The Municipality of Groningen wants to create more room for art in the city streets. Art makes people happier and creates a comfortable atmosphere. That’s why every year they facilitate the realization of several murals in Groningen-South. This is part of the project ‘Street Art Zuid’. In 2025 it’s time for the Rivierenbuurt and the Grunobuurt.

Vrijdag in de Buurt organised a walk through the area, to get inspiration for possible mural locations.

My sister in law Jeannette lives in the Rivierenbuurt, and showed me their local newspaper. Residents were given the opportunity to come up with ideas for a mural in their area. Through a voting procedure 3 ideas would be granted to be executed. Jeannette thought it a very nice idea if I could create something there. And so I started working.

I looked into the history of the area to discover what stories lived out there. What makes the Rivierenbuurt the Rivierenbuurt? What shapes her identity? What are the differences and similarities between then and now? And what would be a nice location for such a painting? The choice for me was quickly made: the transformer station of Enexis! What a difference it would be to have that building covered with a nice mural!

History

In the Middle ages the Rivierenbuurt had a totally different look from now. There were no buildings. There even was a construction ban! The area was situated just outside the citygates. In the case of a siege there had to be space for the field of fire. The wooden inns that were located alongside the Hereweg could easily be demolished in the wake of an attack.

So, no buildings, but instead there were vegetable gardens. Fruits and vegetables were being cultivated for the city. In a French document of 1808 this area is called ‘The Vegetable Garden of Groningen’. At the end of the 18th century, slowly some buildings started to appear. Garden dwellings en farmhouses appeared. (source: Wikipedia)

Based on the history I made a drawing with vegetable garden workers.

The city was growing, and threats of war disappeared. In 1874 the citywalls and gates were demolished. Labourer’s cottages were begin built randomly. Slowly they were being replaced by more reliable houses, factories and companies.

The demolishion of the Herepoort was hard to accept for many residents. The city counsil didn’t see why it should be spared, and eventually the front of the gate moved to Amsterdam, where it now stands in the gardens of the Rijksmuseum. You can read here about failed attempts to get the gate back to Groningen.

For the style I was inspired by post-war ceramic artist Anno Smith. He created decorative gable stones all over the city. Tile mosaics in bas-relief. They also appeared in the Rivierenbuurt. Often he depicted everyday subjects, such as labourers ofrplaying children.

My idea was well received, and got many votes. After clearing all the necessary permits and signing contracts I could begin. The preparation took quite some time. Eddy Taatgen, my partner, side-kick and personal photographer helped me along. The following pictures of me are taken by him.

Cleaning, grinding, scarping, priming...

While working on the finishing touch of the vegetable gardens, local television was suddenly by my side! 🎬🎬Have a look! 🎬🎬

The Herepoort was not finished yet when the TV crew came around. Finishing it became a race against time. A heatwave made working quite hard. The paint dried quick, but with some late summer hours it was finished just in time for the opening.

During the entire project the sun had been shining brightly. 15 minutes before the opening it started raining…. ‘A blessing from above, that’s what we say in India’. And indeed, with some 70 happy visitors, bagpipe player Tjitte de Wolf and some well organized snacks and drinks the opening was a true festivity!

Final pictures by Eddy Taatgen en Jan Wiendels

Great to find you here! On this page you can read everything about this mural on the Poortersplein in Groningen 😊

What do you see?

On the lower part of the wall you see the ‘Poortershuisje’, painted in a realistic way. Behind and above you see stylized flowers and a map of an old garden: the Garden of Hommes. These are all pieces of history from the direct surroundings.

How did this mural come about, and who made it?

The inhabitant of this house, photographer Eddy Taatgen, was the one coming up with the idea and asking for permission to have someone create a mural on his house. Before there was a large ivy growing over the wall. When it was removed it all seemed so bleak, and the alley could use some sunshine. Housing company Nijestee granted his wish, and by way of mouth came up with visual artist Rachel van Balen. The following design was the result of the first meeting beween Rachel and Eddy.

Rachel’s design, here still with red cats at the bottom.

Explanantion of the Design:

The Poortershuisje used to be just around the corner, where the Oostersingel crosses the Damsterdiep. Besides this old house used to be a large city gate, the Steentilbrug, which now decorates the garden of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. This gate, or portal, gave the house its name (portal house). Ship owners and skippers had to pay import and export duties at the house. After having been here for about 3 centuries, it started to decay. In WWII it got damaged so badly that they had to take it down. This to the regret of many lovers. The name of the Poortersplein refers to this house, and was chosen by the residents themselves.

Pictures from the book ‘Groningen in Vuur en Puin’.

The Garden of Hommes, a tea and coffee trader, once was one of the largest gardens of Groningen. It was designed halfway the 19th century by Lambertus Vlaskamp, a garden architect. Through lack of success he became a drifter and ended up in prison where he died of cholera. His son Gerrit Vlaskamp became very succesful. One of the gardens he designed is the Park Groenesteijn in Helpman, Groningen, which still exists today.

Do you recognize the garden design on the wall?

There’s only a small piece left of the once so big a garden. Due to the coming of a transport company and the building of new houses, a large part of the garden was sacrificed. Also the accompanying house woningen aan het Poortersplein moest een groot deel van de tuin opgeofferd worden. The stins plants that grew in the garden now come back to life on this wall.

Part of the garden once was used for the shelter for girls gone wrong.

Working process:

The wall had to stay ‘damp-open’, so a paint of Trimetal was selected that granted this feature, and that made it possible for Rachel to mix her own colors. After removing all the remainders of the ivy, a fixating layer of paint was supplied, after which the real painting job could begin! Aided by a cherrypicker Rachel marked the smaller bricks, making it easier for her to transfer her design onto the wall.

After transferring the design it’s time for colors! Working from top to bottom, so the expensive cherrypicker can return home as soon as possible. Working with rollers, brushes and sponges. Colorfields, details, light and shadow and black linings to make the flowers stand out.

After a week with long working hours the top is finished. The regional televion company RTV Noord comes to have a look. They create a nice item for their program Expeditie Grunnen. They promise to come back when the mural is finished.

After finishing the upper part it’s time for the lower part. A totally different kind of challenge!

Filling up an empty space brick by brick.

After 3 weeks painting, or actually 4 weeks due to rainy periods, the wall finally is finished! Time for RTV Noord to return for a new televisiom item! 😃

Another regional broadcaster wants to make a news reportage of Rachel and the mural. Fantastic!!

The red cats in the design have disappeared. Instead there are now abstracted color fields. The colors refer to the flowers above the Poortershuisje.

Thanks for reading and viewing!

Would you like to have Rachel create a mural on your wall? Please send her an email through the button below.

Street Art Rivierenbuurt 2025

Mural Poortersplein Groningen, 2024