10x Urban culture tips
From urban sports to street art, Eindhoven is the urban capital of the Netherlands. We defend that title every year during several events where both world-class and young talent meet to perform at a high level for the public. But that’s not all, the rest of the year, the city is also exuding urban culture. Whether you want to try it yourself or prefer to be a spectator, discover the Eindhoven urban culture with our tips!
Cruising in Area51
At the Ketelhuisplein, located in the Strijp-S district, you can find the impressive skate park Area51. Go up the stairs, and stumble upon a gigantic hall full of skaters, BMX'ers, WCMX'ers, scooters, inline skaters, and MTB'ers. From young beginners to Dutch athletes preparing for the Olympics. As a visitor, you can just walk in and watch the tricks from the balcony. Order a drink at the bar and feast your eyes!
Urban Sport Park
In the Drents Dorp, next to Strijp-T, lies the Urban Sport Park, known among the locals as 't Schoot. On weekends and weekday evenings, you can watch calisthenics training (or try it yourself). Calisthenics is a form of exercise using the weight of your own body. In addition to the calisthenics equipment, there is also a survival run course, a pump track, a playground, and a small football field.
Climbing at MONK
MONK at Strijp-S was the first boulder gym in the Netherlands. After a few relocations, you can now find the club in the building of the former Philips Bedrijfsschool. With over 700 square meters of climbing walls divided over two floors, a training area, and a small café, this is the place to reach great heights!
Street art in the Berenkuil
The Berenkuil is the largest open-air museum in the Netherlands. The two-level interchange is the setting for the annual graffiti festival Step in the Arena. More than 150 graffiti artists from all over the world gather in Eindhoven and work on a creative transformation all weekend. During the festival and throughout the year, you can see all kinds of graffiti and street art here: letters, cartoons, photorealistic, and postmodern graffiti.
The talents of Dynamo
Dynamo has been a local talent platform since the 1980s. It offers young people a place to develop in their own subculture. Within the urban scene, Dynamo has set up HipHopLab040. Breakdance crew The Ruggeds is one of the most well-known examples of a group that started out at Dynamo and now gives dazzling performances all over the world.
World Breaking Classic
World Breaking Classic is the world's largest 2vs2 breaking competition. Each year, eight winners emerge from the qualification rounds and travel to Eindhoven for a weekend. Here, they compete in a packed arena against the 'established order': eight world top performers invited by the organization. The underdogs against the 'great eight'. Who will take home the win?
Urban Culture Festival
Every year in June, Strijp-S is all about urban culture! You can enjoy several disciplines in one day, from dance to freerunning, and from singing to spoken word. For amateurs and pros or just the curious. Get ready to be amazed by a day full of free workshops, shows, and battles.
Hidden street art
These days, you can spot street art on just about every street corner. But in Eindhoven, you’ll also find it in very unexpected, sometimes even invisible places. Take the nano graffiti from the project Mine is smaller than yours: 10 works that are not visible to the naked eye. 'Less is more' is what Slovenian artist NAME must have thought. From complex street art to personal scribbles, this route takes you along ten miniscule works of art in the city.
Impressive murals
If you prefer to marvel at more substantial works of art, Eindhoven is also the place to be. The Netherlands' largest mural with a single theme can be found behind the Klokgebouw at Strijp-S. On the 8 by 140 meters wide wall are portraits of seven artists who have performed in the Klokgebouw (from left to right: Fresku, M.I.A., Faithless, Motörhead, Die Antwoord, Kovacs, and Peter Pan Speedrock). You'll find impressive murals in other places too, like Johan Moorman's colorful 'Welcome to the future' on the Aalsterweg or Studio Giftig's recent 'Motion' on the CKE building, in collaboration with rapper Fresku. Keep an eye out for more ‘Walls with paint’ on our @eindhovencity socials!
Colorful tunnels
Tunnels and overpasses are often perceived as dark or even unsafe. The municipality wants to change this with the 'Tunnel Vision' project. Through interventions with art and graffiti, places like this, that are already scheduled for maintenance, will be given a structural makeover. Dozens of tunnels have already been transformed. All of them are works of art that bring a smile to your face, such as John Cleese's Silly Walk or the rainbow tunnel at the gateway to Kruisstraat.
Looking for more tips? Check out the urban map of Emoves!
