Worm

Worm is an arts centre and venue on Boomgaardsstraat in central Rotterdam. Formed in 1999 through the merger of three organisations, it moved to its current address in 2012. The building, a former newspaper office and printing press, is a monument; its present design by SuperUse Studios and Atelier van Lieshout incorporates reused materials. Worm combines an artists’ collective, a venue and shop, and the Parallel University, which runs DIY workshops in film, music and media.

The venue has two event stages, with the UBIK performance space, a gallery, cinema facilities, sound studios and a café among its other spaces. Its facilities also include S/ash Gallery, Filmwerkplaats, a media archive, a foyer and #Wunderbar café. Capacities range from 80 seated in the cinema to 350 standing in the large hall; the site’s overall capacity is about 525. A new PA system was installed and refined during 2020–21.

Its origins draw on punk, Dada, Fluxus, Situationism and Futurism, while its programme spans film, radio, art and performance. Jungle, drum and bass and footwork feature in Unlocked, which named Worm its new homeground in 2025. Worm received Rotterdam’s Pendrecht Culture Prize in 2007.