Academie Minerva part of ESNS26

Academie Minerva will be celebrating emerging talent during ESNS on 15 and 16 January. With a packed programme in collaboration with NOORD, Minerva Academy for Pop Culture and the Kunstkantine, you can immerse yourself in panels, art and, of course, lots of music during Club NOORD in our building on Zuiderdiep. In the building on Praediniussingel, you can check out international acts from the Eurosonic line-up. In addition, our current and former students contribute to the programme of the showcase festival in many other ways.

Club NOORD

15 and 16 January, Zuiderdiep building
The Central Hall and canteen of Academie Minerva on Zuiderdiep will be transformed into a Eurosonic venue, pop stage and pop-up gallery. 

Club NOORD programme (free access)
During ESNS (Eurosonic Noorderslag), Club NOORD is the meeting place for northern creators, musicians, professionals and audiences. Together with artists, festivals, pop organisations and educational institutions, NOORD, ESNS and Minerva Academy are organising a free programme full of encounters, exchanges and experimentation. During the day, there will be room for discussions, panels and workshops; in the evening, the club will be transformed into an official ESNS stage where new northern talent will present themselves to each other, visitors and the music industry. 

During the day, there will be an extensive conference programme in collaboration with NOORD. In addition, in collaboration with Kunstkantine, there is a temporary exhibition featuring work by students Haeun Lee, Marit Jansen, László Antonio Takács-Cardenas, Taco Yutong Huo, Huba Hönigh, Joana Filipa Rodrigues Duarte, Diana Gabriella Passat, Daria Mladenovic, Bella Ingrid du Toit, Babak Khalili & Aleksas Seporaitis.

The line-up for Club NOORD 2026 consists of: Alexander Moto, Bliss, døtre, Dubbel Glas, Helen Jewett, Jelle Mulder, Laguna, LYS TIGRÉ, Redmer, S1RE, shoom and tays.

In addition to these NOORD acts, there will also be shows by artists from the Minerva Academy for Popular Culture. During Club NOORD, performances will be given by: Brighid, Hannah Hoogsteen, Jeffrey van Warmerdam, LIEVE, Merel & Paulus, Next Horizon, oxar, Samija, VIDE, WEL MOED, Will DeBrass and YouYouri.

View the programme for Thursday 15 January here (in Dutch).
View the programme for Friday 16 January here (in Dutch).
The entire programme is free to attend.

About this event
For the second time, Club NOORD will be hosted in the Minerva Academy building on Zuiderdiep. Minerva contributes to the programme not only as a location but also as a content partner, with a shared focus on talent development, creation and experimentation.

ESNS Venue Praediniussingel

15 and 16 January, Praediniussingel building
Visitors with a festival wristband can attend the ESNS programme in the building on Praediniussingel. The programme can be viewed on the ESNS website. 

ESNS Echo: Offcourse

14- 17 januari, Grote Markt, Forum Groningen, Happy Walker, Minerva Art Academy Praediniussingel 
Students from Academie Minerva have created new visual work using four decades of ESNS photo and video material from the Groninger Archives. The art installations of ESNS Echo can be seen at various locations throughout the city.

During 40 years of ESNS, the entire city breathes pop culture. Groningen is the place that embodies the ESNS atmosphere and comes alive during the event. But what have those 40 years actually meant for pop music? Which stages of development can we identify, and which snapshots of time do we recognize? For this occasion, the Groninger Archives have opened up their rich collection of pop culture material.

Twenty students from Academie Minerva explored the archives as part of a specially offered offcourse (an elective within their degree programmes). Inspired by their discoveries, they created new visual works reflecting 40 years of pop culture in Groningen.

Participating students are: Karīna Aizsila, Douwe Brouwer, Clara van Ginderen, Ashal Gyokdemir, Jasmien Hoeksema, Noah Koster, Justus Kuiper, Andreea Luţă, Anne Middelbosch, Liya Nur, Emilia Paul, Noga Peleg Brochstein, Teodora Stan, Marina Vasileva, Amina Wache, Jacky Weerman.

The artworks are displayed at various locations across the city, including the Grote Markt, the Forum, De Oosterpoort, and several shop windows in the city centre. The archival material is sourced from Regine Pijning and Joost Sizoo (photographs), OOG TV (videos), and Benne Holwerda, Elzo Smid, Frank Schaap, and Lisa Sportel (posters).

ESNS ART: EPEX (European Poster Explosion)

14 - 17 January, Pictura Groningen

During the European Poster Explosion (EPEX), you can see a selection of screen-printed posters, art prints and other merchandise from all over Europe at Kunstlievend Genootschap Pictura. 

On the upper floor, in the gallery, there is an exhibition and market entirely dedicated to gig posters. All posters are original works of art, created in collaboration with musicians and pop venues. Most are for sale. 

Downstairs, you will find an exhibition by second-year design students from the Minerva Academy.

EPEX is an initiative of VERA Art Division & Kunstlievend Genootschap Pictura. 

ESNS ART: Alumni at various exhibitions

Work by alumni of the Minerva Art Academy is on display at various locations. 

• HYPERTROVE III - SIGN: 17 January, featuring work by Ellemieke Meijer, among others, organised by Enrica Arbia, Radina Kordova, among others.
• NP3 | RE:Search:Gallery: 17 January, featuring work by Jurjen Galema, An Ye Zhi de Jong, Ra'fat Ali, among others.

View the entire ESNS ART programme here.