Your creative home base!
The Vrijhof offers a range of beautiful spaces for all your cultural and creative activities. Whether you want to make music, dance, create art, or rehearse for a play, there is always a suitable space to be found. We have practice rooms for music, including piano and pop studios, workshops, an inspiring studio, and a spacious dance studio. These versatile spaces are carefully managed by Vrijhof Culture. Most courses take place here and cultural associations can use all the facilities. It is the ideal place to develop your skills and pursue your creative ambitions.
Practical matters
Access to the spaces
To use these cultural facilities, certain conditions apply. Sometimes you need a UnionCard, you must be a member of a cultural association, or a participant in a course. Always check the specific conditions so you can enjoy the spaces without worries. Come and discover the cultural richness of the Vrijhof-the creative heart of campus!
Booking or renting a room?
Are you not a student or employee of University of Twente, but would you like to reserve a (theater) hall? That is possible. Please contact the Booking Office.
Availability
You can find the availability of the theaters, studios and other cultural spaces in the availability calendars below.
Accessibility
There are several parking lots on the grounds where you can park your car for free as a visitor. The closest parking lot is at the U-park hotel. Of course you can also reach Vrijhof by bike and public transport. There is a bus stop in front of the sports fields. For the current bus times please check 9292.nl.
Theaters
Take a seat in our theaters
Vrijhof has four theatre halls where our wide range of performances are held. There is also a multifunctional space, the Kleine Zaal, which can be used for various purposes. Will you come and see one of the performances? Then you will take a seat in unique spaces equipped with all the amenities a theatre needs.
Accessibility
Although our theatres are not always optimally accessible for wheelchair users, we want to give everyone the opportunity to enjoy our performances. Please feel free to contact us so that we can look together at the possibilities to make your visit as pleasant as possible.
- Agora theatre
Agora is the largest theatre in Vrijhof. The capacity depends on the required stage size. Guidelines for this are:
- Pop concert/ standing audience: 900 persons
- Lecture (presentation)/seated audience: 300 persons
- Theater performance / seated audience: 225 persons
Agora has a retractable grandstand with five rows of 22 seats each. A fully retracted grandstand creates a spacious surface that can be furnished with tables, stands, poster boards and the like. When fully extended, the grandstand extends into the balcony with 150 fixed seats.
- Amphitheater
The Amphitheater has 164 fixed seats including the balcony. Additional seats can be added up to a maximum of 180 seats in total, but at the expense of the stage floor. This has a size of 5x5 meter.
At the back of the stage floor there is a dark blue curtain. As in the classic Amphi, the audience can look down onto the stage floor from three positions. This gives the Amphitheater its intimate setting, which is very nice for some performances.
- Audio Hall
The Audio Hall is a flat room with no fixed seats and ideal for unamplified music. It has a wooden parquet floor, which is suitable for dance because of the springy subfloor. The acoustic panels provide a warm sound and reverberation time of about three seconds. The hall is ideal for acoustic music performances where the number of seats for visitors depends on the required orchestra area. The hall also has a small balcony with wooden benches.
- Open Air Theatre
In addition to three unique theater halls in the Vrijhof, the university also has an outdoor theater. In 2014, the open-air theater was completely renovated and equipped with, among other things, a permanent canopy for the playing floor. This canopy also ensures the preservation of good acoustics because of the cloth that 'blocks' the sound. The play floor is nine meters in diameter and consists of smooth concrete.
The grandstand has also been renewed and can accommodate 600 visitors, who find a place 180 degrees around the stage floor. Furthermore, the theater is equipped with a dressing room and storage room, located directly behind the theater.
- Kleine Zaal
With its flexible layout, the Kleine Zaal (Small Hall) is suitable for a range of possibilities. Where during the day the space is used for meetings or as a training room, in the evening it is easily transformed into a rehearsal room for dance or theater. The auditorium has fixed seating for twenty people, but can be expanded to over 30 seats by using poufs. In addition, the Small Hall is equipped with a large LED screen, whiteboard and a piano.
Course spaces
Discover your creativity in our course spaces
We have three workshops that are mainly used for courses. The workshop and the metal and wood workshop.
- Atelier Workshop (workshop 1)
The studio is the location for drawing and painting activities. The space can accommodate sixteen people to work at a table. And there are eight easels available to paint to your heart's content. Furthermore, the room is equipped with a kitchenette to clean the materials used and attributes are present to work on different types of assignments.
- Metal workshop (workshop 2)
In the metal workshop, weekly welding courses are given to beginners and advanced students. The room has all the equipment needed for welding, including six workstations.
- Wood workshop (workshop 3)
The wood workshop offers space for eight students to make creations from wood to their hearts' content. The course 'Make your own furniture' is given here, among other things. In addition to various sawing and sanding machines, all kinds of additional tools are available to realize the most beautiful objects.
Studio's
MAKE USE OF THE DANCE AND MUSIC STUDIOS
If you have the UnionCard or CampusCard you can use our practice rooms, the dance and music studios. You can play an instrument here undisturbed. A number of studios have additional requirements, one of which is to follow instructions. Below you can read about the specific requirements you must meet before you can use the studios in question and what is available.
If you meet the conditions, you can use a free studio for the duration of one hour. You can ask the doorman of Vrijhof about the availability and/or pick up the key.
Reservation
Since 2023, a new booking system has been implemented for the music studios, enabling seamless booking. Time slots for the pop studios can be booked up to seven days in advance and the drum, wind and piano studios up to 24 hours before the session. If you want to use the studios yourself, you can access the booking platform here.
Note: you must have a drum diploma or have followed drum instruction before you can use this studio.
Below you will find more information about the different studios, additional conditions and the regulations for the use of the studios.
OVERVIEW STUDIOS
- Pop studios - VR149 and VR150
In the pop studios, bands can practice their repertoire to their heart's content. The studios are equipped with a drum kit, keyboard, amplifiers for guitar and bass, microphones and a small mixing desk. To rehearse in the studios, all band members must have a valid UnionCard and you must register your band using the registration form below.
From 1 October, you can sign up via the reservation system.
- Piano studios - VR156, VR157 and VR158
If you play the piano and want to keep your level up, or if you just want to be able to rehearse quietly every now and then, you can use one of our piano studios. These studios have a good piano. A valid UnionCard or CampusCard is required to use a piano studio.
From 1 October 2023, you can sign up via the reservation system.
- Carrilon studio - VR159
This studio houses a practice carillon, where you can practice playing the carillon. The bell tower of the campus. You can only come here, if you have or have had lessons from our carillon teacher. For more information about the carillon lessons, please see the course overview.
- Ballet studio - VR160
The ballet studio has room for six to eight dancers to practice (independently). Chairs and a piano are available in the studio. Besides having a valid UnionCard you need to be a member of one of the student dance associations to be able to use the ballet studio independently.
Exhibition rooms
Vrijhof has three exhibition rooms
For more information about the exhibits in Vrijhof, check out the visual arts section.
- Large exhibition room
The large exhibition space has three wooden walls where a wide range of art can be hung. In addition, there is another hanging wall on which to exhibit and there is enough floor space to also exhibit spatial installations.
- Small exhibition rooms
In the corridor between the cultural spaces is the small exhibition space. An intimate space that is ideal for work that requires it or smaller collections. There are several walls on which art can be hung and there is also room on the floor for spatial installations.
- Mobile exhibiton
Besides the two permanent locations Vrijhof Culture has an exhibition-mobile. A beautiful wooden construction on which a mini exhibition can be shown. The mobile exhibition is made for us by Mark van Loon.