The Illuseum is hard to describe without turning to metaphors, because (and here we go) the place looks like the mutated offspring of an art gallery, secondhand store and a stalactite-filled cave.

The ground floor is a gallery filled with spacey paintings, installations and art in all shapes and sizes, and the basement has a bubbling brook in a cave! Oh, did we mention the family of bizarre Egyptian Sphinx that prowl around the place (and who sometimes need medical attention so badly, the Illuseum organizes a benefit for them). It’s also hard to describe what happens regularly at the Illuseum as rigid organizational skills are not their forte, but they host film screenings from the Cateye Film Club, alternative musical performances and exhibitions, usually accompanied by vegan snacks and finger food.

The Illuseum may not be an easy place to get to know about, get into or to get period, but it’s one of the last true bastions of the Amsterdam counterculture and should be treasured and celebrated for that alone.