 is back! Are you a playful artist, a game maker or a creative coder based in Overijssel, looking for a community, mentors and material support? This is for you! 



 program from Sickhouse, supporting the making of an 

. You will get the support of professional mentors, visit exhibitions, join meet-ups and festivals and meet other professionals and studios from around the world. Every month you will organise a game night with your selection of playful projects, you will get the chance to present the progress of your work and collect feedback from different crowds. In November 2025, you will present your project at The Overkill festival.

SickProd was created to foster the game maker community of our region and create a chain of opportunities for local young talents within an international network.  
In 2023 we supported the development and release of 

, a narrative game from Shaman Garage, young studio from Enschede (NL) and Madrid (SP). Together we went to 

 in Hilversum and many other places. 

TO APPLY is super easy!



Add a portfolio (or some links), a CV and a motivation later.
If you have questions you can mail Marie at marie@sickhouse.nl or join our 

 channel to meet the community.

What we ask from you/ your studio :

- Being 

 for meetings, presentations, makers meet-up and excursions.
- 

 an interactive and playful project at The Overkill
- 

 the playful community of Enschede

What we give you access to :

- Professional support from playful curator Zuraida Buter and the Sickhouse team.
- Regular 

Test / Feedback sessions with diverse crowds


- A monthly fee of 250€ between February and November 2025
- 

 (tbd) to present the gaming experience in November at The Overkill festival 2025.
- Access to an 

The selection committee is led by Sickhouse co-directors Marie Janin and is constituted of Co-director Aike Lütkemöller, mentor Zuraida Buter and alumni and colliders coordinator Pablo San Gregorio. 
The committee is considering the playfulness of the work, the implication of the artist/maker in the local scene, the potential of development of the project.
The committee will study all the applications and discuss in a meeting the relevance of their 3 favourite choices, based on the criteria mentioned above. 
-----


SICKPROD OPEN CALL 2025

From 20 to 23 of June, 3 groups of Saxion CMGT students presented their new games at Sickhoes. Inspired by the theme of The Overkill 2024 " Radical Joy Resistance" the groups had to create a multiplayer from scratch. 

The three groups took very different approaches to what multiplayers can be and the results were very fun! 

Team Spectrum Spectacle build a game where 2 players have to share a keyboard and run out of a boring, dark office! There is no way out but with the help of the other player until you find the outside world together!

Team CTA associated colour meanings to different activistic convincing tactics. You could choose your character and find out the best way to spread your arguments! Sometimes staying still also pays off !

Team Chaotic detectives hacked a telephone to transform it into a controller. Looking for Ilvy in a small American town, your way of playing left a trace for the next players!

Very proud of the works presented and super happy to work with such enthusiastic students we are very excited to present the finale versions of these games at The Overkill festival coming up in November! 

Saxion-CMGT new multiplayer games reflecting on activism

YOUR FAVOURITE PLAYFUL CONTEST IS BACK, AND YOU CAN JOIN!

formerly known as Sickhouse Eurogaming) will be held on the 18th of May and YOU can be part of it! 🥁🐔 

🕹️ The Ultimate IndieMash is a contest for playful makers from all over the world, to present their work to an international audience. 

> Hosted live from Enschede and streamed online, the participants get 3 minutes each to show their game, interactive project, immersive installation or playful performance, through a live video connection from wherever they are in the world. 
> The challenge is to make the public and the jury want to play their game the most.


> At the end of the program, the public and a jury of professionals will vote for their favourite project. 
🕹️ 🏅

Besides receiving the Sickest Trophy, the winner of the Ultimate IndieMash will also get a spot at The Overkill Festival 2024! 



Not only are we looking for the most original, extravagant and alternative playful concepts, The Ultimate IndieMash is also a celebration of diversity within the indie-game community. We strongly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented in the gaming world. From coding mothers to queer visual artists and indigenous storytellers, everyone is welcome to show their unique projects and creations to our audience online and in the theatre, so sign up now! You don't have to come to the Netherlands to participate, all contestants get to show their project through a video connection! 


This year, for the first time, we’re collaborating with the 

from Wierden, to create an exciting show with music, glitter, glamour and of course the main acts of the evening; the playful contestants!

! You have until April the 24th!  Our team will choose the 10 best fitting concepts to show their work on the 18th of May! 


If you have any questions about the concept, the application, or anything else regarding the Sickhouse Ultimate IndieMash Game Contest, please email niels@sickhouse.nl or join the 


See you all very soon!
💜 Lots of love,
The Sickhouse Ultimate IndieMash Playful Contest team

The Ultimate IndieMash : Playful Contest

Sickhouse celebrated their sixth anniversary and it was fun! 

Without a physical space to gather, Sickhouse is looking for different ways to be present, support its community and share playfulness. This is why we are publishing this magazine, to find you again, share some thoughts and take you on the new reflective theme for this year.

At the start of 2024, Sickhouse does not have a space to present and host its program. Finding a new location is a challenge we have been working on since a few years but the last months have shown how difficult the path towards a fitting space is. And we are not alone in this struggle, revealing a great fragility within the cultural middle field of Enschede.

One could wonder why Sickhouse needs a space, when it could be nomad, presents programs within the institutions Enschede/The Netherlands already has, rent a desk in one of the few co-work spaces of the city, mingle with entrepreneurs, free itself from the burden of rent and focus all its budget on content.

But this position fails to see that the large part of Sickhouse’s content is its community. The programs centre around the encounter, the gathering. Designing and crafting its physical space allows  Sickhouse’s visitors to feel safe,  encourages experiment and supports diversified encounters. As a playful art space, Sickhouse does not only support the makers of games or interactive art, it actively uses play as a means to engage in the difficult discussions we urgently need to have in times of polarisation.

One could argue that, as specialised in video games and virtual spaces, Sickhouse could gather online and again free itself from the burden of a physical space. That’s something Sickhouse definitely explored, in the times of the pandemic and when hosting hybrid events. It has been challenging, it has been fun, it needs time, it needs courage and it needs a solid base.

Sickhouse continues to work on such online spaces, trying to find the right balance between the gathering and the playground open to our (international) community. But when our ambition is to support the construction of bridges between virtual and physical, such space can not live alone. The ways to inhabit the world are neither online or offline anymore but in hybrid and layered realities. As an experimental space, Sickhouse is actively reflecting, supporting and creating new navigation systems.

But what physical room, alternative organisations, artists based communities or experimental programs can find, in a realty market at the hand of private owners, rich real estate developers, multinational retail companies? Confronted with this reality, Sickhouse is wondering what impact eternal temporality would have? When we want to create rooms from the glitches, what is stability? Not forgetting that the struggles inherent to alternative, critical, queer, underground spaces are political choices, we are creating our path of resistance. When our societies are dealing with one crisis after another, symptoms of hurtful politics and an economy based on inequality, Sickhouse creates critical and caring programs supporting deeper transformations.

At the time of writing this editorial, Sickhouse is working on its next temporary situation and it will be fine and it will open soon. In 2024 the city is implementing the new “culture nota” and if we believe culture needs more fundamental support, these steps, that many of us worked on with the Gemeente, are promising and hopeful. Finishing this editorial on a positive note is not a way to ignore the situation the world is in, it is an invitation to consider resilience, hope, care, patience as significant tools in a movement that demands a lot of endurance.

SICKHOUSE 6

SICKPROD 2024 - OPEN CALL INDIE / ARTHOUSE GAME STUDIO

In 2024 Sickhouse follows up on its program ”SickProd” to support the creative process of local* independent and/or arthouse gaming makers/studios!** We are looking for indie/arthouse game maker(s) interested to work with us in exchange for :

 from our mentor, Zuraida Buter, including brainstorm sessions, interviews with other professionals, studio visits and festival/exhibition tours

 with a young public. 
(A group of young gamers and art curious will be associated to this trajectory as a first community around the, to be developed, game experience.)

 of 250€ between March and November 2024

 (tbd) to present the gaming experience at The Overkill Festival 2024

between April and November, meaning selecting indie games to present at Sickhouse for the public to play and hosting the event together with the Sickhouse team.
The selection obviously is expected to support the research of the gaming studio. (from local makers to international creatives. Our mentor will help the studio invite these guests and the Sickhouse team will produce the events).

present a gaming experience at The Overkill Festival

Participate in workshops, network and presentation

To apply for this trajectory, please send Marie (

A CV with your game maker experience (if you apply as a studio please mention all the team)

A motivation letter explaining how this trajectory could support your creative process

A portfolio with links to projects you are proud of

If you have a question don’t hesitate to send an email to ask.

* Local means working in Overijssel or close enough and able to work from Sickhouse and join our events on a regular basis.

** If you are not a professional game maker but you are interested in this field and your experience and knowledge would allow you to create a gaming experience, we are interested too. Joining the Jam is also recommended to discuss the possibilities.

If you are interested in this trajectory you are highly recommended to participate in the global game jam hosted from the 

During the Global Game Jam you will be able to meet the team, find out how we work and what our space can facilitate.

Zuraida Buter is an award-winning playful culture and playful arts curator based in the Netherlands. She curates, initiates, consults and documents events focused on playful culture and games. With her international network she brings people together for creation and playful experiences.

 she is involved in curating talks, play and game exhibitions at different festivals, events and institutes such as Incubate,

(WiGNL) she aims to stimulate diversity in the game industry.

 in the Netherlands as well as the popular DGG network lunches as project manager at Dutch Game Garden (2008-2010). She was worldwide Executive Director of the 

 (2010-2014) and founding board member of Global Game Jam, Inc. In the past she has been a lecturer at different universities. For 8 years she taught game design theory at Interactive Performance Design at the Utrecht School of Arts (HKU).

In 2020 she received the IndieCade Game Changer award, which is given to "an individual whose extraordinary contributions to games deserve special acknowledgement". In 2013 she won the EA Award for Achievement and Innovation (London). In 2014 she was nominated for the Ambassador Award at Microsoft's Women in Gaming Awards (San Francisco, GDC).

Shaman Garage is a narrative studio which aims to brew the essence of storytelling and explore new experimental ways of expression. Pablo San Gragorio and Ivan McGill from Shaman Garage followed our first Sick Prod trajectory in 2023. Together we hosted 5 game nights, we started Colliders our new game maker monthly meet-up, we went to AMAZE in Berlin, to INDIGO and Dutch Game Garden network lunch in Utrecht, to Dutch Game Day in Hilversum, and we presented the new one button game “

To discover their work check their website : 

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2644670/Data_Garden/

Make your game with Sickhouse

End of November, we officially heard that the building of the former fire station on Hengelosestraat 77, where we moved at the end of September, is not fit to welcome public events due to concrete rot in the basement. This means Sickhouse can not settle in this building and is again looking for a new location. With this statement we want to inform everyone of the consequences for Sickhouse and its  community.

The Gemeente Enschede together with Jeroen Diepemaat apologised about the situation and we are now conjointly and actively looking for fitting spaces for Sickhouse, Grens Frequentie and Blackbrick. At the same time, Saxion, as an external party, has been asked by the city to evaluate how the whole process went and will conduct interviews with everyone to create a report.

For Sickhouse and our community it means that we will not be able to reopen in February like we wanted to. We are aware that this is difficult for our community that will not be able to gather as regularly as before and might find itself isolated. We also realise that the cultural sector of Enschede is greatly fragilised and the artists, makers, organisations are again under the pressure of uncertainties.

The program of 2024, for which Sickhouse received support from Stimulering Fonds and the city of Enschede, will have to be adjusted and hybridised. It means for Sickhouse and its community that we will have, once again, to adapt, be strong together and invent new ways to exist. In all honesty this is all a great disappointment after we set many steps to professionalise, strengthen our focus, and participate in the development of a better cultural climate for the city.

But Sickhouse is also surrounded by many caring partners and with their help we believe we’ll be able to carry on until we can be our own physical space again. From January on we will be collaborating closely with Concordia, Tankstation, Rijksmuseum Twenthe and Tetem to be able to host, rethink and develop our programs. We are very thankful for the very supportive cultural sector of Enschede.

We are starting the year with the Global Game Jam, hosted in Concordia and we will share more information about our programs in January.

We hope the end of year will bring some peaceful moments to everyone and we believe next year will bring many new and beautiful experiments that we are so fond of! In these challenging times, we will keep doing our best to create a safe space for our community and visitors.


Marie Janin & Aike Lütkemöller, Co-directors and the team of Sickhouse.

Statement Sickhouse Space

 is an annual festival where we combine arthouse games, playful art, films and music together in a beautiful blend to research challenging topics. This year curated in collaboration with 

Rather than evading the (digital) wetlands, The Overkill wishes to design a route through

its muddy paths. Artists navigating the Postdigital constellation think of the swamps as a playground to hybridise, as material under transformation and a womb for monstrous mutation. Today the swamp is reconsidered as a space for agency, it is inhabited by amphibious entities and exiled varieties of the self, the swamp is a liquefying space expanding on the different ecosystems.



The Overkill festival will showcases interactive and participative art installations, indie/arthouse games, an alternative film program, experimental musical performances and activities such as workshops, network meetups, D&D sessions, talks and more. Follow the newsletter, our website and our social media to get updates about the artists, games, programs etcetera!

The program of the festival is created with the support of playful curator 

Unique for this edition, The Overkill will also host a LARP: ‘

A LARP is a live action role playing game. You choose a character that you want to become within the story, with their own magical powers, appearance and backstory! You are becoming this character for the weekend, try to think like them, feel how they would feel, and find new ideas for our future together. You will join one of four ‘clans’, the Boho Elves, Swamp Goons, Carbon Knights or Anarchistic Goblins, and then you’re ready to go on your adventures!

Step into a post-climate change realm, where a once-neoliberal dystopia has given rise to pandemics, mass extinction, and social unrest. Prepare to navigate the eternal grey skies caused by large-scale solar radiation management gone awry, as sulphuric mist clouds the horizon. It’s a realm where the failure of green capitalism has left a power vacuum, paving the way for new factions to rise and claim their destiny.

Join us together with the designers of the LARP, 

 in this adventure that defies conventions, immerses you in a world of enthralling possibilities, and sparks your wild spirit. Experience the synergy of environmental consciousness and thrilling gameplay as you journey through “

” Are you ready to rewrite the fate of the realm?

The LARP will be at the heart of the festival connecting the art and games installations, disturbing the programs and inviting every visitors to take on playful challenges, but there’s of course more to see, do and experience!

As a sneak peak, we’re highlighting a few amazing participants already here! Keep an eye out for our

and the coming newsletters to get to know more artists, games, films and events!


We will be showing the video installation 

 It depicts a slow, aquatic journey to a fictional brine lake at the bottom of an unnamed ocean. Protagonists float in and out of the story, semi fictionalised versions of invertebrates, hybridised and constantly shifting.


The Paris based, Cookie Collective is bringing a new playful installation specifically created for The Overkill! Inspired by the theme of the festival, Leon Denise, Emilie Breslavetz and Rémi Georges created 

 an interactive installation with a dedicated custom controller and procedural generative audio. Imagine you control a group of tadpoles surfing the web!

FRIDAY PLAYFUL PROGRAM WITH TALKS AND WORKSHOPS


New this year is a full program of talks , panel discussions and demos, curated with

! On Friday the 17th we welcome professionals of the game industry and the art world to dive into their multiple practices. With 

 about world building and more to be announced soon. Friday is a day to get inspired, might the makers and discover new perspectives!

There will be much, much more to come! For now, here you can read what will happen on which days during the festival, so you know when to take your days off and come celebrate with us!


Official Playful Opening 19:30 with the curators and programmers of the festival
Launch of the LARP with Kostis Stafylakis and Theo Triantafyllidis
EXPO - LIVE PERFORMANCES - LARP - FILM




Playful Talks and workshops curated together with Zuraida Buter.
EXPO - LIVE PERFORMANCES - LARP - FILM - LIVE CODING NIGHT curated by Cookie Collective




NK Chillen, Dutch Finals competitive leisuring presented by Derk Over
LARP Final Assembly
EXPO - LIVE PERFORMANCES - LARP - FILM - GAME SESSIONS - WORKSHOPS - FLUID- MODULAR NIGHT


EXPO - LIVE PERFORMANCES - FILM - WORKSHOPS - GAME SESSIONS


The Overkill festival - 2023

Tuesday 4th of July we’ve been informed by the board of Planetart that they are stopping with their role of facility administrator and leaving the building of Stationsplein, per 1 October. In this statement we are presenting the consequences for Sickhouse’s organisation, programs and community.

The building of Stationsplein, that we are in at the moment, was always meant to be demolished, to give space for the new square the city wants to develop for the station. Aware of this situation, we have been looking for a new location and solutions for a few years already. As we were not part of the WARP Technopolis project anymore since January 2022, we started, independently, in April of the same year to look for a new place for Sickhouse. With the support of the gemeente and our partners we have been studying different options. 

For a few months, we have been working on the possibility of moving into the old fire station of Enschede on the brandweer straat, together with 2 other cultural organisations, BlackBrick, a media art platform and GrensFrequentie, a musical breeding ground. We are making great progress and we are optimistic.

The new deadline of 1st of October, is definitely tight for a smooth transition and disturbs the last quarter of Sickhouse’s programs and The Overkill festival plans (15 to 19 November). We will be looking for the best options in the coming weeks and will announce the definitive plans for the end of the year shortly.

We hope Planetart and the WARP technopolis community will find ways to recover from this situation and develop their projects further.

For now Sickhouse is open the whole month of July with an open air Cinema, performances and our first Summer Film Camp. In August we take a summer break and we reopen the 1st of September with a gaming event and on the 2nd of September our short film festival Ko(o)rts is back. We will work on making September a month to celebrate the crazy years we had on Stationsplein!


For the rest of the year, we’ll share some updates as soon as we can. In these challenging times, we will keep doing our best to create a safe space for our community and visitors.

Marie Janin and Aike Lütkemöller, co-directors of Sickhouse and the team.

Statement future of Sickhouse

Do you want to make your own movie with professionals and learn how to write a scenario, draw a storyboard, build a decor, film, act, edit and present ? Summer Film Camp is a fun, 2 weeks program, welcoming young and curious minds in the world of filmmaking. It will be experimental, it will be collective, it will be DIY and full of surprises and improvisation.

The Summer camp is hosted from the 24th of July to the 4th of august.

If you want to learn in a playful way how to tell stories this is for you!

If you like to work together with a team and explore new things, this might be for you!

If you don’t have money for holidays this could be the solution!

To take part in the camp you only need to send your motivation letter to Aike from Sickhouse. In your mail explain what you like in movies, what is your favourite movie ever and what you would love to do in the camp. 

Film Camp summer 2023

We are starting a local game maker meetup! 

 is a professional gamemaker-meetup, welcoming any creative, regardless of the engine they are working in. At colliders we talk, present, introduce, play, give feedback and enjoy creations and ideas. Colliders aim is to develop a strong network for the indie/arthouse/serious game industry in the east of the Netherlands. With this meetup we want to support each other and create more opportunities for collaborations and exchange. The meetups are open to makers, enthusiasts, producers, artist, curators, etc.

Depending on the input of everyone, colliders will invite guests for talks, workshops, feedback sessions and more!



The first COLLIDERS MEETUP X GAME NIGHT is the 19th of May!



Colliders will be back every month in combination with the game night, curated by Shaman Garage, meaning after the meetup you can play a cool selection of games together!

You are interested and you want to share your ideas don't hesitate to sign up or mail us directly! (marie@theoverkill.nl)

Colliders - Game makers meet up

Sickhouse is very happy and proud to share that it has been granted with the “Creatieve Broedplaats Twente” funding.

This grant is meant to support Sickhouse to become a stronger structure, meaning at first taking care of its team and implementing the next steps of fair code practices. The grant will also be used to support the production and diffusion of playful experiences within a professional and supportive network. And finally the grant is here to develop a European network of DIY/DIT art and playful spaces.

Our ambitious plans bring Sickhouse to the next level, support independent creations within a healthy network and help export local knowledge all over Europe.

In 5 years Sickhouse became a space for multi disciplinary practices, experiments, celebrations, (self)explorations and expression. From gaming it takes its attitude, challenging its visitors while engaging in colourful adventures. From art it takes its organic shape, moving and transforming itself at the contact of others.

We are looking forward to using this support to focus on what matters the most to us : give space to PLAY.

Creatieve Broedplaats funding

Our new program supporting the creation of an independent game has started. After a productive JAM weekend in February, we received beautiful applications and selected 

and their one button story based project.

 will combine their expertise in the fields of 

 to create an interactive narrative experience for The Overkill Festival. Under the self imposed constraints of using 

 as input device, Ivan McGill and Pablo San Gregorio will deep into the 

Find out about their work on their insta page 

Once a month Pablo and Ivan, supported by our Zuraida Buter will present the program of our 

 following thematic supporting their research. Friday 14 of April is the first of their series!

Once in May and once at the end of August Pablo and Ivan will present the progress of their project to the public with feedback session. Don't hesitate to join to support them!

The gaming experience will premiere at The Overkill festival in November.

To support Shaman Garage studio with feed back and ideas, 

we are welcoming young players to the program

. If you like to play and to experiment, you are curious about the making process of indie game and you are between 15 and 25, this might be for you! 

Since Pablo and Ivan are from Spain the program will be in English, but we are able to help translate when necessary.

To become part of the Sick game community, send us a short motivation email to present your self and we'll get back to you to share the program.

You will be welcome once a month with Pablo and Ivan for a group session before Game Night, you will be invited to studio visit in the region and you will be invited to exhibition and festival tours when possible. Of course you will also be the guest of The Overkill festival, later in November.

If you are interested send your motivations to Marie : marie@theoverkill.nl

Sick Gaming trajectory

The newsletter of March is out! If you want to recieve it your mail you can also

, Sickhouse became 5 years old! We celebrated this with a two day anniversary event with music, movies, exhibitions from the Sickhouse crew, and of course a lot of games.

, we hosted a party of which the entrance profit will go to the following Sickhouse x The FemDem DJ-workshop program! We believe it is extremely important to give womxn-DJs the stage in this sadly still very male dominated world. (more info about the workshops coming up!)

 made a presence for an unforgettable party. And the whole celebration was made extra perfect by the amazing balloon art from 

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Together with our anniversary we launched our new website ( the one you are now on:), made by 

 This playful platform is now the one space where our event calendar, news, live stream, our community network and soon also our online digital archive comes together! But to fully get to know our website, we would love to invite you to play SWAMP SURFERS with us on March 10th! This game, created by the Sickhouse crew together with 

, will make you discover all the parts of the website.

, Sonic DIY* comes back for its third edition, to explore the creation of sound outside the regular music spectrum! This edition has an amazing international line up. A unique chance to see this artists from all over the world! (check here 

is an art collective that builds and explores sculptural electronic systems.


is a composer and performer based in Amsterdam. 



*sonic DIY is a concept created by Ole Nieling and Patrick Jonkman

 finally arrives in Enschede, and Sickhouse is organizing it’s first long term exhibition together with her!



Music videos, documentaries, animations, filters, brand content... Anne Horel expresses herself in many colourful ways. Playing with codes, she takes us into the surreal worlds through an aesthetic that combines various elements of pop and digital colture. Defining herself as a Polymorphic digital Artist, Anne has made social media her medium of predilection.

Within this new chapter we dive into social media platforms as we would in a rainbow version of the swamp. Following the show created for the Lavoir Numerique in France, Sickhouse is inviting Anne Horel to find playful and relevant ways to pull her work out of the (flat) screens. For this she wants to look into 3D printing, ceramic workshop, nail art, make up and more!

SAVE THE DATE: The 24th and 25th of March 

will be the official opening of Anne's exhibition in Sickhouse with an incredible performance by 

In the weeks and months to follow, this will be an ongoing project, with different (hybrid) events. The exhibition will be open every weekend for you to visit.

(with Wilmink theater / combi ticket coming soon)

March to the Sick

In 2023 Sickhouse starts a new program to support the creative process of local independent and/or arthouse gaming makers/studios!

(By local we mean working in Overijssel or close enough and able to work from Sickhouse and join our events on a regular basis.)

We are looking for indie/arthouse game maker(s) interested to work with us in exchange for :

Professional support from our mentor, Zuraida Buter, including brainstorm sessions, interviews with other professionals, studio visits and festival/exhibition tours

Tests / Feedback sessions with a young public. (A young gamers and art curious community will be associated to this trajectory to support the development of the game experience.)

A monthly fee of 250€ between march and december 2023

A production fee to present the gaming experience at The Overkill festival 2023

The studio/maker(s) to program one game night a month, meaning selecting indie games to present at Sickhouse for the public to play.

The selection obviously is expected to support the research of the gaming studio. (from local makers to international creatives. Our mentor will help the studio invite these guests and the Sickhouse team will produce the events).

The studio/maker(s) to present a gaming experience at The Overkill festival 2023

>> You are not from the gaming field (yet) but you have a relevant artistic experience and you really want to create your first game/gaming experience? We are interested too! Don't hesitate to mail Marie with your question and/or apply before the 12 February!

Zuraida Buter is an award-winning playful culture and playful arts curator based in the Netherlands.

 She curates, initiates, consults and documents events focused on playful culture and games. With her international network she brings people together for creation and playful experiences.

As a curator she is involved in curating talks, play and game exhibitions at different festivals, events and institutes such as Incubate, Tweetakt and De Brakke Grond in the Netherlands and Screenshake, IndieCade Europe and A.MAZE. / Berlin abroad. With Women in Games NL (WiGNL) she aims to stimulate diversity in the game industry.

Previously she initiated Dutch indie game showcase INDIGO in the Netherlands as well as the popular DGG network lunches as project manager at Dutch Game Garden (2008-2010). She was worldwide Executive Director of the Global Game Jam (2010-2014) and founding board member of Global Game Jam, Inc.

Open call Indie/arthouse game makers

The Newsletter of January is out! To get it in your mail directly you can sign up here : 

January is now over and it was a beautiful start for the year. We had an emotional launch of Bella Luna’s music video, we played werewolves of Millers Hollow after the very fun screening of 

 and we hosted an amazing Geluidsdrug Electronic jamsession! Let's look into the coming weeks and the busy February, with the very special 5th anniversary of Sickhouse to come and the launch of our new website, the return of MuSickMix and a very cool collab with The FemDem!!




In February, Sickhouse will exist for five years. Time to celebrate! On 

Friday the 24th and Saturday the 25th of February,

 we will host a two day hybrid celebration, with workshops, games and live music.
It is also the launch of our new website. Created by 

 our website is becoming an online Sickhouse, with our calendars and news but also direct access to our livestream, virtual spaces, archives and community. The artistic theme of the website will also be visible in the analogue Sickhouse building, creating a bridge between the two spaces!


In 2023 we are finally ready to present longer period exhibitions and we are starting with the wonderful Anne Horel (gif above)!

Together with the French digital artist, we dive into social media platforms as we would in a rainbow version of the swamp. Following the show created for the 

 in France, Sickhouse is challenging Anne Horel to put her work out of the screens. Playful and looking for bridges to build between the digital and physical, she will investigate 3D printing, ceramics, nail art, hair design and more, as potential crafts to translate her work.
From the end of March to June expect an incredible retropspective with many interactive events events. Save the date for the opening on 24&25 of March.

In the summer we are inviting a movie maker to invade the space and before we end the year with The Overkill Festival, we will be welcoming young talents and their VR research. More to be announced!



With the support of the Gemeente Enschede, we're developing 3 participative trajectories to welcome and engage more with the younger part of our community.


will be focusing on film making, which will take the shape of a summer camp where young creatives will be invited to make a film from scratch, with the support of professionals.



News

SICKPROD OPEN CALL 2025

Saxion-CMGT new multiplayer games reflecting on activism

The Ultimate IndieMash : Playful Contest

SICKHOUSE 6

Make your game with Sickhouse

Statement Sickhouse Space

The Overkill festival - 2023

Statement future of Sickhouse

Film Camp summer 2023

Colliders - Game makers meet up

Creatieve Broedplaats funding

Sick Gaming trajectory

March to the Sick

Open call Indie/arthouse game makers

NEWSLETTER February 2023

Theme 2023 The Outburst of the digital Swamp

Job Opening: Online communication person

Reflecting on our multiSINsorial program

Join our Sickhouse Family!

Looking back at Bona with Nkhensani Mkhari

An incredible Week At Sickhouse, this is what we want to be

Queerdoh 2022 Press Release

Newsletter: June 2022

Sickhouse Spring 2022 Report

Meet contestants for Sickhouse EuroGaming Vision festival 2022

Take over Piet & Philipp