As part of our journey away from Meta, we’re teaming up with Planetart to curate and host the 

. The Assembly brings together talks, workshops, and screenings during a day-long program spread across different festival locations.

Here, we’ll question the role of social media in how we communicate, organize, share, and engage. We ask communication professionals, artists, researchers, and filmmakers about their practices and visions of the internet of the future. Perhaps they can inspire your own transition!

Creatives and artists are raising urgent questions about decentralized platforms, digital gardens, and alternative networks that offer freedom but reduce visibility. If you leave socials would you vanish into silence? Is there another way to exist online, to be seen, to connect? Together we’ll imagine what else is possible, how to build new ecosystems outside the mainstream scroll.

Assembly of A-social Behavior, from 12:00 to 20:15

Imaginary Social Media zine making
At Wirelab

“Mobilizing in a 'Post-Social Media' era” 


At Muziekcafé Metropool

13:00 to 17:00 (ongoing installation)


AR SWOT analysis by Merlin Marski supported by Tetem

“Facebook Museum – Bringing the end closer together” 


At Muziekcafé Metropool

14:30 to 16:30
Game 

A game where everyone is the DM, in which we question social media dependency.
At Wirelab

17:00 to 18:00
Screening + Q&A 

, documentary
At Concordia Theaterzaal

19:00 to 20:15
Panel Battle

 with Kendal Beynon, Marissa Memelink, Roland Duong, Roos Groothuizen, Guido Bertling, Marie Janin. 


📍 At multiple festival locations
Part symposium, part playground, part digital exorcism.

 all across Enschede. Stay tuned, more info coming soon here and on 

Assembly of A-Social Behavior x GOGBOT

is a short film festival showcasing a wide variety of underground, experimental & art house films. It's aim is to provide a platform for (emerging) filmmakers to showcase their work, celebrate creativity and connect communities through short films.
Initiated by Sickhouse, the festival is now for the second year a collaboration between Sickhouse, Concordia and Theatermakerij.


More than 70 films curated in 10 blocks over the weekend, from 

, the selection brings together professional and amateur filmmakers from all over the world. Expect films you won't see anywhere else: raw, funny, daring and moving.

Young filmmakers get the chance to present fresh work and connect with other professionals. At the same time, audiences can enjoy a fun, alternative film program and meet a diverse range of creators.


The festival host a mockumentary workshop (NL), a professional meetup and an award ceremony. All designed to spark encounters, conversations and celebrate short film culture.

KO(O)RTS will take place at there locations: Concordia, Theatermakerij and bar 5ifty 7even.


: Friday 26 & Saturday 27 September
🕡 

 for updates, sneak peeks, and festival vibes.

KO(O)RTS - Short Film Festival

This week Shaman Garage is presenting their new project, 

, an arcade machine inspired by slot machines and social media! This project is supported by Cross-Tic, Planetart and Sickhouse.



 is an installation that tricks its users to invest time in a simple yet addictive game. Through this altar, players worship a living imagery that demands frustration, competition, and obsession. It will keep you wanting to start over, never leaving the machine. Shaman garage invites us to “play” at instagram. Is it fun? Using classical game mechanics “difficulty levels, frustrations and rewards” 

 highlights how these are very close to the ones used on social media platforms and how they become addictive. 

In this playful installation, Shaman Garage wanted to reflect on the context we understand social media, the narratives it generates and the behaviors it forces on us. While the arcade reproduces the addictive mechanics of money driven social media, fooling the players in mini feedback loops; it is also presented as an object of worship, revealing the internet folklore as a treasure from the past, a complex and fascinating mythology. 
Shaman garage conducted an archival exercise, realising that the memesphere needs careful hands to preserve its symbols, icons and narratives. 

“Memes privilege emotion and vitality over reason and accuracy; they reward the absurd and the exaggerated. This is precisely why we want to “rescue” them, to preserve their value.”


 at GOGBOT from Thursday 17 to Sunday 21 September in the Oude Kerk. (more info about GOGBOT on 

 will be part of the arcade corner of the new location of Sickhouse. Stay tuned for the reopening beginning 2026!

LOOPSCROLL is a project by 

 . The arcade was created by Pablo San Gregorio, Ivan McGill, Pako Portalo and Yuxuan Zhao.
This project is possible thanks to 

A new arcade machine by Shaman Garage

SICKHOUSE is a PLAYFUL ART SPACE presenting games, interactive art and participatory projects to look critically into the (digital) transformation of our society! 

Frontpage 

We are getting there!
During the summer, the clean up of the asbestos started and it should be ready over September. The front of the building is now clean and we are able to restart the renovation of this part including the front area and the upstairs residency! 

We are very excited to get back on to work but this delay has had a huge impact on our programs : we have to focus on permit and renovation for now. For the coming months we will only host our monthly Colliders meet-ups and our bi-weekly Table tops nights at Grensfrequentie.

Of course all help is welcome! We will be sharing our planning soon to include the community in the renovation process. We will also launch a crowdfunding in October to help us with the last phase to open the doors of the new location! Join the adventure to reopen Sickhouse together!

New Sickhouse + Crowdfunding

On Saturday July 5th, seven amazing student teams from the 

Creative Media and Game Technologies (CMGT) 

course at Saxion presented their final projects — each inspired by this year’s Overkill Festival theme: Return to Dreamland!

Every year, we collaborate with CMGT to develop games based on the festival theme. At the end of the process, the Sickhouse team makes a special selection of standout projects — and the audience also gets to vote for their favorite, which will be featured during the festival!

Throughout the afternoon, visitors and fellow creators had the chance to 

, experiencing everything from puzzles and immersive narratives to experimental play styles and even alternative controllers. The creativity and quality this year were truly inspiring.

After playing, each team gave a presentation about their development process — sharing their concepts, challenges, and breakthroughs. It’s worth noting that these games were developed in just 

, making the results even more impressive.

It was no easy task to choose, but three projects stood out:


A 2D puzzle-platformer where players take on the roles of a girl and a spirit, navigating a dreamland shaped by personal anxieties. By restoring the lights, they work together to find a way to wake up.


Step into the dreams of siblings Emma and Kase, who find themselves in a surreal meadow filled with fear-encapsulating bubbles. Using handheld fans and help from friendly creatures, the goal is to merge the fears and let them go in one spectacular pop.

🔹 OOSOOM (Out of Sight, Out of Mind) – by Team EEEEE


A game about dreaming objects into existence. One player becomes a cat, the other a bird with a light in its beak. By using and hiding the light, the players guide each other through four dreamy sleep cycles.

OOSOOM was not only selected by the Sickhouse team but also won the

 for lending a location for the event, and of course the visitors who playtested and voted for the audience award.

We’re excited to bring these games — and their dream-filled worlds — to life again at 

CMGT dreamland game selection for The Overkill Festival 

📣 🫣 🚧 While you want to hear about games, dreams and celebration, here some news about delays, money and toxic fiber…

🏠 We knew it, finding a space as a cultural organisation would be a test of our ability to adapt. And since we really started looking back in 2023 we developed quite some skills to defeat the challenges. Two years ago we grabbed all our things and moved out of our top floor space leaving a building scheduled for demolition 🏨 (of course it is still standing…empty). Then we got forced into a 🚚 📦 nomadic limbo for more than a year, after discovering the temporary space that was given to us was standing on rotting foundations 🏚️ . And we worked that out with the wonderful support of so many local partners! (eternal love ❤️‍🔥).

While hosting our hoping events, we secured multi-year funding 💰🎉 for our unique program 🕹️🎞️ 🔉 and imagined multiple business plans ✖️ ‼️ ➰ to make ourselves fit in potential spaces. It seemed hard enough to find a new location, fighting in a real estate world where culture often loses to profit. But we made it! We worked out a deal (thanks to

) to afford commercial rent, signed a lease and we really believed May would be the beginning of a new era for us. We finally had a home again, a space for our caring community, wonderful playful artists, game-makers, queer and engaging people… ✨ 🎉 👐

… 🔥 💥 But... Welcome to level expert where the boss is ugly, sneaky and it eats money! Welcome to ASBESTOS ! 😰 ☠️ 💩

We wanted so much to be home, to paint our walls, moving in our colourful chaos, and opening doors this September. Instead, we discovered that the new location hosts this infamous wonder-material from the 60’s, once praised for insulation and now known for... giving people cancer.

We wish we could share different news, telling you about the arcade corner 💚 we will set up, the new sign for our cinema 🧡, the games 🩷 we are planning to showcase, the artists 💜 we are so much looking forward to working with…
But today we needed to share this before hopefully soon share the concrete steps in front of us! We’ll definitely need your help, we believe what we are trying to do is beautiful, relevant, sick and necessary. We won't be opening in September as planned and we’re not yet sure when we can open...

Sickhouse always loved challenges, may this one be the final boss before welcoming you all! 🥷 💪 🙅‍♀️ 🧞‍♀️ 🏋 🦄 🌈


Sickhouse won't be open open in September yet

On Saturday, May 24, the Ultimate IndieMash playful contest was broadcast live from Enschede to the world! Ten contestants showcased their projects through creative and humorous performances, and then joined each other for a chaotic, joyful play session led by none other than the Game Goblin.

And finally, the winning project was... 🥁🥁🥁 

: an open-source electromechanical game console with a wonderfully odd display, designed for creating and playing circular video games. Fully conceived and built in Argentina by 

Best of all, we will have Ventilistation at the next Overkill Festival! Where we will be able to talk with its creator, Alecu, and play some spinning games. If you're curious, remember to come to The Overkill, celebrated every year in Enschede, where you'll find our exhibition of alternative games and playful art.

🌐 Learn more about Ventilastation here

Ventilastation: the winner of the Ultimate IndieMash


Are you between 16 and 25 years old, and have you always dreamt of making your own short movie? Join us in this two-week Summer Film Camp! 



🎥 Open to young, curious minds eager to dive into the world of DIY filmmaking. You will learn about scenarios, storyboard, decors, filming, acting, editing, sound design and much more! 

✨ Together, we will make a short film from beginning to end. It will be experimental, it will be collective, and it will be full of improvisation! The finished movie will be premiered at 

, Sickhouse Short Film Festival in September.

🎬 You can sign up by sending an email with a short motivational letter/video/animation to Aike, where you tell us a bit about yourself, your favourite movie, what you like about films and what you are looking for in the Film Camp. The application deadline is the 16th of June. 




July 14th - 27th 
In and around Enschede
€ free! 
Sign up before June 16th to aike@sickhouse.nl



Please note that Sickhouse can't provide a place to stay or travel costs

Ben jij tussen de 16 en 25 jaar oud, en heb je altijd gedroomd van je eigen korte film? Doe mee met deze twee weken durend Summer Film Camp!



🎥 Het programma is open voor jonge, nieuwsgierige mensen die gemotiveerd zijn de wereld van DIY (doe-het-zelf) filmmaken in te duiken. Je leert over scenario’s, storyboards, decors, film, acteren, editing, sound design en meer!

✨ Samen maken we een korte film van begin tot eind. Vol experiment en vol improvisatie! De uiteindelijke film gaat in premiere tijdens het KO(O)RTS Short Film Festival in september.

🎬 Je kan je aanmelden door een email met een korte motivatie (text, video, animatie) naar Aike te sturen, waar je een beetje over jezelf vertelt, je favoriete film, wat je zo tof vindt aan films, en wat je verwacht van het filmcamp. De deadline om je aan te melden is 16 juni!




14 - 27 juli
In en rondom Enschede
€ gratis! 
Meld je voor 16 juni aan via aike@sickhouse.nl



Houd er rekening mee dat Sickhouse niet in een overnachtingsplek of reiskosten kan voorzien.

News
A new arcade machine by Shaman Garage

News
New Sickhouse + Crowdfunding

News
CMGT dreamland game selection for The Overkill Festival

News
Sickhouse won't be open open in September yet

News
Ventilastation: the winner of the Ultimate IndieMash

News
SICKHOUSE FILMCAMP - Make Your Own Short Movie

Upcoming Events

Gallery

NewsA new arcade machine by Shaman Garage

NewsNew Sickhouse + Crowdfunding

NewsCMGT dreamland game selection for The Overkill Festival

NewsSickhouse won't be open open in September yet

NewsVentilastation: the winner of the Ultimate IndieMash

NewsSICKHOUSE FILMCAMP - Make Your Own Short Movie