Nieuwe Kerk unveils Queer Amsterdam exhibition ahead of WorldPride 2026

The Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam opened the exhibition "Queer Amsterdam, de roze stad" on 9 July. The show presents four centuries of Dutch LGBTQ+ history through more than sixty objects, documents and personal stories. A centerpiece is the previously unseen Carel Willink portrait "Portret van Rik" (1976), depicting Rik van Dam, the partner of writer and COC board member Johan Polak, with the background of Villa Flevorama, a historic gay meeting place. The painting was jointly acquired by the Rijksmuseum and the Amsterdam Museum.

Key artifacts include the wedding rings and register of one of the first same‑sex couples married in 2001, a photograph of Bet van Beeren at café ’t Mandje – the first openly gay bar in the city – a lamp symbolising police raids, and a costume worn by drag queen and AIDS activist Hellun Zelluf. The exhibition forms a core part of the WorldPride 2026 programme, which runs for two weeks in Amsterdam and marks the 25th anniversary of same‑sex marriage in the Netherlands. The WorldPride opening ceremony is scheduled for 8 July, when a new "Walk of Pride" monument will also be unveiled.