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Foundation De NWE Stijl Tilburg presents a poetical-theatrical video walk through the centre of Tilburg, guided by performers Esther Porcelijn and Serge van Duijnhoven. This tour unveils hidden facts and insights about De Stijl and Dadaism in Tilburg.
The walking shoes are on, the earplugs are connected to a tablet or phone screen, and off we go. In 90 minutes you will be back in the Spoorzone. The start of this poetic-theatrical walk is at the Burgemeester Stekelenburgplein on the north side of the Central Station. Never heard of orthogonal lines that create a wavy movement? After today, you will know better and recognize the identity of what is colloquially known as the ‘kroepoekdak’ (roof of prawn crackers )
Through the station tunnel to Spoorlaan. On the corner stands the notable Hotel Central where café-restaurant Albert Janssen was located until 1930. During World War I, Theo van Doesburg and Antony Kok signed a lifelong friendship in the bar room and sketched the outlines of the later art movement De Stijl. During the renovation of the current Hotel Central at this location each of the 21 rooms receives the name and visual elements of an artist associated with De Stijl or Dadaism as a tribute.
Location I
Around the Central Station Hub
Three locations in the direct vicinity of Tilburg Central Station, where, based on architectural features, the poets narrate the significance of the De Stijl movement for these buildings. How a ‘floating’ station roof of straight lines forms a wave motion. And how the ceilings of the loggias at Hotel Central reveal glass mosaic tiles in yellow, black, red, and white. When Van Doesburg and Kok planted the seeds of what would later be known as De Stijl in Tilburg, this location housed Hotel-Café-Restaurant Albert Janssen, where they organised their controversial ‘Soirées Intimes’.
Location II
De Pollet Villas, Manufacturer’s Villas Spoorlaan 432-438
At the turn of the 20th century, the wealthy manufacturing couple Guillaume Joseph Desiré Pollet and his wife Constance de Horion de Corby commissioned the construction of four villas on the current Spoorlaan: Villa Constance, Villa Guillaume (since 1985 housing the Brabant Nature Museum), Villa Joseph and Villa Desiré. These richly detailed manufacturer residences starkly contrast with the architectural style advocated by the innovators of De Stijl, which emphasised sleek simplicity and clarity.
Location III
Broodbakkery Acaciastraat 23
For Tilburg, the distinctive Broodbakkery, designed by Tilburg architect S.G. Barenbrug in 1932, stands as the most striking architectural example referring to the De Stijl movement. The building resembles a modernist painting, featuring vertical and horizontal lines in primary colours, red, yellow, and blue, against a white-plastered canvas.
Location IV
De Burgerij Noordstaat 87
Bric-à-brac and brocante at De Burgerij, where you can feel as though you’re on vacation. The romance of this French-inspired establishment contrasts with the austerity of the De Stijl art movement. Step inside and listen as Esther Porcelijn recites from the Literary Manifesto published in the 1920 edition of De Stijl magazine. This is how we want poetry!
Location V
Tuinstraat 58, Former Residence of Antony Kok
For the first ten years of his tenure as a senior railway clerk in Tilburg, Antony Kok rented a room above butcher shop De Brouwer at Tuinstraat 58. In Tilburg, Kok met the radical Theo van Doesburg through Maurits Manheim. Together, they laid the foundation for what would later be called De Stijl. Antony Kok played the piano, was a patron, wrote sound poetry and thousands of aphorisms. Stichting De NWE Stijl Tilburg took the initiative to place one of these aphorisms: ‘TODAY’S WORLD RUSHES ON IN DADA’S FOOTSTEPS’, as a light artwork on the roof of Building 79 in the Spoorzone in 2022, marking the 140th anniversary of Kok’s birth. But before we get there, Esther Porcelijn first guides you through ‘Nachtkroeg’ here in Tuinstraat.
Location VI
Willem II street
Following the ode ‘Perhaps’ by Esther Porcelijn in the Helga Deen Garden, the sound poem Nachtkroeg from Location V finds a physical continuation at Jazz podium Paradox. Here, musical experimentation is embraced. The so-called ‘Soirées Intimes’ organised by Manheim, Kok and Van Doesburg in early 1915 (where music was played, and experimental poetry performed) find their counterpart in the centre of Tilburg. Serge van Duijnhoven and Edwin Berg perform the sound poem Vlahaisvatka – poème dada by Antony Kok. Listen!
Location VII
Spoorzone
In this area on the north side of the railway, the industrial past undergoes a true metamorphosis, referring to the social-economic history of the district. Here, the old is made new again, and the LocHal wins every imaginable architectural prize. In this beating heart of the city, Tilburg’s most famous railway son, Antony Kok, receives a luminous tribute on top the roof of Building 79, where de Wisselwachter keeps watch.
The activities of De NWE Stijl have been supported by:
Fonds Erfgoed Tilburg, Gemeente Tilburg, Provincie Noord-Brabant, CuPuDo, NS, ProRail, Rien van Linschoten BV, former alderman Berend de Vries, Erven Kok, KunstLoc, Bibliotheek Midden-Brabant, Fonds Zabawas, Spiegelglasfonds, Het Boekenschop, Museum De Pont, Stadsmuseum Tilburg, Erfgoed Tilburg and numerous crowdfunders.
