Roosje Klap appointed to shape Niemeyer’s cultural future
On the way to a new cultural heart for Groningen
Roosje Klap in Niemeyer. Foto Casper Maas
The director of Noorderlicht, Roosje Klap, has been appointed by the Municipality of Groningen as Cultural Lead Development for the cultural wing of Niemeyer, the former tobacco factory in the city center. In the coming period, she will help shape Thea: a place where art and technology meet, and where space is created for imagination, experimentation and critical questions about contemporary society.
A cultural compass for Niemeyer
As Cultural Development Lead Klap will lead to a solid foundation for a cultural programme that is widely supported, clearly recognisable and future-oriented.
Under the working title Thea, Klap is developing the cultural wing as an open space for experimentation, encounter and reflection, with a clear focus on the connection between art and technology. Not a classical museum, but a living ecosystem in which makers, researchers, audiences and partners can meet and collaborate.
From her role as director of Noorderlicht, she connects existing networks, new ideas and local energy into an open, future-oriented cultural ecosystem. The cultural programme of Thea grows in close interaction with Groningen’s cultural and knowledge ecosystem. In collaboration with cultural, technological and knowledge institutions, Klap connects the programme to the dynamics of the Niemeyer site, where technology, research and entrepreneurship come together, including initiatives such as the AI Factory.
Roosje says: “I see Niemeyer as a vibrant place where artists, technologists, students, local residents and visitors come together. A place where technology gains a soul.” A place that allows room for both wonder and critique. “We eat, live, date and dream with technology. It’s only right to ask critical questions about that. Art makes visible what would otherwise remain unseen.” Klap hopes Niemeyer will grow into an accessible, curious organism, rooted in Groningen with branches extending beyond its borders. She envisions collaborations with leading institutions. “That’s how it becomes a lively, contemporary whole. Not a fixed recipe, but something that moves with the times and with the city.”
Why Thea?
The name Thea pays tribute to the daughter of Theodorus Niemeijer, Theodora Niemeijer (1912–2004), a visual artist and namesake of the cultural Niemeijer Fund, which annually awards the Theodora Niemeijer Prize to a mid-career female artist. Theodora’s conviction that culture is a driving force for imagination and societal progress is an important source of inspiration for the vision and development of Thea. The name also reflects a Groningen tradition of naming places after first names, such as music venue Vera or brewery Martinus.
