POING: Ahead of the Club Curve
This September the 14th marks a special Saturday. We’re linking up with a club that has, for the two years of its existence, felt mighty close in DNA. Rotterdam institution POING goes North to reinforce the North-West alliance. Today we take a peek behind the curtain of the organization with help of bookers Mark and Eef.
Words by Kos van Erp, Mark van Gogh & Eef de Wiet / Pictures by POING
A kickstart marked by clubbing history
In september 2022 a new club opens in a very familiar building. With two years of lockdowns in the rear view mirror, POING brings club culture back to Schiekade 201, the building formerly home to our friends of BAR. After the infamous club closed, the premises were changed into an arcade hall. As plans materialize to reinstitute the basement as a club space, Mark van Gogh, who previously interned at BAR, joins the POING organization and links up with Eef de Wit. Together with a completely new team, the bookers revamp a well-known club space into a completely new identity. Where ahead-of-the-curve artistic direction and a close eye for social safety and queer friendliness are core to the mission.
POING as a club would exist for two years, before prematurely closing down due to rising costs and the lingering pressure of COVID debts. For its short lifespan, the team managed to garner an unrivaled reputation and very clear identity. When looking around fora and comment sections for signifiers by the audience, key factors such as fun, adventurous, unpredictable, queer-minded and community-focused consistently show up. A combination of characteristics that – safe to say – no other contemporary Dutch club embodies the same way.
This Saturday we’re linking up with the Rotterdam trailblazers for a night where 4×4 and breakbeat cross paths in exciting ways. Ahead of this meeting of crews and creeds, we asked Eef and Mark to highlight some of the history and ideals behind POING.
Hi Mark & Eef! Let’s start at the start. POING was located in the building that was previously home to the infamous BAR club. Can you describe the connection between the two?
Both POING and BAR were two very different concepts, each with its own unique team, vision, mission, and community. While BAR was founded by the same owner as POING arcade, the connection between the two clubs is quite minimal. Mark, the programmer of POING CLUB, started working for BAR during its last years as a club. During COVID, Mark rejoined as a programmer for POING and met Eef, who became the new manager of the arcade with a clear goal to open a new club concept. They shared a vision and recognized something missing in Rotterdam’s nightlife. Mark always had a deep connection to the building, it had also been his dream to run his own club for a while and so the two started to experiment. This led to the formation of a new club concept and a big renovation in regards of sound, light and logistics, which later became POING CLUB.
To a lot of people, POING holds a unique place in their hearts. As the people closest to it, what has separated the club from other clubs in NL for you?
POING had a unique vibe, and you never knew what to expect when you walked in. The programming was diverse, always pushing boundaries by booking acts that other Dutch clubs didn’t. What made POING special was the shared vision and passion for the building amongst the team. It was a genuine team effort to create a space open to everyone, where people could feel, express and discover. We put a lot of effort into social safety, which was a continuous process and always a priority from the beginning. A club isn’t just about great lights or impressive acts; it’s about the community and the feeling you cultivate.
Our goal was to offer something different, something unexpected. POING was playful, and we embraced that ‘expect the unexpected’ vibe in our programming. We aimed to book artists that represent our staff and community and prioritized female and queer artists. We believed in local talent and fostering long-term relationships, which is evident when you look at our programming history.
You’re currently organizing POING parties at other locations. How are you aiming to translate that POING feeling to other venues and cities?
A POING night always starts with our own artists and residents. They’ve been part of our journey since the beginning and embody our sound and values. For every takeover, club night, or festival hosting, we bring at least one or more artists who played a key role during our time as a club. We also continue to support local talent while introducing a new headliner at every event. We love incorporating performances and other forms of art into the night to create a magical feeling, and you can expect more of this in the coming year.
For our very own events in the Netherlands, we bring our own door host, house rules, and awareness team to maintain the POING vibe. When collaborating with a new club, we ensure they meet our standards for inclusivity, such as queer-friendly staff, gender-free toilets, and good hospitality. These standards were priorities for us and will continue to be so.
Describe the perfect POING night.
A perfect POING night is playful, a little crazy, sexy, but most importantly, real. It’s created by people with the right intentions for a community dear to our hearts. It’s a mix of regulars and newcomers. We aim to surprise our crowd with challenging acts and stunning light plans that elevate the night, all set to great sound with a healthy amount of bass. Familiarity is key; we bring our close-knit team to every event, and they know our community well!
POING’s closing seems to coincide with a rough patch for Rotterdam nightlife, with licenses ending and clubs closing. What needs to change?
The municipality’s role in nightlife needs to change significantly. Nightlife in Rotterdam has always been challenging, marked by periods of vibrant club culture and times when everything is forced to close, only to reopen under a new name. It’s been on the municipality’s back burner for too long, and that’s evident now. However, if the rumours are true, there are positive developments happening behind the scenes, and we’re hopeful for real changes in the coming years. Whether that includes a new location for us is yet to be seen.
What are your plans with POING for the future? Is there anything else you’re working on that you’d like to share?
Currently, we’re focusing on building our name outside of Rotterdam with club nights, takeovers and festival hostings. We have some exciting collaborations coming up in 2025, and our calendar is already quite full, which is fantastic. Starting in November, we’ll have our first takeover outside the Netherlands at RSO Berlin, and we hope to see more events in other European cities, and maybe even globally. September 2025 will mark our biggest event to date, but we’re keeping the details a secret for now, so keep your eyes peeled!
First up: OOST. Catch Mark and Eef playing techno, trance and wiggling breakbeat in the upstairs room this Saturday. Downstairs receives a mix of 4×4 and breakbeat with POING family Kessler and Kimmah, and Verity. Grab your tickets below.