During Hoogtij#84, we celebrate the opening of Kexin Hao’s exhibition. The evening will be festively opened with a performance by Kexin Hao. You are warmly welcome (free admission).
Opening Exhibition and Book Launch – Kexin Hao, The Hague City Illustrator 2025
Kexin Hao is the City Illustrator of The Hague for 2025. Her fable-like city drawings invite viewers to reflect on the relationship between city dwellers (both humans and animals), food culture, the sea, nature, and history. They portray life in the city through the eyes of animals.
At Rijksmuseum Huis van het Boek, Kexin Hao presents an overview of her work as City Illustrator. Original drawings are shown alongside visual material from her sources of inspiration, including the Haags Gemeentearchief and material from workshops.
To conclude her year as City Illustrator, Kexin has brought together her city drawings in a special risograph publication. Designed as a calendar, the publication allows every resident of The Hague to hang one of Kexin’s city drawings on their wall.
During Hoogtij, we celebrate both the launch of the publication and the opening of the exhibition with a performance by Kexin Hao and an interview.
Programme
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19:30 Doors open
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20:00 Start of the programme and performance
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20:30 Opportunity to visit the exhibition
Kexin Hao
Kexin Hao (Beijing, 1993) is a visual artist who lives and works in The Hague. She creates art, design, and theatre, with a strong focus on performance. Her work combines various media—including video, print, choreography, and music—with elements of pop culture such as aerobics, video games, online streaming, and puppet theatre.
Through her work, she aims to offer playful, participatory, and interactive experiences that also reflect on history, society, and cultural heritage.
The Hague City Illustrator
Since 2023, The Hague has appointed a different City Illustrator each year. The City Illustrator maps the city in a distinctive and personal way, contributing to an artistic archive of the city through contemporary eyes.
All drawings by the City Illustrator are added to the image collection of the Haags Gemeentearchief. This allows everyone to view the city drawings while creating a visual record of The Hague for both the present and the future.
The Hague City Illustrator is a project by the Municipality of The Hague, Bibliotheek Den Haag, the Haags Gemeentearchief, and the art space Nest.
Images:
Kexin Hao, 'Wie ben ik dat ik dit doen mag', 2025
Kexin Hao, 'De vredesengel en de waarheid', 2025
