🧉 🌙 Maté Nacht | Art Café

6 June 2026 | Younity Utrecht

13:30 – 23:00

Maté Nacht is a monthly gathering where art, culture, and human connection come together in a warm and welcoming atmosphere.

Inspired by the ritual of sharing maté, a traditional drink known for bringing people together, Maté Nacht creates a space where strangers can meet, conversations unfold naturally, and creativity flows freely.

During this edition, visitors are invited to move through a living art café filled with workshops, film, dance, digital art, Arabic literature, shared dining experiences, and spontaneous encounters. From open ateliers and salsa dancing to documentaries, communal tables, and conversations around maté, each space invites people to slow down, explore, and connect.

More than a traditional event, Maté Nacht feels like a temporary community where people meet beyond social roles, backgrounds, and expectations. A place where art is not only observed, but shared and experienced together.

Everyone is welcome, artists, curious minds, and anyone seeking inspiration, connection, and human warmth.

Maté Nacht is a drug-free and alcohol-free event, creating a clear and grounded environment for authentic human connection.

📚 13:30 – 23:00 | Arabic Book Corner | Binyan Books

Explore a carefully curated selection of Arabic books during Maté Nacht, ranging from literature and poetry to educational and contemporary publications. Browse through the collection, discover new stories, and take books home with you.

At the special “Wishlist Corner”, you can scan a QR code to request books you would love to see during the next edition of the book corner.

🎨 13:30 – 23:00 | Open Atelier | Nostalgia | Haneen Khalil

Step into a visual installation where Arabic calligraphy, Syrian heritage, and contemporary digital art come together. Discover digital presentations of paintings, experimental compositions, and visual worlds exploring memory, identity, and spirituality.

An open space to wander, observe, feel, and experience art in a different way.

💃 14:00 – 16:30 | Workshop | Intro to Salsa Dancing | Alexander Alraheb

Discover the energy and joy of salsa during this beginner-friendly workshop. Learn the basics of Latin salsa rhythms, simple solo and partner movements, and experience how dance can bring people together in a playful and welcoming way.

Feel free to join with a dance partner, or come alone and meet new people during the workshop. A balanced mix of leaders and followers is appreciated.

🎨 14:00 – 16:30 | Workshop | Creating in the Klieder | Sterre Rosmalen

Let go of the idea of “perfect” or “beautiful” and discover a playful way of creating. During this open workshop, you will experiment with shapes, textures, colors, and simple materials in a free and relaxed atmosphere.

Paper, paint, chalk, markers, and other materials will be available. Feel free to sketch, explore, and create without rules.

✍️ 14:00 – 16:30 | Workshop | Writing Between Reality and Imagination | Rose Kalash

Discover how writing can become a bridge between memory, emotion, and imagination. Through storytelling exercises, reflective prompts, and creative writing experiments, this workshop invites you to transform personal experiences into fictional narratives.

An open space to explore thoughts, feelings, and inner worlds through words — without the pressure of writing “perfectly.”

🌀 15:00 – 16:30 | Workshop | Mixed Performance Arts Training & Jam | Damir Boeren

Let go of fixed artistic boundaries and discover new forms of expression through movement, sound, and interaction. This workshop invites participants to experiment intuitively and create together beyond traditional disciplines.

After the workshop, we move into an open instant composition jam where spontaneous performances emerge from the moment. No prior experience needed — curiosity is enough.

🫓 16:30 – 17:30 | Shared Table | Aida Kitchen

Take a seat at the shared table and enjoy homemade Syrian and Lebanese dishes prepared by Aida Alayek (Aida Kitchen). A warm moment to eat together, meet new people, and continue conversations in a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere.

📖 16:30 – 17:30 | Open Stage | The Other Woman – When Love Crosses The Line + Q&A | Rose Kalash & Rakan Agha

Step into an intimate literary presentation where writer Rose Kalash shares excerpts from her debut novel The Other Woman. Through storytelling, reflection, and live reading, the session explores themes of love, desire, guilt, and the fragile line between reality and imagination.

During the reading, the presentation will be accompanied by live acoustic guitar by Rakan Agha. The session concludes with an open Q&A with the audience.

🎸 18:00 – 18:30 | Live Music | Live Electric Guitar Solos | Rakan Agha

Experience a live electric guitar performance blending blues, melodic rock, and cinematic soundtrack-inspired music. Through expressive solos and atmospheric melodies, the set moves between emotion, energy, and storytelling.

🎬 19:00 – 19:30 | Film | Draw Me a Homeland | Nour Alkheder

This documentary follows Fatime, Sha’am, and Anas throughout their integration journey in the Netherlands. Through personal stories, the film explores identity, displacement, and the feeling of being treated as a file rather than a human being.

An intimate and poetic documentary about waiting, memory, and the search for a place that can truly feel like home.

🧉 19:30 – 23:00 | Drinking Maté | Exchange of Inspiration

Slow down and close the evening together in a warm and relaxed atmosphere. Share maté, meet new people, exchange conversations, ideas, and moments of inspiration that emerged throughout the night.

An open space for connection, reflection, and meaningful encounters.