The unique collaboration between PARK and Schouwburg Concertzaal Tilburg gets a sequel. On Saturday 28 June, the second edition of PARK@Schouwburg opens with a new exhibition in different areas of the Schouwburg. Participating artists are: Nina van de Ven, Jochem Rotteveel and Frank Koolen.
With this edition, PARK not only brings visual art within the walls of the Schouwburg, but also invites the audience to look with different eyes. To colour and movement, to local stories and human idiosyncrasies. The works do not act as scenery, but as fellow players in the spaces. They add colour, humour and meaning to the surroundings. The Schouwburg thus becomes a stage not only for theatre, but also for contemporary art.
Jochem Rotteveel - Lights, Colour, Action
In the foyer, an explosion of colour grabs the visitor's gaze. Jochem Rotteveel's mural not only makes 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 coloured foils, intuitively applied to the wall, Rotteveel creates a choreography of colour and form. The composition pulsates like an energy wave towards the theatre halls, as if it literally launches the visitors into the play. His direct, physical working method evokes associations with action painting, but in a contemporary, playful variant.
Rotteveel (b. 1976) developed a unique way of painting with foil, focusing on process and improvisation. Like action painters, he works in the moment. His work was shown at Art Rotterdam, Art Busan, Art Taipei, Estampa Madrid, BCMA Berlin, De Hallen Haarlem and Pantocrator Gallery Shanghai among others. It is in the collections of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen and Stedelijk Museum Kampen, among others.
Nina van de Ven - Stretching Pete & other stories
In city café Benee, Nina van de Ven's universe unfolds, in which local history, subcultures and symbolism intertwine. Her drawings and ceramic works tell stories that at first glance seem light-hearted or absurd, but on closer inspection turn out to be layered and critical. In the ceramic tableau Stretching Pete, Van de Ven pays 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 of identity and manipulation.
Van de Ven (b. 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 has previously exhibited at Ruby Soho, EKWC, De Pont, Art Rotterdam and Cove Park (Scotland), among others. 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).
Frank Koolen - The Human Evidence
At city foyer Boove, Frank Koolen's sculptures pop up among display cases, tables and chairs: colourful, grotesque, rocky heads, in relation to handmade furniture and a collection of carefully composed objects. The small installations recall museum displays, but with a playful and slightly absurdist slant. The focus here is not the actual past, but rather a personal attempt at human interpretation: a collection of traces, memories and rituals. Koolen's project The Human Evidence asks the question: what do we keep, why, and how do we use it to tell who we are?
Koolen (b. 1978) studied at the 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 of Contemporary Art in Roskilde (DK), showed work at the Middelheim Museum (B) and realised public artworks such as the Monument for Future Happiness in Drachten.
The official opening of PARK@Schouwburg Part II will take place on Saturday 28 June at 4pm.
The artists will be present and give a personal tour.
Location: Boove & Benee, Schouwburg Concertzaal Tilburg.
Entrance is free.
From 28 June, PARK@Schouwburg can be visited daily from 10am. The exhibition can be seen until around 1 July 2026.
In the media:
- Stadsschouwburg Concertzaal Tilburg site - 19-06-2025
- Stadsschouwburg Concertzaal interview Nina van de Ven - 26-06-2025
