Nxt Museum

NXT Museum is the Netherlands’ first museum dedicated entirely to new media art. Located at Asterweg 22 in Amsterdam Noord, this experimental art space fills a former TV studio with large-scale, multi-sensory installations that sit at the intersection of art, technology, science and sound.

• Address: Asterweg 22, 1031 HP Amsterdam (Amsterdam Noord)
• Opening hours: Wed, Thu & Sun 11:00–20:30; Fri & Sat 11:00–22:30; closed Monday & Tuesday
• Tickets: Online only — adults roughly €19.50–€24.50 depending on the time slot; children under 10 free
• Time needed: About 1 to 1.5 hours
• Getting there: Free ferry to Buiksloterweg behind Amsterdam Centraal, then a 5-minute walk or cycle
• Now showing: Still Processing — immersive installations by seven new media artists

Tucked into a former television studio across the IJ in Amsterdam Noord, NXT Museum is one of the city’s most genuinely modern cultural experiences. Founded in 2020 by Merel van Helsdingen, it was the first institution in the Netherlands to focus entirely on new media art — the kind of large-scale, immersive work that uses light, sound, code and motion to wrap around you rather than hang on a wall. If you’ve grown tired of the Old Master crowds in the centre, a visit here feels like stepping into the museum of the future.

What is NXT Museum?

NXT Museum is an experimental art space in Amsterdam that explores the intersection of art, technology, science and sound. It commissions and presents ground-breaking immersive installations by pioneering contemporary artists, designers and technologists, and it was the first museum in the Netherlands built entirely around new media art.

The museum opened on 29 August 2020 — in the middle of the pandemic, when most of Amsterdam’s major museums were shut — inside a 2,100-square-metre former recording studio in the post-industrial creative district of Noord. Founder and managing director Merel van Helsdingen came from a marketing background with brands like Disney, Universal Music and Apple, and saw a gap in the cultural field: the multi-sensory, interactive art popping up at music festivals had nowhere permanent to live. NXT is her answer to that — a space that searches, shows and questions how technology shapes humanity, told entirely through art.

Inside, you won’t find framed paintings. Instead, dark rooms open onto room-filling projections, kinetic light sculptures, AI-driven visuals and spatial sound. Many works respond to your presence or movement, so the exhibition shifts as you walk through it — blurring the line between observer and participant. For context on where it fits in the city’s wider creative landscape, see our overview of the Amsterdam art scene.

What’s on at NXT Museum: the “Still Processing” exhibition

The current exhibition at NXT Museum is Still Processing, a journey through the evolution of image processing — both by machines and by the human eye. It asks how we actually perceive the world and what impact computer programs and algorithms have on what we see and feel.

Featuring large, immersive installations by seven visionary artists — including Rosa Menkman, Boris Acket, Children of the Light, Gabey Tjon a Tham, Geoffrey Lillemon and Lumus Instruments — Still Processing lets you explore spaces where machine algorithms meet human perception. Expect kinetic light and sound installations, 3D environments and AI projections that warp the senses and challenge how you read reality. It’s the kind of show that rewards slowing down: pick a room you love, sit with it, and let it move around you.

NXT rotates its large-scale exhibitions roughly once a year and runs a public programme of talks, performances, listening sessions and hands-on art workshops alongside the main show, so it’s worth checking the current programme before you book.

NXT Museum opening hours

NXT Museum is open five days a week and closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. These are the current opening hours:

• Monday: Closed
• Tuesday: Closed
• Wednesday: 11:00 – 20:30
• Thursday: 11:00 – 20:30
• Friday: 11:00 – 22:30
• Saturday: 11:00 – 22:30
• Sunday: 11:00 – 20:30

The late Friday and Saturday closing (22:30) makes NXT one of the better options for an evening activity in Amsterdam, and the dark, glowing rooms feel especially atmospheric after sunset. Weekday afternoons are the quietest if you’d rather have the installations to yourself. Hours can change on public holidays and for special events, so always confirm on the official website before you travel out to Noord.

NXT Museum tickets and prices

NXT Museum tickets are sold online only — there is no ticket desk at the door. Booking a timed slot in advance keeps numbers manageable so each visitor gets room to experience the installations. Prices are dynamic and vary by time slot and availability, but as a guide:

• Adult: approximately €19.50 – €24.50
• Student: around €15.00
• Youth (10–17): around €13.50
• Children under 10: free
• CJP / EYCA card: around €12.25

The museum accepts the I amsterdam City Card — just reserve your free timeslot through the ticket shop in advance and bring your card on the day. Note that NXT is not part of the Museumkaart’s free-entry scheme, so Museumkaart holders still need a standard ticket. Book directly through the museum’s website to lock in your preferred time, especially for Friday and Saturday evenings, which sell out first.

How to get to NXT Museum from Amsterdam Centraal

Getting to NXT Museum is half the fun. From Amsterdam Centraal, take the free GVB ferry to Buiksloterweg from the docks directly behind the station. The crossing over the IJ takes about five minutes, and from the ferry stop it’s a short 5-minute walk or cycle to Asterweg 22 — roughly a 10-minute bike ride or 20-minute walk in total.

• By ferry + foot/bike: Free Buiksloterweg ferry behind Centraal, then a 5-minute walk to Asterweg 22.
• By metro: Take Metro line 52 (Noord/South line) to Noorderpark station, then walk about 10 minutes.
• By car: Not recommended — there’s no on-site parking and very limited spaces in the neighbourhood.

The museum sits in the heart of creative Noord, so it pairs naturally with the nearby NDSM wharf for street art, food and post-industrial atmosphere. New to crossing the IJ? Our guide on how to get around Amsterdam covers the free ferries and public transport in detail.

A local’s take: is NXT Museum worth it?

Yes — NXT Museum is worth visiting if you go in knowing what it is. We rate it a solid 3.8 out of 5: the production values are genuinely impressive and a few of the rooms are jaw-dropping, but the experience is short and the ticket price is steep for the time you spend inside.

Is it a tourist trap? Not really — it’s a serious, well-curated space rather than a photo-op factory, though the dynamic pricing and Instagram-friendly lighting can make it feel that way at peak times. Most visitors spend about 1 to 1.5 hours here, so treat it as a focused half-day stop rather than an all-day museum. It works best for couples, design and tech lovers, and anyone craving something different from the canal-house circuit; NXT even runs a dedicated “Date Night” experience. Families are welcome, but the dark rooms, flashing lights and loud sound can overwhelm very young children. Go on a weekday afternoon or right at opening to avoid the crowds, and you’ll get the most out of it. If immersive, light-based art is your thing, the trippy Electric Ladyland fluorescent art museum makes a great companion visit.

Things to do near NXT Museum in Amsterdam Noord

NXT Museum is an easy anchor for a day exploring Amsterdam Noord, the city’s most creative and fast-changing district. After the exhibition, you don’t have to go far for more:

• Café Restaurant Metro — the on-site café-restaurant, open daily for breakfast and lunch and Tuesday to Saturday for drinks and dinner.
• NDSM wharf — a former shipyard turned street-art and cultural hub, a short ride west along the waterfront.
• More immersive art — if you like a tech-forward, design-led museum, the Moco Museum across town pairs modern and street art with digital rooms.
• October music lovers — NXT regularly hosts events during the Amsterdam Dance Event; see our ADE planner to build it into your festival week.

For more ideas on filling out the day, browse our roundup of the best Amsterdam attractions, and read our honest take on which tourist traps to avoid so your time in the city goes further.

Frequently asked questions