Dana Lixenberg

De Wallen

September 12, 2025 - February 15, 2026

Stadsarchief Amsterdam (Amsterdam City Archives)

From September 12, 2025 - February 15, 2026, the Amsterdam City Archives will present De Wallen, an exhibition by photographer Dana Lixenberg. De Wallen, also known as the Red Light District, is an area in the oldest district of Amsterdam known for its long history of window bordellos and sex shops. It draws large numbers of visitors and is among the top three tourist destinations in Amsterdam. The associated criminal activity and general nuisance from, for example, tourist shops are an ongoing cause of concern. Dana Lixenberg has the ability to capture her subjects in profound moments of temporal being; in doing so, she engages in analytical scrutiny without imposing judgement. The artist’s subtle and sophisticated feel for color and her sensitivity for capturing the finest indications and details of human expression are striking in each of her portraits.

The entire project was documented and presented in a book titled De Wallen Amsterdam published by Roma Publications. 

When the City Archives invited Lixenberg to do a photo project on Amsterdam, she chose to focus on De Wallen, a neighbourhood she has a personal history with. She lived there for the early part of her life and her father, the artist Cyril Lixenberg, maintained a studio there until he died. During the downtime brought about by the Covid lockdowns, she rediscovered the neighbourhood she knew well. From 2021 to 2025 Lixenberg became part of the microenvironment that is De Wallen: its narrow alleyways, canals, daily rhythm. She observed life there closely, with an eye for detail and without judgment. The result is a series of intimate black-and-white portraits and monumental interior photographs in colour, a video installation and a book.

De Wallen, also known as the Rosse Buurt or the Red-Light District, form a historically diverse community that is now under pressure. The constant flow of visitors through its narrow alleys and along its canals has brought an excess of bars, tourist shops, coffeeshops, drug trade, and crime. The personal connection of photographer Dana Lixenberg has marked the beginning of a project on De Wallen, a place where generations of Amsterdammers, newcomers, entrepreneurs, sex workers, students, unhoused people, and artists live and work side by side. 

Despite the crowds, the neighbourhood community remains strong: different generations of Amsterdammers, newcomers, entrepreneurs, sex workers, students and artists all living and working side by side. Faith-based aid organisations provide assistance to the less fortunate; prayer meetings are held next to a sex shop or a Nutella store without a problem. It is this contemporary vitality combined with the area’s rich history that gives De Wallen its undeniable character.

The interior photographs in colour depict silent rooms free of human presence that testify to life in the neighbourhood. What lies hidden behind those façades, past the throngs of people? A day nursery is photographed with the same level of care and attention as a sex worker’s room. Lixenberg takes the same approach in her filmic portrait of De Wallen. She takes the time to observe closely, with an eye for detail and without judgment, only now there are the added elements of sound and the passage of time. Compositions exposing the everyday ‘consumption’ of the neighbourhood play out within the frame of the film. The monumental interior photographs in colour depict silent rooms free of human presence that testify to life in the neighbourhood. What lies hidden behind those façades, past the throngs of people? A day nursery is photographed with the same level of care and attention as a sex worker’s room.

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