A recap of the Ahreum Lees workshop "In the name of the moon" written by Marsha van Leersum

, Sickhouse became a nesting ground of heroes and guardians fighting against the power of microaggression. Artist Ahreum Lee (She/her) hosted a three-part workshop in which a group of participants developed weapons from E-textiles and recycled materials to articulate, uncloak and explore the theme of microaggressions.

When I first came across this workshop, my curiosity was sparked by the idea that fighting microaggressions can be kindled and transformed through creative resistance. Combining both technology and social injustices, I was intrigued to understand how a “weapon” could be built to defend against microaggressions. How can these subtle yet often unintentional slights and comments to be shaped into moments of awareness and connection rather than conflict?

Before diving into the forging of the heroes and guardians against microaggression:
What actually defines a microaggression? The term describes subtle, unintentional, yet discriminatory insults targeted at marginalized groups. They can apply to gender, sexuality, culture, religion, or disability. They come from implicit biases and appear on a daily basis, but it’s not explicitly meant as an insult. Making it a “micro” aggression is the quantity of “small” comments and its repetitiveness laying the foundation of the hurt. If 9 out of 10 comments regard people applying the same reaction or comment, it reinforces a bias. Even if the comment isn’t directly about you - isn’t meant to hurt you - you are affected by it.

“

The workshop series was cut into two parts. The first part was a two-day workshop on the 11th and 12th of July, and the second part on the 25th of July. At the first workshop, we started off sharing the meaning and lived experience of microaggressions. Following up, building a wearable sound device created from the lived experience of the participants.

The first day, the group was asked to explore and discuss our understandings and experiences regarding microaggressions. Laying the basis of our heroes’ origins.
Working in groups of four, we collectively shared microaggressions our loved ones and we face in our daily lives. Some stories were about daily comments at work. Feeling silenced by the judgement of coworkers. Others were grounded in the anxiety of wondering if choices of sportswear would make someone a target of violence in public space.

The microaggression I shared was the routine of misgendering. When - in passing conversation- I explain or correct a person my preferred pronounce, I am often met by comments regarding “not looking the part” (applying a stereotype on what non-binary should present as) or “I’ll do it wrong next time anyway. This they/them stuff I have wrong all the time.” I carry no anger regarding accidentally being misgendered. In the moment, I mostly agree with them kindly. I understand it is hard to change vocabulary, as for most people it is a new reality we all deal with in our own time. Yet, 

 is acknowledged in these continuous conversations?

After sharing our experiences and stories of feeling unheard or unsafe, we were invited to individually build a character from these conversations. Bringing a hero into life who embodies the struggle and allows us to reimage how resistance can look like – or rather 

Out of the soldering fumes and steaming piles of hot glue arose a hero.

In two days of slow awakening as circuit boards were connected and seams were sewn together, a device of resistance was forged.

A guardian carrying my internal frustration of unbalanced acknowledgement, a sparkle of irony, and a touch of comic relief. From a place of feeling unheard, “The Bulge” arose.

The Bulge was born wearing a clear message, a core I sometimes wish for. Calling: “Pronouns. They/them. That’s it. Shut up.”

The Bulge acknowledges and creates space as simply as it gets. Their superpower is a jockstrap activated by squeezing the ‘hog’. It looks quite radical in the way that it looks shocking or rather, provocative. The message to micro-aggressors is to take back space– grabbing the attention (literally).



On July 25th, the heroes were called back together. In a LARP (live action role play), we navigated through scenarios of microaggression. Entering the space as our heroes, loaded with our newly found resistance in our sound-equipped devices.



Fighting a world contaminated by microaggressions, the heroes’ individually crafted sounds and actions merged into one. Combining the powers of our own resistance and enforcing it with others. Harmonizing the hurtful sounds and buzzes of a fractured world into a collective field of sound. The guardians we created were not here to fight in the traditional sense, and our “weapons’ were not built for destruction. Instead, through our roles, we got to rethink our position toward the comments we endure. And we did not have to face it alone.



What I took away from the workshop is the ability to shift into a third-person position. That of a hero. From this position, I got to explore new modes of imagining and transforming the hurt and misunderstanding into moments of awareness and care. The workshop created space to hear each other, talk through our shared experiences, and from that point to think beyond it.
It wasn’t about just finding solutions to ‘fix’ the problems microaggression brings to the table. We got to reposition ourselves to remain aware that these injustices happen, but that we can create the agency to resist them. And this time with the power of creativity and play.

With love,

Marsha “the Bulge”
Pronouns.
They/Them.
That’s it.
Shut up.


In the Echo of the Moon

The playful game maker meet-up from the east of the Netherlands has been active for more than three years. Initiated at the old Sickhouse, the event went went nomadic for more than a year. On February 2026, Sickhouse opened its doors at a new location and since then the meet-up has grown its audience. The first half of 2026, COLLIDERS has welcomed numerous artists, players, and games, fostering conversations about the richness and complexities of the playful medium. 

“One day we will be 20 people sitting here!”

 said Marie Janin to an audience of no more than eight people (counting speakers and organizers) at one of the first 

COLLIDERS has been happening every month, featuring talks from artists and makers, games selected by the Sickhouse team, and open screens for people to present their prototypes. The meet-up invited visitors to explore and share the richness of playful media. Month after month the audience was growing, bringing together all kinds of game enthusiasts and slowly forming a solid community.

After hearing the news that Sickhouse needed to 

move from its former location at Stationsplein

, COLLIDERS and the other programs of Sickhouse became nomad. Thanks to the support of other cultural institutions like the 

 we were able to keep the meet-up going. Together we played, reflected and dreamt about having our own venue where we could meet more than once a month. After a long journey full of challenges and nightmares about 

, the new Sickhouse space became a reality, opening its doors in February 2026.

With the new space ready, Enschede finally had back a dedicated space for playful art. To celebrate that milestone, the first COLLIDERS at the new location, was themed around the topic of 

. We inaugurated the CINEMA hosting two talks from fellow hosts of playful art: Roque based in Spain and Krish based in Amsterdam. Roque told us about his project 

 on curating exhibitions about the hidden layers of games, connecting it to how he experienced the Overkill Festival back in 2024. Krish, co-organizer of the 

, was also present at the big screen, in this case, as the developer of ‘

‘. The game is based on his personal experience of finding an apartment to rent in Amsterdam, presented in an interactive comic-like visual novel. The game, available to play for visitors for the upcoming month, was among other games connected to the topic of building home. We 

reflected on finding ground when moving abroad

discarded our dreams of home ownership and became a house flying around, meeting eligible structures and romancing them

During March, we participated in the celebration of International Women’s Day together with 

. The energy we got during those celebrations impulsed us to invite female and non-binary friends in the video game scene to recommend us some 

 to be featured in the COLLIDERS of April. The games made us 

walk through the stories of women living under Islamic law in Iran

navigate the midlife crisis of a woman called Hanna

experience the small yet significant struggles we all feel

Zeynep Burcu, in addition to recommending us some games to play, also gave a short presentation about the initiative 

. The initiative is involved in projects, such as the Women Only Game Jam, or in creating an inclusive 3D asset library for everyone to use, named the 

 and how they can make the process of game development more accessible. Toni Cantino (astoryinpieces), the second speaker, built on that by sharing how they make games using 

, an open source tool that allow users to create games for the Game Boy through a drag and drop interface. We already played one of the games from Toni, 

 exhibition. However, we wanted other works from them to also be part of this COLLIDERS. In two game boys, connected with a flash-light, we had 

 and the demo of the upcoming horror game of Toni, as well as 

, made by PlatinaXO, a friend of theirs and fellow GB Studio maker.

Inspired by the talks from Burcu and Toni, the 

we decided to theme the COLLIDERS of May on the topic of 

. We wanted to discover new tools, see what people were making with them and inspire the curious players to become makers. The evening started with a talk from Pixel, a local artist who showed us how they modded a keyboard to make an interactive video installation with Blender and Godot. This was followed with the talk of Chloé, who told us about their practice as a playful artist at 

 and its variants. Surely bitsy was the protagonist of the evening. 

, which doubles the resolution of the sprites), and 

, adding a new dimension to play with). Apart from bitsy, we played 

, and a re-imagination of the classic snake using recorders as game controllers, 

To warm up for the opening of Josefin Arnell’s solo exhibition, 

 we started looking into games that would fit the themes she would be presenting. The first game we picked was 

, due to its cinematic setting and the way it confronts us with the bizarreness of modern society. From there, we collected more games to play in June that expose the grey areas of what does it mean to be 

. Those game included topics, such as the mechanisms of hierarchical societies, safety, control and surveillance during crisis, alcoholism disguised by cultural heritage, and transgender struggles with toilets. 

To dive deeper into these topics, we had two talks, one online from Matěj Hložánek and another in-person from Alexandria (Lexie). Matěj from the collective Herdek, told us about how they portrayed the Czech drinking culture in their game Prši. He also told us about the independent Czech game making scene and introduced us to the 

 festival, exactly the type of game festivals we like, which will happen in October. In her turn, Alexandria shared practices for making your own digital tools and how to publish them in open-source and modifiable ways. For her “

being a 'good citizen' in the digital arts entails being generous with your work and knowledge, and she believes that explicitly welcoming people into modding practices helps further that goal.”

 Being interested in tool-making, she created 

, a playful visual novel-making web-toolbox, which was a refreshing view on how to exist in the internet. Great inspiration for those, who join the 

At one of those coding evenings, we met with Thomas van den Brink, who had published his own role-play adventure. We invited him to tell us more about the process of writing such stories at the last Colliders before the summer break. This edition was happening simultaneously with the Film Camp, so the theme was, you guessed it, 

. This was, by far, the most popular edition, bringing together around 30 participants. We tested the interactive installation of a group of students from the University of Twente before their showcase at 

 showed us his custom-made engine and a collection of games he has been developing over the past years. In addition, regular visitors brought improved prototypes of their games. Alongside with the open screens, we had a curated a collection of games that explored the blend between filmmaking and game development. There was a game from an 

animation filmmaker exploring the narrative elements of the game loop

horror-puzzle game that inspired a recently released movie

experimental game continuing the story of a series of shortfilms with heavy inspiration in game aesthetics

short typing game with special attention to photography


Thanks to having our new space, we were able to slowly strengthen the community of game makers and playful artist of the east of the Netherlands. This first set of COLLIDERS at the new location helped to grow our community, bringing together every month even a bit more participants than those 20 people we initially hoped for ;). We have both regular visitors and curious ones that drop from time to time. It is incredibly inspiring to see all those people being interested in games and hear the stories behind their development. We are very grateful for our dedicated playful community - thank you to everyone, who joined us! We are looking forward to the upcoming meetups and curious to see what you will be developing in the future. 

The playful meet-ups are back in town

Before sickhouse started to be sickhouse we were organizing small cinematic screenings ( once a month or so ) of films related to our The Overkill Festival in a part of the back then old and abandoned hospital ( Ariensplein ). It was almost exactly as creepy as it sounds. An old inhouse Chappel , an empty morgue and so much horror film potentital.

It was hard to find sickhouse in this gigantic building but very easy to get lost in the maze that this place was. 

The films we were showing had a limited license , meaning we could show them but not promote them .. so we made up funky posters that people had to decypher to find out what that month film would be.

The old website is still online with our posters , 

A while back...

As we continue our monster mondays saga , a side quest has emerged ! From Hertjan’s passion to make black&white , collage posters of the movies that we are showing , A pre-film painting / drawing club has sprung to live ! Come by every monday from 19.30 to 20.00 to draw, drink & talk. 

Monday Monster Painting club

Sickhouse is presenting: Movie Monster Monday Mash

At Sickhouse we invent new programs every other day. Spontaneous talks at the bar can lead to a new initiatives that sometimes last for years. The Overkill Festival itself was invented when two members of our team got together, wanting to play retro videogames for a full weekend.

That’s how, after a few drinks, HertJan & Haaike came with the idea of the MonsterMovieMondays. And from now on, we watch a classic monster movie every Monday from 20.00 to 22.00.

We believe it’s important to look back at the classics and rediscover why these films have inspired many generations of filmmakers and, ultimately, let them to become cultural phenomena.

For our first edition, we showed the 1954 Gojira ( Godzilla ). The first one of about 30 films we’ll watch (many of them kind of crazy) dedicated to wild monsters.

Gozzilla is however, much less a monster movie and much more a depiction of the horrors following the atomic bomb. We fucked with nature, now nature is coming back to fucked with us. This is clear to everyone in the film. It's humanity’s fault: the constant testing of underwater bombs must have awoken the beast.

We don’t actually see the monster that often, and when it does show up, it looks kind of silly, but of course, we are scared of this gigantic fire-breathing dinosaur, who wouldn’t be? BUT perhaps people’s crazy idea to invent even more terrifying new means of mass destruction to deal with nature is far more scary than any monster and, as usual, it won’t solve the problem. Godzilla is still alive and kicking today, with an insane number of nuclear mutants to fight against… 

MonsterMashMondayMayhem

Cinema Obscura is our once a month filmprogram, curated in relation to our festival theme “Dream No Return”. With 10 + screenings over the year, we are looking how various filmmakers approached the notion of dreaming and its multiple possibilities to translate it to the screen.

Cinema Obscura is our once a month filmprogram, curated in relation to our festival theme “

. With 10 + screenings over the year, we are looking how various filmmakers approached the notion of dreaming and its multiple possibilities to translate it to the screen.

Cinema Obscura nights are meant to be moment where we watch movies together in an immersive set-up supported by a side program. Our intention is to stimulate reactions, discussions, ideas to reflect together on “

”. Participation is encouraged and new references or ideas for following screenings are also welcome. Don’t hesitate to share your dreams, your strangest film taste or your creative skills!

With our first Screening we showed the movie 

 from Jean-Pierre Jeunet et Marc Caro from 1995. In a dystopian future Dr. Krank, unable to dream himself, is kidnapping young children to steal their dreams. Angelo Badalamenti (also known for Twin Peaks) made the music of the film.  The film was released 4 years before The Matrix and we all felt there was strong  connections between the two world through the cyberpunk vibe, in the brain connectors designs and in the digital vision grafted onto the blind characters. 
More than the story, the strange atmosphere and the blurriness of the spaces, very close and very far at the same time, is what interested us most in relation to dream worlds.

Before the screening we hosted a crafting activity, asking the visitors to create their own “brain connectors”. These devices that we could wear during the projection, would connect our consciousness with one another. While in the cinema we joined our brain connectors and Marie hosted a small collective nightmare seance. The intention was to come together in an imagined world and let prompts guide us in the dark… If most of the time we dream alone, a point of attention this year for Sickhouse is looking into collective ways to navigate liminal world in dreaming states. After the 

 hosted by Jana Romanova, the exhibition “

” from Sondi in the corridor of the Rijksmuseum Twenthe, Cinema Obscura nights want to open the chapters of our nightmares…

Cinema Obscura wants to be a collective experience. It is not only about the screen, it is about the specific people with us in the room watching, reacting, feeling for the character of these world. After the film a part of the visitors shared their feeling connected with their device! 

We look forward to welcoming you to the next experience!

About Cinema Obscura "The City Of the Lost Children"

Long-distance LARPing is an ERASMUS+ funded artistic research project developed by Nerdlab and Sickhouse. Our primary question is how we can build physical and digital spaces that foster connection and self-expression and where agency remains in the hands of the participants.

We draw inspiration from live-action role-playing games (LARPs). Our goal is to synthesise LARP design practices into a methodology for youth workers, social workers, artists and experience designers to enrich their practices and provide more creative spaces for the groups they work with.

Long Distant Larp

Something has been awaken in the cinema.
From the depths of dusty film cans, late-night television broadcast, forgotten drive-ins and questionable basements… the monsters are returning, one by one.

 is a cinematic ritual devoted to the glorious age of monsters, mostly from before 1970, and occasionally after, if the creature insists.

Every Monday night we summon all vampires, mutants, swamp creatures, radioactive nightmares, gothic specters, and all the beautiful horrors that crawled out of the golden age of monster movies.

Before the screening begins, we enter a one-minute meditation guided by the sacred mantra of 

 to properly align mind, body and monster spirit. Then the lights go down.

Grab a drink. Take a seat. Eyes wide open.

Come dressed as a monster and enter the movie for free!
And if you want to join a Signal chat where to talk about old gems and cult films, 

Larry returns to his Welsh ancestral home from the US upon learning that his brother has died. When he tries to save Jenny, a rural girl who is being attacked by a werewolf, he gets bitten by it…


A scientist's experiment to cure hunger creates a giant spider that escapes from an isolated desert laboratory and wreaks havoc on the local inhabitants.

The crew of a spacecraft, Nostromo, intercept a distress signal from a planet and set out to investigate it. However, to their horror, they are attacked by an alien which later invades their ship.

Godzilla, Rodan and Mothra team up to save mankind from the deadliest threat of all… a fire-breathing space monster.

Sam, a young boy, is convinced of a monster's presence in his home, due to certain disturbing visions. His erratic behaviour concerns his single mother, Amelia, who spirals into a state of paranoia.

Dr Miles Bennell, a doctor in a California town, is horrified to discover that a covert alien invasion is replacing his fellow citizens with emotionless duplicates.

: Sickhouse! Oldenzaalsestraat 128, Enschede.
🕡 

Monster Monday Movie Mash

 is our monthly meet-up for playful makers, programmers, enthusiasts, producers, artists, designers, curators, and all people interested in game making. At Colliders, we brainstorm, present our progress, give feedback, enjoy creations and, of course, we play!

Colliders purpose is to develop a 

around indie/art house game makers and playful artists. With Colliders, we want to support each other and create more opportunities for collaborations and exchange. 

________________________________________________________________________

Colliders has a different theme and game selection each month, in 

, aligned with the theme of GOGBOT Festival: 

We will have the latest game by Amanita Design portraying a city orchestrated by omnipresent loudspeakers, and another handcrafted game about how a grandfather who went to war changed behavior. We will also present a classic anti-adver game about them eat industry. Lastly, we prepared two games about TV broadcast, one that put us in the role of a technician, deciding what should be watched, and the other about someone being broadcast.


“In the dystopian city of Phonopolis, life is orchestrated by omnipresent loudspeakers that dictate every aspect of people’s existence. Citizens, bound by the authoritarian Leader's commands, work in unison to achieve his grand vision.”


"my granddad came home from the war a changed man. he was bitter, quick to anger and aggressive."

"Making money in a corporation like McDonald's is not easy! Behind every burger there is a complex process you need to master: from pastures to the slaughterhouse, from restaurants to branding. You'll discover all the dirty secrets that made us one of the biggest company in the world."

"Take control of the National Nightly News. With the nation's eyes fixed on your choices, it’s up to you to decide what gets broadcast."


"Tune in to American Arcadia, the most popular reality tv show on the planet! In this retro-futuristic 70s metropolis all citizens enjoy a life of luxury and comfort... and are completely unaware that they're being broadcast 24/7! "

Turns out the secret sauce to press coverage is the same as most other things: research, dedication, kindness, and spreadsheets! Success not guaranteed, but by pitching your games to journalists, you will hone into how to best describe it, why it matters, and what future projects will get the attention you deserve.

Didre Schutte of Studio Beautiful & Beast explains how coming from a completely different background she learned game development over the summer. How did she come into this field and what does she have now? And what was the summer school program and the scene in Berlin like?

GET YOUR FREE TICKET

COLLIDERS Meet-up – Propaganda

This event is full , keep an eye on our hotglue blog for new events :

In the first weekend of September we are coming together for a truly collaborative in person game jam!

We invite 12 participants to create live-action role-playing games (LARP) that foster self-expression and connection in physical and digital spaces. Building on the previous activities, we will explore how we can use simple technologies (think a chat, a discord server, a notepad, the lost art of a phone call) in our LARP design to connect players across distances.

One of the games designed during the jam will be played during the LARP showcase at Nerdlab and Sickhouse in February 2027.

If this sounds like a big challenge, it's because it is! But worry not, you will be guided by amazing mentor Jana Romanova.

Jana is a multidisciplinary artist working with games, performance, and photography. Through role-playing, social games, and various playful experiments, she researches liminal spaces, (in)visible systems that shape us, and what agency, care, and ecological imagination might look like when we playtest other ways of living together.

This is an activity for 12 participants - youth workers, artists, game designers, LARP enthusiasts and curious humans. The only requirement is that you have played a LARP before and you are interested in designing one. We will give priority to young people 18-30 years old.

We provide accommodation in the hostel, food and for participants traveling from abroad - travel.

https://nerdlab.be/agenda/long-distance-larping-double-trouble-game-jam

Long-distance LARPing ♦ Double-trouble game jam

, a monthly role-playing event organised together with 

, or if you enjoy board games, card games, painting miniatures, or kitbashing… any tabletop activity is welcome!

We’ll host some RPG tables, led by someone from our community or a special guest.

We’ll also have open tables for board games. Bring your favorite games and share them with us, or try out some from our collection.

Come alone or with a group. Playing is an great way to make new friends!

We’d also love to see your own game or story creations and be your play-testers!


Whether you’re a role-playing game master, a game designer looking for testers, or have another type of activity in mind, we’re looking for you! 
As a host, here’s what you can expect from us:

Support from experienced event organizers

Game materials such as dice, available or provided

: 18:00 to 23:30
> 18:00 walk-in and dinner: bring your food to eat together 🍲🥗🍛🥡
> 19:00 the games start
💎 

 Give what you can (with this, you support the location and the two organizers in getting new games, inviting guests and hosting special adventures). 


PLAY! TableTop Night September

Sickhouse welcomes Alexander Zanen with a new immersive installation. Graduated from AKI in 2022, from the moving image department, Alexander questions in his work the role of images in relation to the ones that look at them. When a narration is not linear anymore what stories emerge?

 is an AR wander, a walkable, immersive audio play without a screen. Wearing headphones and a tracker, you move through a space where spatial sound and scenographic lighting react to your movements. Your route determines which scenes you trigger: as you wander, the sound, light and narrative shift around you.

In Dérive, you follow a TV salesman and a journalist who come face to face with the ‘spectacle’: a world in which images come between us and determine how we see one another. As you wander, you trigger scenes that bring this to life, from busy streets with flashing lights and passing ambulances to an invitation to a hidden jazz bar. Every step reveals a new layer of the story. How can we change our perception when images are no longer in control?

Dérive: een AR-dwaaltocht is een wandelbaar, immersief hoorspel zonder scherm. Met koptelefoon en tracker beweeg je door een ruimte waar ruimtelijk geluid en scenografisch licht op je reageren. Je route bepaalt welke scènes je activeert: door te dwalen verschuiven geluid, licht en verhaal om je heen.

In Dérive volg je een tv-verkoper en een journalist die botsen op het ‘spektakel’: een wereld waarin beelden tussen ons in komen te staan en bepalen hoe we elkaar zien. Terwijl je dwaalt, activeer je scènes die dit voelbaar maken, van drukke straten met zwaaiende lichten en passerende ambulances tot een uitnodiging naar een verborgen jazzbar. Elke stap onthult een nieuwe laag van het verhaal. Hoe kunnen we onze perceptie veranderen als beeld niet langer de baas is?

 from 12:00 to 18:00
The experience lasts 15 minutes. In order to experience the installation, you need to 

Timeslot

Dérive - Alexander Zanen

THE OVERKILL FESTIVAL 

GOGBOT 2026 at Sickhouse: Expo + Symposium 

KO(O)RTS Short Film Festival 

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

Frontpage 

Sickhouse will close a few weeks for a summer break on July 26th. 

with an after-summer evening packed with music of 

Sickhouse Summer Break

| Vacature voor een Nevenfunctie, Onbezoldigd | Sluitingsdatum: 


Sickhouse is een speelse kunstruimte die populaire media gebruikt om na te denken over de transformerende impact van de digitale cultuur. Games, playful en hybride media, films, XR en DIY-craft zijn de belangrijkste media die bij Sickhouse worden gepresenteerd binnen tentoonstellingen, filmvertoningen, ontmoetingen en festivals. De fysieke ruimte van Sickhouse is een tentoonstellingsruimte, bioscoop, bar en werk/ontmoetingsruimte.

Sickhouse is het afgelopen jaar uitgegroeid van een evenementenorganisatie tot een structureel georganiseerde ruimte met vaste openingstijden, een jaarprogramma, meerdere samenwerkingsverbanden en nationale en internationale erkenning. Sickhouse werkt met een klein, toegewijd team en wil zich verder ontwikkelen op financieel en bedrijfsmatig gebied. Sickhouse is in februari van dit jaar heropend op haar nieuwe locatie.

De missie van Sickhouse wordt gerealiseerd door een jaarprogramma en een internationaal festival voor playful media, The Overkill. Sickhouse wordt ondersteund door het Stimuleringsfonds Creatieve Industrie en de gemeente Enschede. De stichting onderschrijft de Governance Code Cultuur, Fair Practice Code en Code Diversiteit & Inclusie.


Sickhouse zoekt 2 leden voor zijn Raad van Toezicht.

Na het afronden van onze eerste fase, waarin we de organisatie structureel hebben ingericht, een vaste locatie hebben betrokken en meerjarige financiering veilig wisten te stellen, gaat de volgende fase voor Sickhouse in. Deze nieuwe fase gaat over duurzaamheid, inkomens diversificatie en ontwikkeling van partnerschappen.


Sickhouse zoekt, nieuwsgierige, ondersteunende en kritische leden voor haar Raad van Toezicht.

De organisatie bestaat uit een jaarrond kernteam van zes medewerkers en een stagiaire, waarvan de meesten parttime werken. In de maanden rondom het festival wordt het team uitgebreid met een flexibele schil van freelancers. Sickhouse heeft twee directeur-bestuurders die verantwoordelijk zijn voor de strategie en het beleid van de stichting.

De directeur-bestuurders weten zich gesteund door de Raad van Toezicht. De RvT houdt toezicht op het beleid en op de algemene gang van zaken van Stichting Sickhouse. De RvT heeft bovendien een adviserende rol. 

Bevoegdheden van de RvT zijn statutair vastgelegd en omvatten onder meer de goedkeuring van het meerjarenbeleidsplan, jaarbegroting en jaarrekening. De raad komt vier keer per jaar bijeen en bestaat momenteel uit drie leden. De werkzaamheden zijn onbezoldigd. Onkosten gemaakt tijdens werkzaamheden als lid van de Raad van Toezicht van Sickhouse worden vergoed. De leden worden benoemd voor een termijn van vier jaar met de mogelijkheid tot verlenging van nog eens vier jaar.

De raad bestaat uit leden met complementaire deskundigheid en achtergronden. Diversiteit in expertise, leeftijd, gender en culturele achtergrond wordt actief nagestreefd. De samenstelling is zodanig dat de RvT als geheel beschikt over de benodigde kennis en competenties om adequaat toezicht te houden en strategisch te adviseren.

Ieder lid heeft affiniteit met de culturele sector, en culturele festivals in het algemeen, en digitale cultuur in het bijzonder

Ieder lid heeft affiniteit met de missie van Sickhouse.

Ieder lid beschikt over voldoende algemene financiële kennis om op hoofdlijnen de jaarverantwoording, de begroting, de financiële rapportages inclusief de jaarrekening te kunnen beoordelen.

Kennis van de bedrijfsvoering van culturele instellingen en / of culturele festivals en / of Horeca

Tijd en betrokkenheid om de functie (circa 1 dag per kwartaal) adequaat in te vullen, inclusief het fysiek bijwonen van vergaderingen en evenementen.

Sickhouse is op zoek naar leden met ervaring en expertise op deze gebieden.

Lokale lobby (Enschede en regio Overijssel)

Een lid van de Raad kan overal in Nederland gevestigd zijn; we nodigen mensen met diverse achtergronden uit om te solliciteren naar deze vacature.

 een korte motivatie en cv naar marie@sickhouse.nl 
Voor vragen kun je contact opnemen met:

, voorzitter Raad van Toezicht, siuliko@gmail.com

Sickhouse is a playful art space that uses popular media to reflect on the transformative impact of digital culture. Games, playful and hybrid media, films, XR, and DIY crafts are the main medium presented at Sickhouse through exhibitions, film screenings, gatherings, and festivals. Sickhouse’s physical space serves as an exhibition hall, movie theater, bar, and workspace/meeting area.

Over the past year, Sickhouse has evolved from an event organization into a structurally organized space with regular opening hours, an annual program, multiple partnerships, and national and international recognition. Sickhouse operates with a small, dedicated team and aims to further develop its financial and operational capabilities. Sickhouse reopened at its new location in February of this year.

Sickhouse’s mission is realized through an annual program and an international festival for playful media, The Overkill. Sickhouse is supported by the Creative Industries Fund NL and the municipality of Enschede. The foundation adheres to the Governance Code for Culture, the Fair Practice Code, and the Diversity & Inclusion Code.


Sickhouse is seeking two members for its Supervisory Board.

Now that we have completed our first phase—during which we established the organization’s structure, moved into a permanent location, and secured multi-year funding—Sickhouse is entering its next phase. This new phase focuses on sustainability, revenue diversification, and the development of partnerships. Sickhouse is seeking curious, supportive, and critical members for its Board of Supervisors.


Sickhouse is looking for curious, supportive, and critical members for its Supervisory Board.

The organization consists of a year-round core team of six staff members and one intern, most of whom work part-time. In the months surrounding the festival, the team is expanded with a flexible pool of freelancers. Sickhouse has two executive directors who are responsible for the foundation’s strategy and policy.


The executive directors are supported by the Supervisory Board. The Supervisory Board oversees the policies and general affairs of the Sickhouse Foundation. The Supervisory Board also serves in an advisory capacity. The Supervisory Board’s powers are set forth in the bylaws and include, among other things, the approval of the multi-year policy plan, the annual budget, and the annual financial statements. The board meets four times a year and currently consists of three members.

The position is unpaid. Expenses incurred while serving as a member of the Sickhouse Supervisory Board are reimbursed. Members are appointed for a term of four years, with the possibility of renewal for an additional four years.

The board consists of members with complementary expertise and backgrounds. Diversity in expertise, age, gender, and cultural background is actively sought. The composition is such that the Supervisory Board as a whole possesses the necessary knowledge and competencies to provide adequate oversight and strategic advice.

Each member has an affinity for the cultural sector, cultural festivals in general, and digital culture in particular.

Each member has an affinity for Sickhouse’s mission.

Each member possesses sufficient general financial knowledge to assess, in broad terms, the annual report, the budget, and the financial reports, including the annual financial statements.

Knowledge of the operations of cultural institutions and/or cultural festivals and/or the hospitality industry

Time and commitment to adequately fulfill the role (approximately 1 day per quarter), including physically attending meetings and events.


Sickhouse is looking for members with experience and expertise in these areas.

Local Advocacy (Enschede and the Overijssel region)

A board member may be based anywhere in the Netherlands; we invite people from diverse backgrounds to apply for this position.

Please send a brief cover letter and resume to 

 at the latest. If you have any questions, please contact:

Nieuw leden Raad van Toezicht

Yesterday the last items of Janne Schimmel’s expo returned to Heist-op-den-berg . Jannes nieuw studio space near antwerpen ( which is amazing ! )

Next week we will start builduing up the exhibition of Josefin Arnell’s Solo show “ The belly of the beast “ .  The exhibiton space and Gamespace will transform into a maze like experience with a video & film works to be discovered. 

Before we dive into that we wanted to post the Interview with Janne Schimmel that took place during the opening of group show “ Friendly secrecy systems” . 

Janne’s work is playing with Technical obsolescence, reusing old “machines” to transform them into sculptures. At the show and brandnew expospace of  sickhouse works have been shown by : 

1. Bee-Fore the Storm (18+) by astoryinpieces
https://astoryinpieces.itch.io/beeforethestormgb


2. Friendly Secrecy System by Vinzenz Sombray
https://gracelessgames.itch.io/


3. Rushed by Paula Garcia Sans
https://paulagarciasans.com/


4. Diary Room by Philip Ullman


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3D-pKnJHkmk&feature=youtu.be

Sickhouse

Latest News

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Sickhouse Summer Break

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Nieuw leden Raad van Toezicht

News
Janne Schimmel & Marie Janin Interview

News
OPEN CALL: Film Camp 2026

News
No Kings at Sickhouse

News
SATURDAY OPEN AT 18:00 FOR BOOSTER

Upcoming Events

Event
THE OVERKILL FESTIVAL

Event
COLLIDERS Meet-up – Propaganda

Event
GOGBOT 2026 at Sickhouse: Expo + Symposium

Event
KO(O)RTS Short Film Festival

Articles

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In the Echo of the Moon

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The playful meet-ups are back in town

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A while back...

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Monday Monster Painting club

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MonsterMashMondayMayhem

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About Cinema Obscura "The City Of the Lost Children"

Gallery

Sickhouse

Latest News

NewsSickhouse Summer Break

NewsNieuw leden Raad van Toezicht

NewsJanne Schimmel & Marie Janin Interview

NewsOPEN CALL: Film Camp 2026

NewsNo Kings at Sickhouse

NewsSATURDAY OPEN AT 18:00 FOR BOOSTER

Upcoming Events

EventTHE OVERKILL FESTIVAL

EventCOLLIDERS Meet-up – Propaganda

EventGOGBOT 2026 at Sickhouse: Expo + Symposium

EventKO(O)RTS Short Film Festival