Info

Witte Rook is a platform for research, experimentation, and reflection in the field of contemporary visual arts, with a strong focus on pressing social issues. Our programme is rooted in offering time, space, and context through long-term projects in which the artist’s voice takes centre stage. These projects place a particular emphasis on publishing about the process, as well as examining how digital culture shapes both art and society. The name Witte Rook – meaning “a sign of approval” – reflects our core belief in starting from a place of curiosity and openness. In the coming years, our ambition is to take a leading role in shaping the artist’s narrative by focusing on digital storytelling and hybrid residency projects that explore what the Artist in Residence of the future might look like.

We start from our local environment – the history of the city and region, its heritage, public spaces, and the communities, residents, and users who inhabit them. Specific themes are connected to universal questions, as in our Spain Projects, where artists explore the shared history between Spain and the Netherlands from a contemporary perspective. We work primarily in public space, particularly in parks – such as 49m2, a long-term inquiry into art in the public domain, and the multi-year project in Wilhelminapark, where this experience leads to innovative artistic interventions outdoors. Witte Rook is also a key partner in talent development initiatives such as Talenthub Inversie, supporting artists with ties to Brabant. We collaborate closely with artists and organisations to research, describe, and publish about artistic processes, as seen in projects like De Octopus, AiR van Gogh Zundert, and Fly On The Wall with LI-MA.

Witte Rook is a point of departure — a welcoming and trusted environment where artists and art projects are not confined to white walls, but are free to find their own path. Our vision centres on process, reciprocity, and the development of narrative as a way to contribute artistic expressions to the (collective) memory of the world. Understanding and trust are key to sharing experiences and content that shape and articulate the story — for the many individuals and groups that make up our society. To do so, we embrace the online space, where an ever-growing part of the global population spends their daily lives. Witte Rook regards this digital domain as part of the public realm — a place where the artist, precisely through their perspective, can make a meaningful impact.

Witte Rook strengthens the connection between artists, public space, and society by making art an integral and natural part of our surroundings — in other words, of society itself. We do this by offering an open and accessible platform, by operating beyond our own walls, by collaborating with partners outside the arts, and by using a (digital) platform to reach those who cannot be physically present — and by sharing all of these experiences. For Witte Rook, publishing stories is a key method to reflect on the world we live in. It helps us better understand the motivations of artists and makes these insights accessible to both a professional and wider audience.

Office and presentation space | De StadsGalerij, Oude Vest 34, 4811 HT Breda

Hybrid residency 49m2 | Zaartpark, Breda

Wilhelminapark Project | Wilhelminapark, Parklaan, Breda

Talent development programme Inversie | Various locations in North Brabant

Spain Projects | Breda and various locations in Spain and the Netherlands

Publication projects | Online

Iratxe Jaio & Klaas van Gorkum, Chris Kievid, Pip Passchier, Onkruidenier, Paul Devens, Dorien de Wit, Renée Bus, Larissa Schepers, Fedrik Vaessen, Sophie Hollander, Kelly Christogiannis, Shanna Huijbregts, Isamo Thissen, Niels Roest, Qiaochu Guo, Maja Bollier, Froukje de Boer, Britte Koolen, Bo Emmens, Floor Snels, Jesse Fischer… More to be updated

Charlotte Feijen, Eef Schoolmeesters, Liza Voetman, Roel Neuraij, Ruth de Vos, Esther van Rosmalen, Roeliena Aukema, Joram Kraaijeveld, Phillipine Hoegen, Nele Brökelmann, Nina Knaack, Maja Bolier, Hannah Kalverda, Manus Groenen, Marlies van Hak. More to be updated…