Music Connection Lab – The Hague 2026
About the programme
Music Connection Lab – The Hague 2026 is a cultural and social programme by Culture Unlimited Foundation that uses music as a tool for connection, wellbeing, and shared experience. The programme brings together people from diverse backgrounds — including local residents, amateur musicians, and artists with lived experiences of war, migration, and displacement — through collective music-making and public encounters.
The programme takes place in March and April 2026 in The Hague and consists of a series of concerts, workshops, and music labs, presented in churches, cultural institutions, art spaces, and neighbourhood contexts. Music Connection Lab is intentionally low-threshold and focuses strongly on participation, encounter, and human connection, alongside artistic quality.
Culture, wellbeing, and resilience
A central premise of Music Connection Lab is the relationship between culture, wellbeing, and resilience. By rehearsing, creating, and performing together, participants create space for expression, listening, and reflection. Music functions as a shared language through which experiences can be exchanged and conversations can emerge, with attention to themes such as war, peace, loss, and hope.
Programme structure and approach
The programme consists of several interconnected components:
- Music Labs: learning and working environments in which amateur musicians collaborate with experienced artists. These labs focus on development, trust, and creative exchange.
- Concerts and public presentations: accessible performance moments designed to actively engage audiences in the musical process, rather than positioning them solely as spectators.
- Context and reflection: in various activities, music is combined with short contextual introductions or moments of reflection to support attentive listening and emotional engagement.
Within Music Connection Lab, specific programme strands include the Global Music Lab and the Rock Music Lab, each bringing together different musical practices while addressing shared social and human themes.
Collaborations
Music Connection Lab – The Hague 2026 is realised in collaboration with a broad network of cultural and social partners, including:
- Bandsessies
- Quartair Contemporary Art Initiatives
- Ilmatar Chamber Choir
- German Evangelical Church (The Hague)
- Waalse Kerk (Walloon Church)
- The Hague Peace Projects
- Rotterdam Arab Film Festival (RAFF)
- various neighbourhood partners
A number of concerts and presentations are developed in collaboration with professional ensembles, including the New European Ensemble, creating a bridge between professional music practice and community-based participation.
Support
The programme is made possible through the support of Stichting van Well van der Snoek, CultuurSchakel, Fonds 1818, SV Toverfluit (Stichting Vluchtelingen Toverfluit), and other cultural partners and funds. This support allows Music Connection Lab to remain accessible, to offer fair conditions for participating artists, and to maintain a clear focus on wellbeing, inclusion, and social connection.
Relevance for the city
By connecting cultural participation with lived human experience, Music Connection Lab contributes to social cohesion, mental wellbeing, and a shared cultural life in the city of The Hague. The programme demonstrates how music and culture can create spaces for encounter, care, dialogue, and resilience — particularly for people affected by war and displacement.
