CultureLab^NL 2026

27 October 2026 ---> Tolhuistuin, Amsterdam

Join arts and culture leaders for a day of honest exchange that will change how you think about the year ahead.

Hosted by

The cultural sector faces challenges no single organisation can solve alone

The decisions that matter most – how to reach new audiences, where to invest digitally, when to take a risk on something unproven – rarely come with a clear answer. And many leaders are making them without much visibility into what their peers are actually doing.
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CultureLab NL exists to change that. A day where leaders share what they've genuinely tried, what the results looked like, and what they'd do differently. Because the sector moves faster when it learns together.

What to expect

CultureLab NL is built around honest conversation. Speakers talk about what they actually tried – including what didn't work. Sessions are designed to spark discussion. And there's plenty of time between them for the conversations that matter just as much as the programme.

The day runs across two tracks. Track 1 is for leaders and decision makers – strategic, future-facing conversations about where the sector is heading and how to navigate it. Track 2 is for marketing professionals and digital teams – practical, hands-on sessions on audience development, digital marketing and the tools that make it work.

Whichever track you're in, the person sitting next to you may have already tried the thing you've been thinking about. That's not a coincidence. It's the point of CultureLab.

The venue

CultureLab NL takes place in the Zonzij hall at Tolhuistuin – a versatile, intimate space in Amsterdam.

Tolhuistuin is just across the IJ from Amsterdam Central Station. The free Buiksloterweg ferry runs around the clock and takes under five minutes. If you're cycling, there's bike parking on site.

Plan your visit to Tolhuistuin

Programme

Track 1 features leadership conversations about digital strategy, audience development and the decisions shaping the sector's future.

Track 2 covers practical, hands-on sessions for marketing professionals and digital teams – everything from online advertising to audience segmentation.

Spaces are limited in Track 2 sessions, so we encourage you to sign up for the ones you plan to attend here. You can attend multiple Track 2 sessions.

The day closes with drinks and networking from 16:00.

10:00

Welcome

‍Coen van der Poll & Liesanne Rooks

Opening session welcoming you to CultureLab NL.

10:00

–

10:10

Keynote [EN]

Paul Callaghan

Paul Callaghan, Chair of the Board of Trustees for Sunderland Music, Arts and Culture Trust, will be speaking about how he's navigated experimentation and risk in his work to regenerate culture in the North-East of England and why cultural communities matter.

10:10

–

10:40

Comfort break + networking

Break with categorised tables to make connecting with peers easier.

10:40

–

11:00

From Data to Dialogue: The Cultural Target Audience Model in Practice [NL]

Ovatic

How can you make the Cultural Target Audience Model not only clear but also immediately applicable to your day-to-day marketing activities? In this session, Ovatic share their experiences with an innovative pilot project that automatically enriches visitor profiles with target audience segments during the ticketing and marketing process.

10:40

–

11:00

Track 2

11:00

Why you don't need a digital strategy [NL]

Tò Mò

Tò Mò explains why treating digital as a separate strategy is the fastest way to lose sight of your goals at a cultural organisation. Expect an engaging and interactive session.

11:00

–

11:40

Track 1

Q&A with CultureSuite CPO about our latest features [NL]

Ivo van der Ent

Discover the latest innovations developed for CultureSuite CMS and speak directly to our CPO about what these features unlock for cultural venues.

11:00

–

11:20

Track 2

Smart advertising with Amare's multichannel approach [NL]

Mondo Marketing

Discover how Amare constructed their digital marketing into a synchronised multichannel ecosystem, and how Google Ads (both Paid and Ad Grants), Meta campaigns, and YouTube reinforce rather than compete with each other.

11:20

–

11:40

Track 2

Comfort break + networking

Break with categorised tables to make connecting with peers easier.

11:40

–

12:00

12:00

Beyond the "What's On" page: Smarter event discovery [EN/NL]

Frans Noordam

The "What's On" page works well for visitors who already know what they're looking for. For everyone else, it can be the moment they leave. This session explores how to design discovery pathways that work for all your audiences, not just the regulars.

12:00

–

12:20

Track 1

Building a culture of experimentation [EN]

HOME Manchester

Jay Walton, Director of Audiences at HOME, on building a culture where teams feel safe to take risks, and what happens when unconventional ideas pay off.

12:20

–

12:40

Track 1

5 experiments every event marketer should try [EN]

MarketHype

Practical tips and inspiration on experiments marketers can do grow their audience, from re-engaging lapsed visitors to cross-selling events and merchandise.

12:00

–

12:20

Track 2

Backstage Chats: SEO/GEO [NL]

You and your peers ft. Mondo Marketing

Like our virtual Backstage Chats, these roundtables are entirely led by you and your peers working at cultural organisations. In this one, we encourage you to share challenges, solutions and strategies around SEO and GEO.

12:20

–

12:40

Track 2

Lunch + networking

Lunch break with plenty of time to connects with peers across the sector.

12:40

–

14:00

14:00

Grow your audience by sharing data with others [NL]

Publiq

In this session, publiq shows how sharing data across cultural organisations helps you reach people your own data misses – and understand your existing visitors better too. They'll walk through a real use case, plus what it takes to make data-sharing work in practice: trust between organisations and shared standards everyone can rely on.

14:00

–

14:20

Track 1

Event discovery and theme pages on Culturesuite [NL]

Liesanne Rooks

A practical follow-up to the Track 1 session about event discovery. Find out how to implement those event discovery ideas using CultureSuite.

14:00

–

14:20

Track 2

Powering venues with YesPlan x Tixly x CultureSuite integration [NL]

Speaker TBC

Discover how the integration between YesPlan, Tixly and CultureSuite unlocks new opportunities for arts marketers while saving time with automation.

14:20

–

14:40

Track 2

Comfort break + networking

Break with categorised tables to make connecting with peers easier.

14:40

–

15:00

15:00

Panel discussion: AI in arts and culture [NL]

Panel TBC

15:00

–

15:50

Track 1

Personalisation on CultureSuite CMS [NL]

Liesanne Rooks

How CultureSuite creates visitor tags using your ticketing and event management data to enable personalisation that drives engagement, audience development and ticket sales.

15:00

–

15:20

Track 2

Roadmap outlook: what's coming in the future on CultureSuite [NL]

Ivo van der Ent

Find out what's being worked on by CultureSuite developers and the latest needs and challenges we're solving for arts marketers and website practitioners.

15:20

–

15:45

Track 2

Closing remarks

15:50

–

16:00

16:00

Drinks and networking

Time to unwind, reflect on learnings from the day and connect with peers across the sector.

16:00

About CultureSuite

CultureSuite builds and manages websites for arts and culture venues. Our CMS powers 125+ theatres, concert halls, museums and festivals across eight countries with built-in ticketing integrations, accessibility features and tools designed specifically for the sector.

We host CultureLab because we believe the sector makes better decisions when it learns together.

Bursary places available thanks to our sponsors

Thanks to our sponsors, we're able to offer bursary places for professionals working in cultural venues. These free tickets widen access to education and professional development.

If you're a CultureSuite Community member, you attend for free.

If you've been given a bursary ticket by one of our sponsors, just let us know who gave it to you via the registration form.

For any other cultural professionals, you might still be able to get a bursary if you apply for one via the form.