industrial architecture

Discovering 3 Fascinating Cultural Hotspots in Tilburg, the Netherlands

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Discovering 3 Fascinating Cultural Hotspots in Tilburg, the Netherlands

In the 70s I studied and lived in Tilburg. It was hardly a bustling city then. Empty factories and unstructured plans for the town and its inhabitants. A grey impression.

Later I worked as a graphic designer for the municipality of Tilburg and saw the efforts being made to improve the town. Often together with the residents in seminars and workshops.

Nowadays, there is much to experience in the city, especially in the cultural field. Factories and other empty buildings have been refurbished and given a cultural destination.

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Zollverein Essen and More Industrial Heritage in the Crammed Ruhr Area

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Zollverein Essen and More Industrial Heritage in the Crammed Ruhr Area

Despite the industrialization of the area my favourite place to go was the Ruhr area in Germany. When I still lived in the Netherlands, it was a car journey of 1,5 hours from our house. 

The area became the “European Capital of Culture” in 2010. This meant a facelift for a region that had been a dirty, neglected orphan since the mines and steel industry slowly came to a halt.

There are a lot of interesting places nowadays, but my favourites are Insel Hombroich and Zollverein Essen.

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Museum LUMA in Arles, a Lively Creative Breeding Ground

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A Lively Creative Breeding Ground: Museum LUMA in Arles

After 2 years of lockdowns and restrictions, we were able to take a trip abroad in June 2022. Our first visit was to Arles. Tom and I had seen a documentary* about the LUMA experimental cultural centre on the European TV channel Arte and were very excited about it.

*Unfortunately, the documentary is no longer available.

We live in a culture-poor area. This is why we took every opportunity to experience art during our holiday. Fortunately, we were often also able to combine this with another activity we cherish so much: nature walks.

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