House

Moira is a cooperative living group of creatives that also hosts a music and arts venue in the city centre of Utrecht, The Netherlands. It aims to provide secure and affordable living space for people who make an active and ongoing cultural contribution to the city. The residents are active participants in the running of the venue and exhibition space, building upon the creative richness and diversity of Utrecht.

About the house

The building at Wolvenstraat 10 was built in 1906. From 1939 until 1959, it was a dance school. Then, insurance company Moira turned it into a canteen, after which it became derelict. Not long after the complex became vacant, it was squatted in 1983 by artists and musicians looking for affordable living and working spaces. In the period from 1983 to 1989, the Moira complex was converted into a residential and art collective building. Living areas, studios, practice rooms for bands and an exhibition space were added to the existing party hall. After the renovation and legalization of the complex, the residents united in 1990 and the Moira Foundation was founded to manage and operate the workspaces. Learn more about the history of Moira

Moira Foundation offers a space for creatives to live, work and organise. The exhibition space hosts several activist collectives that organise workshops, events and exhibitions. There is a weekly open mic night and many other regular events in the venue. Learn more about what goes on at Moira

Statement

MOIRA is an independent cultural space in the heart of Utrecht dedicated to artistic experimentation and community exchange.

For over 40 years, MOIRA has functioned as a meeting place for artists, musicians, writers, organisers, researchers, activists, and local communities; a space where people can gather to create, perform, discuss, and collaborate outside purely commercial logic.

We believe culture should not be reduced to profitability, algorithms, or institutional trends. Some ideas are fragile, emerging, unpopular, politically difficult, or simply too unconventional for mainstream platforms. Our role is to make space for them anyway.

Our programme moves across music, performance, visual art, literature, workshops, community dinners, screenings, talks, and interdisciplinary experiments. We aim to create encounters between people from different backgrounds, disciplines, and lived experiences; not only established cultural audiences, but also those who are often excluded from cultural spaces altogether.

MOIRA operates from the belief that culture is part of the social fabric of a city. A healthy cultural space should be accessible, participatory, and rooted in solidarity rather than exclusivity. We are committed to maintaining an environment where people can express themselves freely, take creative risks, and build meaningful connections.

As Utrecht continues to change through commercialisation and gentrification, we see the existence of independent spaces as increasingly vital. MOIRA exists to remain one of those spaces: artist-led, community-oriented, experimental, and open to the unexpected.