Off the beaten art
This city walk takes you along the undiscovered side of Groningen. We go off the beaten track and discover off the beaten art: art that you don't really notice in the rush of everyday life. Raw edges combined with the beauty of City, that's what you can expect from this art route.
1. Street art Papengang
If you go off the beaten track, you will also encounter dark places. A raw edge can be quite exciting. Take the Papengang. Situated in the middle of the city's entertainment district, this alley had a somewhat bad image. Recently, the illustrious alley has a new face. Literally. From dingy alleyway to attractive backstreet. Artists Klaas Boter, Iris Kruizinga, Loes Faber, Matthieu Keuter of Lewenborg, the duo Vaaf and Hans Vos have transformed the Papengang into a colourful and luminous gateway to Groningen's nightlife.
Discover along the way
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Groningen Store
Groningen Store
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Forum Groningen
Forum Groningen
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Oosterstraat
Oosterstraat
2. Vervlogen tijden - Klaas Lageweg (2015)
The pigeon that sees all thieves. This metre-high mural can be found right next to the police station. This city dove is ready to go. In the process, it pulls a farmer with his milk cart ahead. A reference to Farmer Bierling, the occupant of the last farm in the heart of the city, where the car park now sits. If you look closely, you can see pixels in the artwork. Artist Klaas Lageweg calls this realpixelism, adding a modern touch to his authentic street art.
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3. Tschumipaviljoen - Bernard Tschumi (1990)
The Tschumipaviljoen, designed by deconstructivist architect Bernard Tschumi, is part of an art event in the 1990s. Five artists were invited to design a pavilion for temporary use. This pavilion remained standing. A real eye-catcher in the city, this curious 'greenhouse'. Today, it still hosts exhibitions, often installations focusing on modern media. And in case you wonder how it is possible that everything does not slide into one heap while it is so crooked: if you look closely, you will see that the space is divided into five parts with angled walls. This keeps everything in its place.
4. Second Thought - Giny Vos (2008)
Many a Stadjer will have bumped his head in a hurry at this upside-down snow globe in the bicycle basement. You can see the familiar shapes of the main station in this 'underground' artwork. As the day progresses, a play of light and dark causes the station building to transform into a fairy-tale shadow of itself. In doing so, the dome makes a special connection between the monumental station and the modern city balcony.
5. Interior station hall - Isaac Gosschalk (1896)
We hear you thinking, "What is 'off the beaten track' about a station hall that has been standing for over a century?" In the rush of everyday life, we tend to run from place to place and forget to see beauty in things you "know anyway. Look up. This beautiful ceiling is made almost entirely of papier-mâché. In addition, the hall is a so-called 'salle des pas perdus', literally a 'hall in which footsteps are lost'. Groningen artist F.H. Bach (then a teacher at Minerva art academy) uses this to refer not only to the acoustics, but also to the hall's function. A waiting room in which people walk around to kill time and more or less uselessly move their feet.
6: Hidden art on Folkingestraat
Welcome to Folkingestraat. It is one of award-winning stature. In 2014, for instance, 'the Folkinge' was crowned the nicest shopping street. Not only for fun, original shops, boutiques and eateries, this is literally the place to be; when it comes to art, it is also in good shape. No fewer than three of the artworks on the route are located on this street. So keep your eyes peeled.
Jewish history
That the Folkinge is a lively and colourful street is obvious. Yet this street also has a dark past. During World War II, for instance, the liveliness of Folkingestraat, then the centre of the Jewish neighbourhood, came to an abrupt end. The residents were taken to concentration camps, their shops and crafts left behind lost. The (hidden) art in Folkingestraat reminds us of this time. Not with 'in your face' memorial stones, but through subtle art.
Subtle art
Here, for instance, you will find Gert Sennema's Portaal (hidden door). Behind this closed door lies the history of Folkingestraat that no one can recount. Shift your gaze to your feet and you will see Galgal Hamazalot by Joseph Semah lying in the paving stones. From beginning to end, you walk along the different phases of the moon. When you put these together, you see in the moon bricks an eye. The eye that saw everything. Finally, the (pre-cut) parade horse of Marijke Gémessy in the wall between numbers 23 and 25. There used to be a horse butcher here and this horse is the only remnant. Behind it you can see the still authentic butcher's tiles, of which only the colour has changed.
Discover along the way
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Folkingestraat
Folkingestraat
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Northern Lights
Northern Lights
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Museums in the city
Museums in the city
7. Public toilet - Erwin Olaf & Rem Koolhaas (1996)
When you have to, you have to. And where better to do that than on this unique urinal. On the public toilet, you will see a photo collage depicting the 'battle of the sexes': ladies and gentlemen playfully attacking each other. Dressed in pearls and diamonds, waving rolling pins, swords and boxing gloves. The round toilet building, designed by Rem Koolhaas in 1996, is made of milk glass. With Erwin Olaf's photos on it, it is a cosy puddle of fun this way. Extra cosy because of the two entrances. One for the ladies and one for the men, so you can 'go' at the same time.
8. Female bust on column of honour - Anne Wenzel (2018)
The Vishoek used to be a hub for ships from the Zuider- and Noorderhaven. And where there were ports, there was prostitution. Until a few years ago, a mainly red glow shone through the streets here. For centuries, this neighbourhood was home to girls of pleasure. Now there is only one: the bust of women, made by Anne Wenzel. Thus, thanks to this bust, the ladies still define the streetscape of the A Quarter. In doing so, Wenzel has created a monument to women as human beings, with all their beauty, strength and vulnerability.
9. Farsi Largo/Making Making space - Janet Mullarney (1996)
Farsi Largo/MakingMaking Space hides behind nothing, is fully visible, yet is rarely noticed by passers-by. This is because the work floats six metres above the ground. In Italian, Farsi Largo stands for 'moving forward cautiously'. While the work of art is almost a quarter of a century old, it is perhaps precisely the artwork of our time: making space for the one-and-a-half-metre society. These man and woman, who seem to float towards each other, show us connectedness without being close.
10. Wervel - Nicky Assman (2019)
The last work on the route can be found in the car park under the Forum, the imposing spaceship in the middle of the city. Is Wervel the tucked-away baby? Definitely not! This 20-metre-long LED sculpture is inspired by a tornado. Artist Nicky Assmann combines art, nature, science and cinematography in her work. The result is a whirlwind of composed video images with flowing dynamic hyper colours. From this emerges a beautiful composition of light, movement and imagination that amazes and stimulates the senses.
