderique Scholtes director
Jori Mulders secretary
Hanneke van den Nieuwenhof board member
Hans Robertus board member
Rob Verhaar chair (interim)
Kimiya Jahanshahi curatorial intern
Maxime Lehnen intern education
Mika Scheepsma intern communication
Victoria Alos, Cisza de Buck, Hazal Caf, Adara Cheles, Edith Dongelmans, Ingrid Fokken, Chantal Goddery, Anja Han, Anne Henry, Diet de Kock, Kristel Kouwenberg, Linda Krauze, Kuan Ling Liu, Jayanthi Rao Hosbett Ramesh, Maxine Rietveld, Olesya Shinkorenko, Zulfiyya Valiyeva, Helma Veugen, Rogier Walrecht, Chen-Yu Wang, Theo Zanders
1 Billiard room
Café Wednesday is an ongoing program line of the Van Abbehuis that explores and activates the social dimension of contemporary art. The initiative is based on the work of Tom Marioni – founder of what later became known as “social art” – and approaches the café space as a discursive place for facilitation and observation. Within Café Wednesday, the former billiard room is used as a temporary social infrastructure where artists, collectives, initiatives, institutions, and the public come together on Wednesdays with a successive changing program.
2 Library
Index is the library of Van Abbehuis: a hybrid environment that functions as a library, reading and writing space, and documentation center. In collaboration with artists, writers, residents, students, and publishers, work is being done on both a response to institutional collections and personal archives – in the period 2026–2027 in collaboration with artist Marijn van Kreij and designer Akiko Wakabayashi. The space offers room for book presentations, small-scale discussions, lectures, and an annual book market, in 2025 in collaboration with MuHKA: The Book Lovers by David Maroto and Joanna Zielińska.
3 Study
Room for Improvement is the residency space of the Van Abbehuis. Artists are invited to a setting explicitly intended to enable them to respond reflexively to the urban, social, and cultural environment from an overarching practice. In 2026, Moe Mustafa will take residency here, working towards a project with Gabi Dao, Jakub Jansa, Marcos Kueh, and Stijn Peeters. The visibility from the street, with the space functioning as an entrance, aims to stimulate exchange between artists, the public, and local residents.
4 Salon
Five exhibitions are realized annually in the hybrid exhibition space, developed by curator & director Fréderique Scholtes in close collaboration with artists, curators, restagings, and partners. Instead of thematic programming with artworks as the end product, exhibitions are based on the principle of the ‘test site’ and the artwork or interpretation as a proposition, research question, or intervention in the space, to which a response is required.
5 Public Affairs
Public Affairs is Van Abbehuis’ program outside its walls, such as participation in regional and national projects such as Kunstvlaai, Het Zuid Manifest, Abby, and the Raise Your Voice fellowship program with Baltan Laboraties’ Yi Zhang, Eshwari Ramsali, Mikolaj Stojanowicz, and Valerio Arsenio.
Volunteers
The members of the board do not receive remuneration. The AVA Foundation rewards employees in accordance with the Richtlijn functie- en loongebouw presentatie-instellingen and is affiliated with dezaaknu. We ask volunteers to sign the model code of conduct for volunteers as drawn up by Vereniging Nederlandse Organisaties Vrijwilligerswerk (NOV). In addition to reimbursement of expenses, volunteers receive a volunteer allowance of maximum €5/hour, €210/month, and €2.100/year.
Annual Reports
ANBI Information
Statutory name: Stichting AVA
RSIN/fiscal number 862 546 874
KVK number: 82 637 237
Bank: ING Bank
IBAN: NL49 INGB 0007 265 505
Postal address:
Hondsruglaan 8
5629 GA Eindhoven
Visiting address:
Bilderdijklaan 19
5611 NG Eindhoven
E-mail:
info@vanabbehuis.nl
