Anouk at her mural. (Photo: Omroep Brabant)The mural in the ClarastraatThe foundling house in 1955 (Photo: Erfgoed ‘s-Hertogenbosch/Roelands, JAM)Next
1/3 Anouk at her mural. (Photo: Omroep Brabant)
It is difficult for young artists to get a job, but in Den Bosch 18-year-old Anouk Brand gets her first big chance. Because the old foundling house is being renovated, she is allowed to paint the bare building bulkheads. And the neighbors are so happy with that that she has even suffered a bit of delay due to the constant flow of compliments.
“Yes, gosh, I think it’s beautiful,” a street resident looks at the work in amazement. He still has his helmet on and gets off his electric bike. He is an older man who lives a few houses away from the monumental foundling home. “I hadn’t seen it yet.” He looks at the monumental foundling house in Clarastraat, which will undergo extensive construction in the coming months.
The building, which is covered in scaffolding, is surrounded by wooden building panels. They are sprayed sky blue, with graffiti buses. It is a blue sky, with a cloud here and there and a large group of storks. “And why the storks?” asks the passer-by. “Think about what kind of building this is,” his neighbor laughs.
The work is a tribute to the foundlings who once stayed in the foundling home. Artist Anouk, who comes from Dordrecht, likes to reflect the history of the building in her work. She sees it as giving a story back to a city. “It’s now my third day, so it’s taking a little longer than planned. But so many people come to have a chat or give a compliment that it gives a lot of energy.”
“The art world traditionally remains a male culture.”
Anouk was asked for the project by the Den Bosch organization Kings Of Colors, which wants to offer young artists a springboard. “Exactly young, but also precisely female,” says chairman Roos Giethoorn. “There are more and more women, but the art world traditionally remains a male culture.”
And Anouk notices that too. She has to scramble and gather to get her jobs. She has only just come to see it, but that is why she needs it from her mentors. People who offer her a platform. Because what starts with a painting on a building plate may well develop into a large work on the side of an apartment or corner house. “And that would be really cool,” says Anouk.
The mural in Clarastraat
2023-09-23 06:01:04
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