New Amsterdam club, Tilla Tec, to open in former De School building next month
"We want to provide space for minorities — especially the queer community and people of color, because the team itself is also part of that", the new venue team said ahead of next month's opening
The site of the recently-closed Amsterdam club De School will soon reopen as a new venue.
The 900-capacity Tilla Tec will open at the Jan van Breemenstraat address on 12th April, according to a translation of a Het Parool report. It'll be run by creative director Samuel King and head programmer Lola Edo. In addition to the club space, it will also house a queer-focused gym and tattoo studio, as well as artist exhibition and studio spaces.
The new venue's marketing director Passion Dzenga told Het Parool that Tilla Tec will "only share the address with De School". "The way we use the building will be completely different", he said, that it will be "dynamic" and shift through serving as a "restaurant or café, other times an exhibition space and then a club".
"Tilla Tec will be about our community", Dzenga said. "We want to provide space for minorities — especially the queer community and people of color, because the team itself is also part of that."
Jamilla Barry, who was also on the team behind the new and final era of De School, will handle the venue's partnerships and programming, Resident Advisor reports. Though the opening party and event schedule is still to be announced, Tilla Tec has committed to focus on booking queer and BIPOC artists. It'll also host live performances and workshops.
Tilla Tec currently holds a provisional lease for the location through April 2025, Het Parool reports, though Dzenga said the team is hoping to extend that and expand into other parts of the building. "[We] want to continue with this project regardless... so hopefully we can stay here after that", he said. "Or can we find a new location".
Lola Edo, who also founded queer bar Pamela, wrote on Instagram: "So proud to finally be able to tell you that we're opening a new place. Always been my wish to make the city a bit more interesting with my experience. More details coming soon."
De School closed its doors for good this past January after reopening for 16 months under new management in August 2022. Opened in 2016, the club's initial run ended in July 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic citing debts and financial issues amid claims of sexual harassment and racism.
More information will be available via Tilla Tec's website.
