Cafe and cultural concept, Subcult, is throwing a day party with music, art, performance and food, reconnecting to the pagan roots of the Spring Equinox, Eostre, Sunday 19th March.

With DJs, live performances, a tasting experience and an interactive altar that invites participants to let go of the old and welcome in the new, it’s the first in a series centered around pagan holidays. “As Subcult, we are looking to create a space for different countercultures to collide… The idea behind ‘Ostara’ is to highlight folklore celebrations that have been nearly annihilated by colonialism and  dominating monotheistic religions, that push through a capitalist patriarchal agenda. Nightlife and clubbing already feel like secular celebrations and gatherings in this way: coming together to eat, to dance and to commune.” Jort Dijkers, co-founder of Subcult.

“It felt important to give an ode to pagan, often polytheistic, traditions, focussing on feminine power and reconnecting to the natural world that we are part of, such as the astronomical calendar. Aspects of ancient celebrations around the equinoxes, like Easter, have endured and are still moments of celebration despite their systematic erosion. We wanted to give a nod to that with elements of Amsterdam’s clubbing culture… ‘Ostara’ is a place to be unapologetically odd, loud and offbeat.”

The full line up includes a veritable who’s who of Amsterdam’s satanic, witchy and pagan-inclined artists. Soundtracking the event on a custom made sound system from Kantarion Sound: Echobox’s Chalice is a Witch & REGE SATANAS will be opening with a selection inspired by folk-horror cult classics; the daughter of darkness Loma Doom will be delivering a two hour sonic soundscape; new solo project of one half of Know VA, Marijn Brussaard, aka Life of Ryan will be creating a dream-like auditory journey; hyper-pop duo No Plexus will be performing their new live show complete with a projected holographic light installation; and producer and vocalist COW SHIFT Z will be collaborating with her alter ego Cassandra, in a live ode to their past selves. 

There will be multi-media art by Ida C. M. Fisker, whose practice of witchcraft and femme & non-binary storytelling is informed by tactility, repetitive making and the mundane magic of unseen labour, on display on the walls of Subcult and in the interactive altar, where everyone will be invited to their rites to Spring, renewal and rebirth. A live performance by ReX, a performance artist teetering on the edge of drag, will be using their body as a canvas. Amsterdam-based multi-disciplinary event organisers, Kraft und Licht, will be creating a custom light show for the event and there will be stallholders from ‘Wild Weirdo Creations’ selling hand crafted floggers made from recycled materials.

Experimental plant-based restaurant, TestTafel, who share the De Sering space with Subcult, will be providing dinner in the form of a ritual tasting in an ode to the season of Spring. The event will kick off at 15:00, Sunday 19th March, at Subcult Rhoneweg 6. Ticket price is all inclusive and available now on their website.
IG: @subcult.ams