Marijke Schurink works with special materials that can change or disappear, such as flowers, plants, soap, and water droplets. For the deep blue color, she used an old photographic technique called cyanotype (sun print). At the Town Hall Square, she collected plants and placed them on light-sensitive paper. Sunlight turned everything not covered bright blue, creating white prints where the leaves lay. Because this blue rarely occurs in nature, Schurink combined the prints with embroidery (cross stitches) in warm earth tones. Thus, two different worlds come together in one image.
Cultural Alderman Tyas Bijlholt hopes visitors to the town hall will pause at the new window artwork: “Public art surprises and encourages reflection. It helps us see our street, neighborhood, or city with new eyes. Precisely there, in the space we share, is connection. It sparks conversations and transforms an ordinary place into a shared place.”
Art for Everyone
In 2024, the Municipality of Amersfoort started the project Art at the Town Hall, where each year artists depict a theme with a window artwork. This way, everyone can experience art in public spaces. In 2026, the theme is Connection. The curators of this exhibition are Renee Schuiten-Kniepstra and Carlien Lammers. They selected three artists for the themes ‘Connection in Space’ (Marijke Schurink, Amersfoort), ‘Connection Between People’ (Ying Yi Wu, Amersfoort), and ‘Digital Connection’ (Femme ter Haar, Utrecht).