Explore the City
During TEFAF Maastricht 2026, the city of Maastricht organizes a vibrant cultural program. The selection of cultural highlights, from museum exhibitions and special events, to musical concerts, offers the opportunity to visitors to experience the rich and diverse cultural life in Maastricht and the surrounding region.
Discover a selection of what there is to explore below. For more information on the programs, visit the dedicated Maastricht City Program website.
Chapeau Maastricht City Guide
Explore the city of Maastricht, its rich cultural scene, restaurants, and more with the Maastricht City Guide, produced and published by Chapeau Magazine.
Jazz Night
Various bars & cafés, March 14-15
Enjoy a wide range of music in various styles: jazz, funk, pop, rhythm & blues and French chansons. . In total more than 20 concerts and street bands. Performing musicians and bands include: The Basily Gipsy Band, Marc Huynen, Jo Didderen and Guests, Peter Hermesdorf, The Suzets, Geert Roelofs, Orquesta Tipica Conjunto, Bart Oostindië, Trio 2 CV, Johan de Haan, and the Feurthstreet Lumber Factory Jazzband. Admission to all concerts is free. Organized by Jekerjazz Maastricht, Jazz Night is supported by the city of Maastricht.
Heritage Unlocked
Historic city centre & Randwyck, March 17
During Heritage Unlocked 2026 the visitors and inhabitants can join tours given by official guides to visit the art collection and historic buildings of Maastricht University, which celebrates it’s 50th anniversary this year. One departs from the Dinghuis and one from the MECC.
Emerging Artists Unveiled
Across various locations, March 7 - April 4
During TEFAF various Maastricht locations offer a platform to local artists aged 30 and under. This creates an opportunity for young talent to present themselves to the general public for the first time – from Maastricht residents to visitors to the prestigious art fair. By making art visible in prominent locations throughout the city, TEFAF stakeholders are treated to an artistic urban experience during their stay in Maastricht.
Art in the Shop Window
Various shops in Maastricht, March 9-19
More than 50 shops in the center of Maastricht will decorate their windows artfully in the run up to and during TEFAF. Take a stroll and admire the displays. For more information and a map of the participating retailers visit the dedicated Maastricht City Program website.
Harvest
Bureau Europa and various locations, March 14 - April 18
Harvest is a multi-day art and design manifestation in Maastricht, where the city functions as a stage, laboratory and meeting place. Artists and designers from contemporary art, design and cross-disciplinary practices present their work throughout the city, including public spaces, cultural institutions and unexpected locations. With Bureau Europa as the central venue, Harvest encourages interaction between makers, residents and visitors. The programme connects contemporary artistic practices to the heritage, history and future of Maastricht, inviting visitors to experience the city from new perspectives.
Four times Two: half a century of art from the collection
Bonnefanten Museum, until June 14
Four times Two showcases half a century of art from the collection (1965 – 2015). In each room, works by four different artists are displayed. Their works are very diverse. It is up to the visitor to make the connection and discover what unites the artworks with each other and with the viewer. As a suggestion or hint, each room has a title.
Bitches Brew
Bonnefanten Museum, until September 6
After more than ten years, Keetje Mans, Tanja Ritterbex, and Aline Thomassen return to the Bonnefanten museum. Trained in Limburg, these three influential artists have long shaped contemporary figurative painting in the Netherlands, and the museum has followed and collected their work for years. Bitches Brew is not a group show but a triptych: three solo practices in dialogue. Like its Miles Davis namesake, the exhibition is bittersweet, bold, and free. Each artist speaks in her own visual language, searching for truth without narrative—fearless, lived-in, and expressive. Together, they redefine figurative painting today: urgent, liberating, and unmistakably feminine.
My Circus – Ellen von Unwerth
Photography Museum at the Vrijthof, until September 13
The Photo Museum at the Vrijthof in Maastricht presents a sensational exhibition by the world-famous German fashion and art photographer Ellen von Unwerth, who lives in Paris. The exhibition My Circus features 160 iconic photos of models and pop artists, focusing on femininity, playfulness, eroticism, and fashion. The stylish images were created for fashion brands, magazines, and her own inspiring VON magazine and books.
Porous Grounds, Sacred Codes
Marres, House for Contemporary Culture, until May 17
Porous Grounds, Sacred Codes is a large-scale exhibition project that takes the visitor on a powerful and inspiring journey through themes of collectivity, diaspora, and cultural identity. The exhibition occupies the entire house of Marres. Porous Grounds, Sacred Codes is developed in close collaboration with the renowned Senegalese art institute RAW Material Company (Dakar). From their team, two curators have been appointed: Haja Fanta and Filly Gueye.
Other Events & Concerts in Maastricht
CUPPENS & CUPPENS IN REMIX ’26
S.A.C. (Space for Art and Culture) 59, March 11 - May 17
Cuppens & Cuppens in Remix ’26 is an immersive exhibition by Ri-Jeanne Cuppens and Noëlle Cuppens, in which the artists revisit and recombine existing works from their oeuvre within a new spatial context. The exhibition space at S.A.C. 59 is conceived as a total installation, where space, illusion and scale are decisive elements in the visitor’s experience.
Chamber Music Festival
Conservatorium Maastricht, March 16-20
The Chamber Music Festival offers a vibrant exploration of classical music in all its forms. Hosted at Conservatorium Maastricht, the festival brings together students and internationally renowned artists for a week of concerts, master classes, lectures, and more. Spread across several days, each event highlights a different facet of chamber music, from intimate performances to inspiring educational sessions.
La Bohème by The National Opera of Ukraine, Odessa
Theater aan het Vrijthof, March 17
La Bohème is widely regarded as Puccini's masterpiece. The Flemish director Jean-François D’hondt gives the classic a fresh, contemporary interpretation. The story revolves around the doomed love of the young poet Rodolfo for Mimì, a seamstress suffering from a deadly illness. Amid the impoverished Parisian artistic community, they try to hold on to their love, but fate gradually drives them apart.