W139: Kunstruimte in De Wallen, Amsterdam

W139 is an artist-run space for experimental contemporary art on the Warmoesstraat in the Wallen, in the centre of Amsterdam. Go for large exhibitions and public events that work differently from a museum show, with artists making new work on site and the programme responding to current issues. The programme mixes large group exhibitions with projects chosen through open calls, among them the W139 hosts... series. Exhibitions come with performances, talks and screenings, and a strand called Para-siting brings shorter projects into the building. Entry is a low fixed fee, and it is free for anyone 18 or under and for holders of a Museumkaart or a Stadspas with a green dot. W139 also runs a pay-it-forward scheme: pay a little more and a community ticket goes to someone who cannot afford to come. W139 began in 1979, when a group of young artists squatted the building and rebuilt it with materials they found nearby. They lived and worked there, and it was often open at night. A renovation of about three years followed in the 2000s, with exhibitions moving to Post CS in the meantime, and W139 returned to the Warmoesstraat in 2007. The house itself goes back to the 16th century and is a national monument.