ACU Utrecht
Political-cultural center
The cultural infrastructure of many Dutch cities has been shaped by the squat scene of the second half of the 20th century. Many of these former squats have now been formalized in such a way that all the sharp edges have been polished, and they have become institutionalised, such as Paradiso, TivoliVredenburg or Doornroosje. Others, like ACU, still remain centres of counter-culture and politics, something that I think is great in the present-day Netherlands.
ACU has been around since 1976, and I have been coming here since I was a kid. My mom used to work at ACU in the 90s, and I used to throw parties there in the 00s. And although I am not coming in as much as I would back in the day, ACU is still one of the most important venues in the city. They offer a hyperdiverse program of (live) music, club nights, discussion nights, lectures, food, fundraisers, movie nights, open stages and much, much more.
The funny thing is, the sound system is actually one of the best in the city, and the venue itself is small enough to feel crowded, even if there are just a handful of people. I have made many memories at ACU, and maybe you will as well. Oh, and a fun fact: there is a very nice youth hostel around the corner called Strowis, which sprung from the same organization as ACU.
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