On 9 October 2020, the Limburgs Museum will open a major exhibition about the Maas, the river that has shaped the lives of the inhabitants of Limburg for centuries. Conceived and curated by guest curator Servé Hermans, artistic director at Toneelgroep Maastricht, the exhibition will be one large, multidisciplinary art project. “I want to bring the narrative power of the theatre to the museum,” says Hermans.

In this exhibition about the river Maas, Servé Hermans will reveal the four faces of the river: muse, monster, murderer and mother. A romantic face, 'muse', with beautiful painted landscapes. The face of the floods, 'monster', giving visitors the experience of Limburg under water. The Maas as a 'murderer', with attention for pollution and plastic soup. And 'Mother Maas', because the river also serves to protect and preserve.

The exceptional aspect of the exhibition is that all these themes have been interpreted by an entire team of artists and designers, under the direction of Servé Hermans. From filmmaker Rob Hodselmans to visual artist Claudy Jongstra and from composer Kwinten Mordijck to playwright Annet Bremen. Film, audio, light, visual arts, theatre - these multiple disciplines work together to give visitors a true experience of the Maas.  

"What Servé does is a seamless match with our new artistic strategy," says Bert Mennings, director of the Limburgs Museum. "We aspire to be an inclusive museum. So we have asked guest curators from different disciplines and communities to present a surprising perspective on the past, present and future. This creates a dialogue of multiple voices. As a museum that represents the cultural and historical heritage of Limburg we collect, display and narrate the stories from this specific region. The Maas is about identity, about the changes in this region and about the wider Euregio - the water that literally connects us to places beyond our national borders."

Parallel to the exhibition about the river Maas, the Limburgs Museum will be organising a series of public and educational programmes consisting of a cycle of lectures entitled De diepte in and various screenings. The exhibition will run from 9 October 2020 to 29 August 2021 inclusive.

Dirk Wiggers, De Maas bij Kessel. 1913|1914. Olieverf op doek. 56x100 cm.

Severe flooding in Venlo 1993