Culturele Noordspelen: Art wall Exhibition

The Cultural Noordspelen art wall is a work of art created by children from Amsterdam in collaboration with the Spin Foundation. As ‘Entree van Noord’, the children created their own artwork and are giving it back to the neighbourhood: a colourful entrance, conceived and created by the children themselves.

Cultural Noordspelen: Claim your spot on the Tolhuistuin wall!
Have the children from Amsterdam-Noord claimed their spot? You bet! The 30.5-metre-long wall at the Tolhuistuin has been transformed into a gigantic, colourful work of art. It has become a wonderful window into the world of the local children.

The story behind the project.
For six Thursdays, the Spin Foundation and the Wijsneus team set out to explore, together with the children, what Amsterdam-Noord means to them.
The children shared all sorts of things: from football pitches, windmills, trees and bicycles to imaginary swimming pools, herons, rats and monsters with three crosses for eyes. Some lovely conversations took place, hidden talents came to light and new friendships were formed.
Then it was time for the real work: painting the wall of the Tolhuistuin. On the Fridays of the Culturele Noordspelen, children worked on a large collaborative mural measuring no less than 30 metres in length. On that wall, they show who they are, what matters to them and how they view their neighbourhood and Noord.

This year’s theme is ‘Claim Your Space’: Taking up space, expressing yourself and discovering that your ideas matter. This project gives children the space – both literally and figuratively – to be seen. At the same time, children from different neighbourhoods meet one another, work together on something big and realise that their ideas matter. This is exactly what the Culturele Noordspelen are all about: playing, being yourself, meeting others and engaging creatively with culture together.

Come by and enjoy!
Are you curious about all the stories, monsters and bikes on the wall? You can admire the artwork for free! Do pop along and see for yourself how the children have made their mark on Amsterdam-Noord.

Inspirational quotes from our young artists:

“I painted a duck, because I have lots of little ducks”

When I asked Kim if she’d like to help with the design, she said no. She came back to me later: “When I said no, I was just joking"

“Did you know that in the Molenwijk, the blocks of flats were built in the shape of windmill sails, and that all the street names are related to windmills?”

Three friends joined us to design. Unfortunately, their fourth friend, Jace, couldn’t come along. He’d drawn a lovely picture of his office chair; his favourite spot in Noord is his room. Jace’s friends painted his room and office chair on the wall.

“Noord is so lovely because it’s green and peaceful” – Lots of beautiful trees were painted on the wall.

The wall itself is located at the 'gateway to Amsterdam Noord', opposite the Buiksloterwegveer bus station.

What are we all doing this for?

That became clear last Friday when we took 13-year-old Gideon home. This lovely, slightly shy pre-teen summed up the whole experience beautifully: “I’ve had a really lovely day.” And that’s exactly what makes this project a great success.

Cultural Noordspelen | Claim your place!
This summer, Tolhuistuin will be transformed into a place where children can create, move, play and discover. During the Cultural Noordspelen, we invite children to claim their place: on stage, in the garden, in a story, in music or through movement.

From 3 July to 16 August, a free programme took place every Friday, Saturday and Sunday for children aged 4 to 14. Fridays focused on painting and dance, theatre on Saturday and music on Sunday. On Sunday morning, there was also a story-telling and craft programme for young children.

The Culturele Noordspelen were made possible in part by contributions from the Zadelhoff Culture Fund, the City of Amsterdam, the Noord District, the Amsterdam Fund for the Arts and the A’DAM Tower Foundation.