SATURDAY 5 NOVEMBER
Museums in Amsterdam, 19.00-02.00, €17.50

Another year, another night, another Museumnacht. Yip, despite an unaffiliated PR stunt declaring 2010 to be the final in its line, the annual cultural event is back, bigger than ever. Forty-five museums are onboard this year, proposing an array of music, performance, dance, art, alcohol and more.

Having written about Museumnacht for numerous years and acted as a programming judge last year, I recommend just a few hearty rules to stick by.

1. Go to more than one museum. Many people don’t. They’re missing out.

2. Don’t go to five museums. Even with a pass that lets you skip the queues, five museums is an exhausting challenge if you intend to make the most of the programming.

3. Don’t be afraid of the bigger museums that attract queues. Just catch them earlier or later when there’s less waiting time.

As for programming tips…

Scheepvaartmuseum

It’s been closed for renovations for years, but it’s back and it’s where this year’s party officially launches – hopefully with a bottle of champagne crashing onto the hull. ‘Sonic Architecture’ is the theme, and from 6.30pm visitors can enjoy a 360 degree soundscape designed by Robin Koek.

Foam

Covering the future of photography (with Jefferson Hack, Lauren Cornell, Erik Kessels and Alison Nordstrom) and the future of objects in a handy 3D printing workshop. Subbacultcha! people will also be on hand to make good noise and bad noise. (Don’t forget that there are multiple Foam locations at the moment.)

Van Gogh Museum

One of the bigger names and bigger queues, but not a museum to be taken for granted. Their Friday Night programmes mean the museum is experienced at mixing up their exhibitions with other cultural entertainments. This year ties in with their Snapshot collection, so be sure to have fun with their camera obscura experiments. Plus there’s live music from Capeman and Renkas – one of which you’re likely to find interesting.

Castrum Peregrini

This former WWII hideaway is now an intellectual playground. The actors of ‘Het Geluid’ will be working hard all night, there’s authentic wartime beer, plus live contemporary classical music.

NIMk

This wonderful yet threatened museum of the digital arts has been criticised in the past for not fully branching out of its known ‘friends circle’ for Museumnacht, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a fine time here. You can build a little robot from a toothbrush, experience the new world of CrowdDJing (but you may have to dance in public), and there’s music from Atom TM, the DNK folks and some, erm, fruit.

For the complete programme see www.n8.nl.