The event takes place on 15, 16 and 17 April 2026 in Eindhoven, The Netherlands.

The Art Department 2026 will take place in Eindhoven, The Netherlands.

The program is split between multiple locations in the Strijp-S Area: Klokgebouw, Ketelhuisplein and Natlab.

Address:
Klokgebouw: Klokgebouw 50 5617 AB Eindhoven
Ketelhuisplein: Ketelhuisplein 1, 5617 AE Eindhoven
Natlab: Kastanjelaan 500, 5616 LZ Eindhoven

The Art Department 2026 takes place in several locations in the Strijp-S Area.

KLOKGEBOUW

Address: Klokgebouw 50 5617 AB Eindhoven
By train:
Get off at Eindhoven Strijp-S. It’s a 4-min. walk from here.
If you get off at Eindhoven Centraal, you can take multiple buses or walk in 25 min. to the venue.  

By bus:
Catch bus 401, 402, 403 at Eindhoven Centraal and get off at Strijp-S. Plan your trip quickly and easily via 9292 or the NS journey planner.  

By car:
There are several paid-parking in the neighborhood of Strijp-S. You’ll find an overview here. 

KETELHUISPLEIN

Address: Ketelhuisplein 1, 5617 AE Eindhoven

Ketelhuisplein is located just in front of the Klokgebouw, and is thus accessible in the same way.

NATLAB

Address: Kastanjelaan 500, 5616 LZ Eindhoven

By Bike
Coming by bike? You can easily park it right in front of the building in the bike racks.

By train & public transport
Get off at Eindhoven Strijp-S. It’s a 15-min. walk from here.
If you get off at Eindhoven Centraal, you can take multiple buses or walk in 25 min. to the venue. Plan your trip quickly and easily via 9292 or the NS journey planner.  

Parking
Parking is simple along the road on Kastanjelaan or at another location outside Strijp-S. Use parking code 5157 to pay. Or use code 5189 for parking on Strijp-S.

The nearest parking garages at Strijp-S are:
Parking garage langs het spoor
Parking garage om de hoek

Visitors with Disabilities
For visitors with disabilities, there are special free parking spots available to the left of the main entrance of our building.

We’re always on the lookout for enthusiastic people who can assist during our festival. Here is how you can volunteer for The Art Department 2026 and/or PIFF 2026. 

Our Art Market is curated through an online application process.
You can apply for a spot in the Art Market via this form. 

Deadline to register and submit the form: 9 February 2026 – 17:00h!

We’ll inform all selected applicants before the 16th of February.

For the first time ever we are giving our community the chance to become a speaker on our most cosiest stage yet: The Living Room.

Want to share your story, work, process or creative journey? Fill out this form so that we’ll get to know you and your work a bit better.

The deadline for this open call is 9 February at 17:00 CET.
We will get back to you shortly after the deadline, whether you are selected or not.

The portfolio reviews are held throughout the festival, on 16 and 17 April.
There will be no portfolio review sessions on the 15 April.

You can reserve a specific time slot on the day itself in our portfolio review area. Reviews have a maximum duration of 15 min, so be prepared! Make sure to have your portfolio (digital or printed) ready to go. In case of high demand, we will only allow 1 review per person per day. Full = full. 

A list of participating artists and studios will be shared a few days before the festival. Keep an eye on our social channels for updates! 

The timetable for The Art Department 2026 will be published online approximately 1 month ahead of the festival.

Keep an eye on our channels for the announcement.

Having trouble finding your tickets? Log in here and access them directly.

After you’ve completed your purchase, you’ll receive an e-mail with your tickets. In this e-mail you’ll also find a link to your receipt. 

Do you need a business invoice?

When buying your ticket you’ve had the option to add your invoice details upon check out. You’ll find your VAT-invoice in the confirmation e-mail by clicking on the link “View Invoice”. You can also find your invoice in your Filmchief account under “My orders and purchases”. 

If you selected the NO box for the business invoice, you already decided to skip this part and will not receive a business invoice. 

Tickets for 15 April grant you access to the program on that day. Upon entering the venue you will be asked to choose the program parts you want to take part in. If you make no choice you can access the talks and masterclasses that still have available spots. Tickets for 15 April also grant you access to the Playgrounds International Film Festival day film program taking place in Natlab (but not PIFF’s Opening Night which is an invite-only event).

2 Day Tickets and Day Tickets for 16 + 17 April  give you access to our main program at the Klokgebouw. This includes: program on all 4 stages, Industry Garden, portfolio reviews, expo, meet & greets, VR-installations and the evening program.
A valid TAD ticket for the day also grant you access to the Playgrounds International Film Festival film program taking place in Natlab. Do keep in mind that the film screenings have limited places available for TAD ticket holders and PIFF ticket buyers have priority. 

We don’t refund tickets. We recommend to resell your ticket on our Discord. Please note the ticket is not connected to a name/person, we will not check the name at the entrance. 

This year we’ll open up a small part of our festival for the general public for which no tickets are required. You’ll gain free access to: art market, book shop, sketch sessions and the artist studios. 

The name of the ticket holder won’t be checked at the entrance. So, you can easily give the ticket to someone else, as a gift for example! 

Want to swap tickets or know someone who’s trying to find tickets? Join our Discord – maybe somebody can help you! 

Please note: 

Next Gen tickets can only be transferred to someone who meets the education discount criteria.

If you’ve bought a full pass, you can only transfer the full ticket, not just one day. One e-ticket = one wristband. Leave your full pass wristband on over night. Removed wristbands are no longer valid and cannot be transferred. 

Yes, you receive one wristband for your e-ticket. Leave your full pass wristband on overnight. Removed wristbands are no longer valid and cannot be transferred. 

Certainly! There’s a bar which serves both hot and cold drinks. 

Food stands are open throughout the day where you can get a variety of dishes (vegan + vega options available). 

(for international guests) Tap water in the Netherlands is of good quality. Be eco-friendly, bring your own can and fill it up in one of the restrooms. 

Great! Join our Discord and drop a line in the ‘Travel Buddies’ channel. Perhaps you can share a car ride? Get drinks before the festival starts? Oh.. the social opportunities are endless. 

The majority of the festival takes place on ground level and is accessible for wheelchairs via the normal entrance.

Please note that the Living Room Stage will unfortunately not be wheelchair accessible this year, as it is located on the first floor and can only be reached by stairs.

If you would like to attend a session at the Living Room, please reach out to one of our staff members so we can explore possible solutions together.

 Please know that if you have any disability, you can always contact us so that we can facilitate your stay. We are more than happy to think with you about your visit. You can send an e-mail to info@weareplaygrounds.nl or call + 31 40 30 98 017 . 

To all Playgrounds events, our Terms & Conditions apply. 

DO NOT REMOVE YOUR WRISTBAND. Please leave your full pass wristband on overnight. Removed wristbands are no longer valid and will not be replaced by a new pass; 

Please be quiet during the presentations. Visitors that are disturbing the talks will be removed from the venue; 

The whole venue is a non-smoking area; 

We don’t serve alcohol under 18. Our crew and crew of the venue is obliged to ask for a valid ID; 

We have a free cloakrooms. Playgrounds cannot be accountable for loss of items or damage to items. Use is at your own risk; 

It is prohibited to record the talks on any device; 

The program is tentative and submissive to change. Playgrounds keeps an up-to-date time schedule on this site. All rights are reserved. 

Playgrounds is committed to providing a safe and inclusive experience for everyone involved in our events regardless of gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disabilities, neurodiversity, ethnicity, color, nationality, age, religion, or other protected characteristics. We believe everyone has the right to enjoy our events without fear of harassment, discrimination, or condescension. You can find our Code of Conduct here. If you feel unsafe or witness an unsafe situation at the festival, please reach out to us at the ticketing desk, contact any crew member or via WhatsApp: + 31 40 30 98 017