PARK@Schouwburg

PARK@Schouwburg is a unique collaboration between the art platform PARK and the Theater & Concert Hall Tilburg. It focuses on organizing large art presentations in different locations within this building. Thus, PARK combines contemporary art with the unique architecture of the Theater & Concert Hall Tilburg, creating a dynamic interaction between art and environment.

Edition 2025-2026

With new works by Jochem Rotteveel, Nina van de Ven, and Frank Koolen.

With this edition, PARK not only brings visual art into the walls of the Theater but also invites the audience to look with different eyes. Towards color and movement, towards local stories and human peculiarities. The works function not as decor, but as co-players in the spaces. They add color, humor, and meaning to the environment. The Theater thus becomes not only a stage for theater but also for contemporary art.

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Main Hall Theater

Jochem Rotteveel – Lights, Color, Action

In the foyer, an explosion of color grabs the visitor's attention. The mural by Jochem Rotteveel is not only a visual statement but also responds to the theatrical context in which it is positioned. His work is an ode to light, movement, and improvisation. With colored foils, intuitively applied to the wall, Rotteveel creates a choreography of color and form. The composition pulses like a wave of energy towards the theater halls, as if literally launching the visitors into the performance. His direct, physical approach evokes associations with action painting, but in a contemporary, playful variant.

Rotteveel (1976) has developed a unique way of painting with foil, where process and improvisation are central. His work has been shown in various places including the Stedelijk Museum Kampen, BCMA Berlin, De Hallen Haarlem, Espacio Naranjo Madrid, and Pantocrator Gallery Shanghai. It is included in collections such as Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen and Villa Zebra.

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City Café Benee

Nina van de Ven – Stretching Pete & Other Stories

In city café Benee, the universe of Nina van de Ven unfolds, where local history, subcultures, and symbolism intertwine. Her drawings and ceramic works tell stories that seem lighthearted or absurd at first glance, but upon closer inspection reveal layers and critical insights. In the ceramic tableau Stretching Pete, Van de Ven presents a contemporary homage to Peestamp, a notorious Tilburg folk figure. Through his skeleton and a series of mysterious symbols, she connects folklore with personal imagination and current themes such as identity and manipulation.

In city café Benee, four works by Nina hang: 

Diana landing on the peeper originates from her fascination with mythology. It refers to the story of Diana and Aktaion, in which hunter Aktaion unexpectedly sees a bathing Diana during a hunt and is severely punished for it. A nice contrast to the other print hanging next to it: Mummer IIII, which is softer and more feminine in character.

Muscle manipulator (02-12-01-03-14-04-09-06-13-15-05): smaller figures in black lines and bright accents, wrapped in voluminous coats that Nina calls 'muscle manipulators'. "They simulate a muscularity that isn't there."

Stretching Pete: the only work in color, where the historical and the absurd past of notable Tilburg figure 'Peestamp' come together.  The work is on loan to the Museum van Bommel van Dam in Venlo until March 22.
Stretching Pete will be temporarily replaced by Wonderspin. The ceramic work is based on this nickname of Mrs. van Dijk, who was said to only be able to board the bus sideways. Nina imagines a wonderfully hybrid figure, someone who, with upright legs and bent knees, carefully shuffles sideways onto the bus.

Van de Ven (1988) works in Tilburg and has her studio in NS16. She weaves elements from mythology, religion, pop culture, and local stories into a new, associative visual language. She previously exhibited at Ruby Soho, EKWC, De Pont, Art Rotterdam, and Cove Park (Scotland). Her work has also appeared in publications such as Sticky Collection (UDC), Love Island (Wobby.club), and The Head, the Torso, the Legs and the Feet (Nieves).

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Heleen Anna Fotografie

City Foyer Boove

Frank Koolen – The Human Evidence

At the city foyer Boove, among showcases, tables, and chairs, the sculptures of Frank Koolen emerge: colorful, grotesque, rock-like heads, in relation to handmade furniture and a collection of carefully composed objects. The small installations resemble museum displays but with a playful and slightly absurd twist. Here, the actual past is not central, but rather a personal attempt to define humanity: a collection of traces, memories, and rituals. Koolen's project The Human Evidence poses the question: what do we preserve, why, and how do we use that to tell who we are?

Koolen (1978) studied at HKU, De Ateliers, and the Rijksakademie. His practice is interdisciplinary and includes sculpture, installation, painting, and performance. He recently had a solo exhibition at the Museum for Contemporary Art in Roskilde (DK), exhibited work at the Middelheimmuseum (B), and created public artworks like the Monument for Future Happiness in Drachten.

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