Araf Ahmadali has been the director of the Department of Arts & Culture of the City of Amsterdam since February 2021, after being a policy advisor for this department for several years. Araf has a broad experience in making policies on international cultural affairs, funding, entrepreneurship and creative industries and a passion for creative (and digital) innovation and music production. Araf was in the lead to realize the first ‘Night vision’ of the City of Amsterdam; that calls for acknowledgement of night culture as a relevant artistic driver of Amsterdam and part of its cultural policy.