We put art on the streets

For sure hiking is your newest hobby now, whether you like it or not. To make it more fun and give you some variety, we have some great theme routes for you. So you can learn something new about your city and easily make 10,000 steps a day. This time: art in public spaces.

1. Willem II Passage

The Willem II Passage connects the city center with the Spoorzone and was designed by Civic Architects in collaboration with Bright Urban Futures. By applying recurring rhythms from the environment, the passage is not an exception but a natural part of the urban development. 'Bricks' have been used and when night falls they start to give light based on interaction. 

Location: Willem II Passage

2. Hall of Fame

The Hall of Fame is a unique industrial building in the heart of the Spoorzone: a unique cultural factory where there is plenty to do. This creative sanctuary is home to various organizations in the field of urban sports and culture. When the weather is nice, you can relax outside. Have a coffee or a beer and chill out.

Location: Spoorzone

3. Wall Poem

As you walk through Tilburg, you will regularly come across a quote or line of poetry. They enrich the streets and belong to the city. In 2010 the former city poet Nick J. Swarth realized together with typographer Sander Neijnens the second wall poem of Tilburg at the Tuinstraat, near the corner with the Willem II straat. On a blind wall the poem is placed in perspective. The poem is successful and striking, because it is the most vandalized work of Tilburg.

Location: Corner Tuinstraat/WillemII straat

4. Maaw Muur (Wailing Wall)

At the end of 2012 the 'MAAWMUUR' was realized in the center of Tilburg, an initiative of artist Miranda Poel. It is a wall of corten steel letters that together form the following sentence: WHO MAKES NO FAULTS MOSTLY MAKES NOTHING. Like its centuries-old predecessor, the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, the "MAAWMUUR" has a multiple message: symbol of suffering and promise of recovery.
According to the artist Miranda Poel, there are two striking things about Tilburg: that there is so much complaining on the one hand, and that the issues denounced are often followed up with a concrete attempt at an answer/solution on the other. This wall is a clearly visible object where everyone can express their opinion (in the horizontal crossbeams of the middle letters -E- two letter boxes have been incorporated: one for 'complaints about the municipality', one for 'other destinations') but which at the same time makes it clear how often we think we should let our opinion be heard.

Location: Paleisring

5. Sisters in Steel

If you look closely, you will see that the artwork Sisters in Steel should represent nuns. The artwork was designed by artist Judith Kuijpers and symbolizes the first three Sisters of Charity (or Sisters of Tilburg) and their work in our city. We are talking about care, missionary work and education. The three nuns have been standing on the steps next to Theaters Tilburg for ten years now.  As you get closer you can see screens inside the nuns and view old photos. 

Location: Theaters Tilburg

6. The Walking Man

The statue 'The Walking Man' was made by Peter Erftemeijer in 1990 and stands between the Old Market and the Schouwburgring. The statue was specially made to decorate the shopping arcade 'Schouwburgpromenade' at the opening. But there was criticism: The depicted figure does not really look like a consumer with purchasing power. A place in the covered shopping street was therefore not reserved for him. 

Location: Old Market

7. Kruikenzeiker

The Kruikenzeiker is a statue of a textile worker with a somewhat flattened face and a round jug in his hand, on a stone pedestal. The statue was commissioned by the Carnival Foundation of Tilburg on the occasion of the celebration of 'Tweekirelluf Kruikenstad' in 1986. The 'kruikezeiker', a reference to the textile past of the city, is traditionally the symbol of Tilburg at carnival time. The statue was designed by Henk Smulders, who also worked for the Efteling.

Location: Radiopleintje

8. Game Over

Game Over is an artwork created for Kaapstad 2020 and can be found in the Nieuwlandstraat. During Festival Kaapstad the city center of Tilburg will be hijacked by artists for a whole weekend. Fortunately for us, the result will remain visible for a long time. Game Over was created by artist Frankey. Just one more game then?

Location: Nieuwlandstraat

9. De Rits (zipper)

On the water square, near the main entrance of the Spoorpark stands a striking work of art. De Rits was conceived and created by artist Marieke Vromans. A quirky large 'cart' made of zipper is a landmark on the entrance square of the Spoorpark. The artwork is the meeting place for the Spoorpark and refers to the history of the location where the park is realized; an old railway track and Tilburg as a Textile City. The Rits opens up the city and brings people together.

Location: Spoorpark

10. Sky Mirror

There is one in the metropolis Chicago, in London, in Houston and.... in Tilburg: a monumental work by the famous British artist Anish Kapoor. It adorns the forecourt of Museum De Pont; a sculpture of stainless steel over six meters high - Kapoor's first rectangular 'sky mirror'. The work of art looks different every day and just think, a work of art from a world famous artist can be viewed for free on the streets. That's what you want, right!?

Location: Museum De Pont