Look! Amersfoort!

Now on view | until 26 october

Walk through time in the museum and discover Amersfoort as it has been seen, experienced and depicted throughout the centuries. In the exhibition Look! Amersfoort! you experience the city through the eyes of artists, residents and children.

Artistic ‘city walk’

Take an artistic city walk in the museum along iconic places in Amersfoort: such as the often depicted Lange Jan, also known as the Lieve Vrouwe Toren, the picturesque Koppelpoort, the industrial construction on the Eem and the romantic depictions of the Leusderkwartier.

It is a versatile mix of realistic cityscapes, such as those by Mathias Withoos and Caspar van Wittel, and romantic impressions of Amersfoort by painters such as Hendrik Jan Wolter. In the most recent works from our museum collection you will see how artists approach the city with a contemporary view – from the ominous Koppelpoort by Mattijn Franssen to the fresh view of the Havik by Juane Xue.

Amersfoort now

The exhibition goes beyond just a retrospective of the city.

Various residents give their own view of the city and a group of children from the museum's Children's Panel took on the role of exhibition maker. They selected a small part of the exhibition - about twenty paintings and objects - that tell stories about their city. Stories that they themselves find important and beautiful to share.

The project started with a walk through the old city center: What caught their attention? Which places caught their attention? This was followed by a creative brainstorm, in which they came up with two themes that they wanted to show with the cityscapes of Amersfoort: Decoration and Entertainment.

In the museum depot they went in search of works of art and objects that bring these themes to life, and they also wrote the room texts themselves.

For example, 10-year-old Mirthe chose the painting Koppelpoort seen from the Eemzijde, but also a large sled: “This sled was made by boys who had to be re-educated. They had done something that was not naughty enough to end up in prison.”

Graffiti collective 13Hoog is inspired by the centuries-old cityscape of Mathias Withoos and translates this into a modern masterpiece. In the poetry project specially developed for this exhibition, Amersfoort poets add an extra dimension: with their poems, inspired by works of art from the collection, they visualize their emotions about the city.

& the neighborhood

Finally, you dive into the neighborhoods with Amateurkunst033. For the project Buurt in Beeld, cartoonist Lex van Elten went out into the Kruiskamp Koppel neighborhood. There he met residents with various backgrounds.

He also gave drawing workshops, in which residents made their own drawings of their house, street or favorite place in the neighborhood. He incorporated a number of these drawings into a compilation drawing that he made.

Writing and photography: in the Soesterkwartier, residents got to work on this for the Wij(k) verhalen project. Led by writer Raymond Vis, they put their memories and experiences on paper. Another group went into the neighborhood to make suitable images for them. The whole thing provides a unique insight into the lives of the residents.

The drawings, images and stories of these residents were eventually included in our exhibition.

Fun for all ages

Look! Amersfoort! is fun for all ages. Especially for families, children and everyone who loves creativity, there is plenty to do: play a treasure hunt and discover how the people of Amersfoort lived through the centuries, share memories and tips with each other and other visitors on a large map in Depot Junior or make your own cityscape!

Who knows, your contribution might soon be hanging in our museum!

Look! Amersfoort! brings together the past with the present, art with society, and the people. Be surprised by well-known and unknown images of stories about the city.

Come to Museum Flehite and experience the city of then and now.