Jury report City Drawing Artists 2026

As darkness falls, Rotterdam's character changes. The port continues to operate. The metro runs lighter and emptier. Night owls and shift workers gather at a spring roll stall on Weena. Some neighborhoods fade away, others are just beginning to glow. The city's rhythm shifts.

With the theme Night in motion The Rotterdam City Archives, Kunsthal Rotterdam, and CBK Rotterdam invited artists to explore and depict this nocturnal realm. Who moves through the city while others sleep? Who works, who seeks connection, who watches, who wanders? Which places remain awake, and which stories unfold in the dark?

The call for proposals yielded 51 submissions. The jury was impressed by the quality and diversity of the proposals. The focus on the theme was striking. Many artists submitted concretely detailed plans, some of which already included sketches or initial field studies. The theme proved less abstract than in previous years and generated considerable engagement.

The judging process repeatedly posed the question: does this work truly depart from the night? Is the nocturnal perspective essential, or merely a backdrop? And is this Rotterdam, or could it just as easily have taken place in another city? In the discussions, another question increasingly came to the forefront: who dares to truly experience the night? The night is not a clear-cut terrain. It is complex, contradictory, and sometimes uncomfortable. Celebration and fatigue coexist. Freedom and labor. Connectedness and isolation. The jury sought creators who don't smooth over this complexity, but make it visible.

It was also notable that several applicants used digital tools (AI) to write their cover letters. This is not a problem. Writing isn't everyone's primary tool. Yet, the jury observed that the most genuine engagement often resonates in one's own language, however imperfect. Ultimately, it's all about drawing: the ability to truly capture an atmosphere, an experience, or a reality on paper.

Balance in approach

In the interviews, the jury sought a balance of styles and perspectives. The night has many faces: rugged and raw, dark and dramatic, but also quiet, dreamy, and intimate. We sought a contrast between stillness and energy, between contemplation and immediacy. Not a single image of the night, but a layered whole.

Ultimately, the jury selected three artists who complement and challenge each other. Their work differs significantly in tone and technique, but together they offer a broad and rich perspective on Rotterdam at night.

Peyman Fazeli

Peyman Fazeli works with white charcoal on black paper. This choice isn't an effect, but a way of seeing. In his work, darkness carries the weight of the city, and light becomes a means of directing attention. What becomes visible is often what goes unnoticed during the day.

The jury was struck by the substantive focus of his proposal. Fazeli explores how infrastructure, inclusivity, and urban memory manifest themselves at night. His nocturnal walks and photographic field notes form a solid foundation for a focused series of drawings.

His work is tranquil and precise. Bridges, facades, and empty spaces become vehicles of meaning. Where others seek the night in movement and encounter, Fazeli shows how it too is a space of attention and memory.

Tessa Biemans

Tessa Biemans places people at the center. In her watercolors and pastel drawings, she explores how people move at night and the emotions they unleash. The jury was enthusiastic about her poetic and dreamy visual language, which at the same time has clear urban roots.

The combination of watercolor and chalk gave her work a unique quality previously unseen in urban artistry. Movement, color, and atmosphere converge in intimate scenes. The night appears as a space for release and longing, but also for loneliness and disappointment.

Where Fazeli draws the city in lines of light, Biemans shows what happens between people when the darkness offers protection and freedom.

Steef Offerhaus

Steef Offerhaus approaches the night as an ecosystem. He aims to follow the diverse groups that keep the city running while others sleep: nightlife enthusiasts, taxi drivers, dockworkers, shift workers, the homeless, and subcultures that manifest themselves after dark.

The jury appreciated his intrinsic engagement and direct connection to nightlife. His proposal is ambitious and energetic. The visual language is distinct and sometimes explicit. He depicts parts of the night that often remain hidden, consciously venturing outside his comfort zone. It was precisely this boldness that was considered valuable.

Where Fazeli is quiet and Biemans softens, Offerhaus brings energy and rawness. Together they demonstrate that the night is not a one-dimensional atmosphere, but a complex network of people, systems, and experiences.

The night as a full-fledged domain

The City Artists of 2026 collectively depict a night that is ambiguous. They contrast silence and energy, architecture and intimacy, labor and desire. What unites them is a clear intrinsic motivation and a recognizable signature style.

The jury is convinced that their work will not only document Rotterdam at night, but also open new perspectives on a part of the city that is often experienced, but rarely consciously considered. Night proves to be not a shadow of the day, but a fully-fledged part of the city.

Rotterdam, March 3, 2026

On behalf of the jury City Artists 2026:
Anna de Bruyn (Rotterdam City Archives), Erika Hokke (Rotterdam City Archives),
Pris Roos (artist), David Snels (Kunsthal Rotterdam),
Thys Boer (Night Mayor Rotterdam), Cindy Stegeman (Art Office, part of CBK Rotterdam), Ove Lucas (CBK Rotterdam)