Rise of the Rainbow
Rise of the Rainbow
Shows
Experience a groundbreaking installation! In a unique and moving way, Rise of the Rainbow brings powerful stories of love, courage, and struggle to life from both the Dutch and international LGBTQIA+ community. This immersive journey takes you through the past, present, and future — vividly portraying the highs and lows of Queer history.
Run time 45 minutes
Genre Theatre
Language Dutch
Rise of the Rainbow
The story of Rise of the Rainbow is told through an innovative blend of life-sized decor, augmented reality, spatial audio, and live theatre. Throughout the experience, you step onto the stage yourself, moving through a colorful, abstract city made up of giant inflatable objects in rainbow hues.
Wearing an AR headset, you are guided through personal stories and pivotal events such as the first Pride protests of the 1960s, the suffering and loss during the AIDS crisis, and the powerful voices of today’s activists fighting for the rights of trans and intersex people around the world.
-|-
In small groups, you are accompanied by performers from the LGBTQIA+ community. Through art forms such as dance, poetry, and music, the experience explores social themes like freedom, desire, activism, and friendship. It culminates in a collective finale, where past and present come together and you are invited to reflect on your own place and role in this ongoing story.
Credits
Rise of the Rainbow is an initiative by media art collective DROPSTUFF MEDIA, the theatre makers of Theater van de Heelheid, and the Nederlands Instituut voor Beeld & Geluid.
For this project, they collaborate with LGBTQIA+ archive IHLIA, AR creators ImproVive, and student groups from Utrecht University of Applied Sciences and Fontys School of Fine and Performing Arts in Tilburg. The experience features unique visuals and audio from the collections of Sound & Vision, IHLIA, and others. In the months leading up to the experience, new stories are also gathered from within the community itself.
-|-
Rise of the Rainbow is made possible with the support of Cultuurloket DigitALL, Amsterdam750, the Cultural Fund, the City of Amsterdam, and Stichting GALA.