Update

Update December 2025 | Cathy Jacob - Director ArtBase Terneuzen

One year after the launch: an update on developments at ArtBase Terneuzen. This three-year pilot is giving contemporary art, together with local and national partners, a new place in Zeeland. After these three years, the municipality of Terneuzen, the province of Zeeland and national institutions will decide whether there will be a permanent facility with a regional focus and international reach.

The inaugural year generated significant media attention, attracted engaged audiences and practicing artists interested in collaboration. We received numerous participation proposals, hosted site visits from colleagues at institutions nationwide, and welcomed representatives from various governmental agencies.

The first year focused on pioneering new models, building networks and establishing foundational structures. Substantial work has been undertaken on research frameworks, a communications infrastructure has been implemented, and initial projects have been launched, with additional initiatives in development.

We continue working on the pilot by establishing new forms of collaboration and investigating how art projects contribute to social cohesion. We're also working together with the education sector. We want to discover what works and what doesn't.

To forge connections between art and society, we organize workshops and public dialogues, actively inviting residents to participate in both conceptual and practical engagement. This approach may generate productive tensions—by taking calculated risks we explore the limits of possibility and determine which methodologies best align with the regional context and existing institutional frameworks.

Working with an expanding team of independent professionals, all rooted in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen, we advance research, communications, exhibitions and ambitious initiatives. This website documents the range of exhibitions and programs realized to date, as well as the individuals and organizations affiliated with ArtBase Terneuzen. The level of enthusiasm among participants is remarkably high and proves infectious. While I'm grateful for this support, more significantly it demonstrates the necessity of a sustained platform for contemporary art in Terneuzen and the broader region.

July 2025:

ArtBase Terneuzen is part of the national ArtBase pilot. The goal is to examine the feasibility of a focused and recognizable regional program for contemporary visual arts. The pilot seeks an ideal formula for the ArtBase approach in the future. What works and what doesn't? At the end of 2027, the balance will be drawn up for a possible national rollout of more ArtBase regional locations.

Three museum institutions are participating in this pilot, each located in a different type of 'region' with their own specific needs and possibilities: SCHUNCK in Heerlen, Stedelijk Museum Schiedam and a newly developed museum platform in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen: ArtBase Terneuzen. Each with their own – but coordinated – approach to give their region more attention, platform and audience through contemporary art and artists. And in this way also strengthen the cultural and additional economic significance for the region.

The pilot project runs until 2027; the pilot is inspired by the FRAC model existing in France (Les Fonds Régional d'Art Contemporain) with 25 regional art institutions spread across France