Arnold van de Water knows that a building can be more than a backdrop. As co-founder of Concrete Culture, he turned Katoenhuis Rotterdam – a former cotton warehouse in Rotterdam’s Maker District – into a living ecosystem for immersive experience and creative industry. ITW 2026 is happening inside it.

His track record spans over two decades: General Manager of the touring Meet Vincent van Gogh Experience at the Van Gogh Museum, Thea Award winner, and founder of Factorr, which produces and distributes narrative environments at scale. He has worked at the intersection of heritage, technology, and place-making long before it became a trend.

Arnold doesn’t theorise about what cultural venues could become. He builds them. Then he invites the world in.