As the nights draw in and the temperature drops, there are plenty of intriguing exhibitions to keep culture vultures busy in November.

Have a blast at the museum
November 1 is Museumnacht – museum night – in Amsterdam, with over 70 museums open to a bleary-eyed public. There’s art, music, wine and food and much more in store for night owls, so check out the website here for tickets, venues and activities.

Be politically incorrect with Pep and Greg
Test your knowledge of (Dutch) politics with a comedy show and pub quiz at Boom Chicago, courtesy of Pep (Rosenfeld) and Greg (Shapiro). Pep and Greg, Politically Incorrect is on November 3 and December 1. Website

Kick out Zwarte Piet
Beautiful Distress in Amsterdam hosts Nederland, word beter! (Netherlands, improve!), the organisation that was formed in 2010 to fight racism and exclusion. Fifteen years on, the balance sheet shows hard-fought successes over such controversial issues as Zwarte Piet, a national slavery remembrance day and the inclusion of the Dutch colonial and slavery past in the school curriculum.

Banners, t-shirts, photos and videos show the history of 15 years of black activism in the Netherlands and why the battle is not over yet. From November 3. Website

Crack a smile at Smiley
Sparks fly between unlikely pair Bruno, co-owner of a gay bar in Barcelona and slightly more restrained architect Bruno in this immersive version of Smiley, presented by the Queen’s English Theatre Company at the CC Amstel Theatre in Amsterdam.

It’s a jolly rom-com romp about city life, dating apps and modern romance, complete with a Barcelona backdrop. November 12-16 Website

Learn about African American history in Amersfoort
The Kunsthal KAdE in Amersfoort is hosting the first-ever European retrospective of artist Jacob Lawrence (1917- 2000) who chronicled African American history in his characteristic colourful modernist style. The museum gathered 70 paintings, 25 drawings and 75 prints, as well as photos and objects relating to Lawrence’s life and art. Until January 4. Website 

Get that sinking feeling
Titanic & Fashion The Last Dance combines the original costumes from the film with objects from the era from the Kunstmuseum The Hague’s own collection and modern designs, including by Iris van Herpen and John Galliano.

We are living in Titanic times, the museum says, with faith in technology soaring and rampant class inequality and migration. In other words: we are sunk. But the frocks are pretty. Titanic & Fashion The Last Dance is on until  January 25. Website

And be buoyed up at the Scheepvaart Museum
We are staying with fashion and the sea, with Oceanista, an exhibition about how the sea has influenced our wardrobe, at the Scheepvaart Museum in Amsterdam.

The yellow raincoat, the Breton stripe and the fisherman’s jersey remain popular fashion items. There are sea-inspired designs by Iris van Herpen, Chanel, Maison Margiela, Versace, Jean Paul Gaultier, Thom Browne, Balmain and many more.

Amsterdam trade school students are on hand to show their own ocean-friendly, sustainable designs and give tutorials on traditional techniques. Oceanista Fashion and the Sea is on until April 12. Website

Celebrate the life and work of Erwin Olaf
Dutch photographer Erwin Olaf (1958-2023) gets his wish, albeit posthumously: a retrospective at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. A lifelong activist, Olaf championed gay and trans rights, chronicled nightlife and celebrated the human body.

The exhibition includes his less well-known earlier work as well as Muses, a series about human frailty that is on show for the first time, and For Life, his final video work which remained unfinished. Erwin Olaf Freedom is on until March 1. W

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Save it for a rainy day
If you like art but are too lazy to get off your behind, why not visit Unesco’s virtual museum of stolen art? The whereabouts of all the pieces are unknown, from ancient coins and statues to a painting by Francis Bacon to the Cotofenesti helmet, which was infamously swiped from the Drents Museum. Investigations are ongoing, which is what this museum is about: to continue to keep an eye out for the lost treasures. Website

Take a peek at the 17th century
What did everyday life look like for the Dutch in the 17th century? This exhibition goes for the common denominators as well as objects typical for affluent and poorer households.

A unique man’s ruff to illustrate the lack of personal cleanliness across the board, commodes and a wooden syringe used either for contraceptive purposes after sexual intercourse or for “a more pleasurable possible use” for a woman, provide the physical side of things.

The objects are displayed in cardboard “kijkdozen” to give the visitor a peek at bygone days. Until January 11. Website 

See what Tilda did
The Eye’s exhibition Ongoing is about Scottish performer, artist and fashion icon Tilda Swinton and not about Tilda Swinton. She is the spider in a web of a number directors who responded to her tweakings, so to speak, and that is the focus of the exhibition.

The show includes unseen film clips of her earliest work and collaborators including the late filmmaker Derek Jarman and Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar. Until February 8. Website

Find out what Vahid did
The latest film by Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi It was just an accident hits the Dutch cinemas this week, another film made without the permission of the Iranian regime and, like Taxi Teheran, another cracker and winner of the Palme D’Or earlier this year.

It’s a lighthearted view of a grim reality which incorporates Panahi’s own experiences of being incarcerated. Garage owner Vahid thinks a customer might be the man who tortured him in jail. How to make sure (and take action)? From November 6. Website

Become a volunteer
The Hague is hosting the Mix & Match Volunter Job Fair for any international/expat/immigrant wanting to make difference. Some 30 organisations offering over 300 vacancies in sectors such as childcare, social justice, environmental care and much more. You don’t need to be fluent in Dutch, organisers Volunteer The Hague say, and it’s a great way to get to know people. November 29. Website