I Didn't Cross The Border, The Border Crossed Me

From 18 October 2026 to 14 March 2027, the cultural-historical Museum W in Weert presents the group exhibition I Didn't Cross The Border, The Border Crossed Me. About From 18 October 2026 to 14 March 2027, the cultural-historical Museum W in Weert presents the group exhibition I Didn't Cross The Border, The Border Crossed Me. Featuring more than thirty artworks by seventeen artists, the exhibition examines how physical, cultural, social and personal boundaries influence identity, meaning and humanity. Works on view include those by Maja Irene Bolier, Eli Content, Miriam Cahn, Nan Goldin, Frans van Hoek, Susanne Khalil Yusef, Duane Michals, Dakota Magdalena Mokhammad, Prins Nicolas, Hemaseh Manawi Rad, Denys Shantar, Anne Silverstrand Forest, Leon Stoffelen, Koes Staassen, Silvia B., Charles Vos and Hanneke Wetzer. Visible and invisible borders I Didn't Cross The Border, The Border Crossed Me is about visible and invisible borders. National borders, cultural boundaries, norms surrounding gender and sexuality, ideas about home and origin, and dividing lines between what is considered acceptable or deviant run like a thread through the exhibition. The participating artists explore themes including migration, displacement, war, power, queerness, intimacy, faith, family history and the body. The exhibition is curated by Haiko Sleumer and comprises works from the collections of Museum W, Collectie G+W Nederland and Jo Brunenberg, as well as new work by young artists.The exhibition design is by Kiki van Eijk and Joost van Bleiswijk of the Eindhoven-based design studio Kiki & Joost. Spoken word by Salma Ali, former city poet of Weert, can be heard in each exhibition room. The recordings are produced by Els Huver Audioproducties. Important loans by major names A significant contribution to the exhibition comes from loans from Collectie G+W Nederland and from the collection of Jo Brunenberg. From Collectie G+W Nederland comes, among other works, Köpfe (1985), a series of five black charcoal drawings by Miriam Cahn. Central themes in Cahn's work include the cruelty of war, power structures and the position of women. From the collection of the Weert-based photographer Jo Brunenberg, works by Nan Goldin and Duane Michals are included. Nan Goldin is represented by her famous photograph of two men in a bathtub, from the queer underground of the 1980s. The title is Matt and Lewis in the tub (1988). By Duane Michals, The Unfortunate Man (1976) is on view, a work that refers to oppression and the prohibition of homosexuality in the 1970s. Works from the collection of Museum W Works by Eli Content, Silvia B. and Charles Vos from the collection of Museum W are included in the exhibition. By Eli Content, whose art is interwoven with Jewish mysticism, creation stories and religious philosophy, the abstract Zonder titel (Untitled) (1991) is on view. By Silvia B., winner of the Hendrik Chabot Prize 2026, Museum W presents Zero (2001), a drawing of a boy with a bare torso and a hand grenade attached to a nipple piercing. The work refers to news reports from the early 2000s about suicide bombers concealing explosives beneath their clothing. By the Maastricht sculptor Charles Vos, Engel met duivel ( Angel with Devil ) is on view, an image of the classic inner struggle between good and evil, morality and temptation. Young artists, new works and invisible dividing lines Alongside established names, the exhibition also includes young artists and new commissions. Maja Irene Bolier presents a series of nine collages made from old pornographic magazines from the 1970s and 1980s. For Bolier, this is her first museum presentation. Prins Nicolas and Anne Silverstrand Forest are also taking part in a museum exhibition for the first time. Silverstrand creates her own hybrid visual language, shaped by her upbringing as an American in the Netherlands and among the Russian Orthodox community. Frans van Hoek is creating Kids Map Weert (2026) especially for Museum W. For this conceptual work, 23 pupils from group 3/4 of Basisschool De Kameleon in Weert will draw a world map on which only the outlines of the continents are indicated. Dakota Magdalena Mokhammad is developing a new tapestry especially for this exhibition, to be produced at the TextielMuseum in Tilburg. In this textile work, she incorporates old Afghan textile techniques and refers to her Afghan grandmother, whom she never knew. Mokhammad's work is part of the collections of Noordbrabants Museum, TextielMuseum Tilburg and Museum W. Denys Shantar, a Ukrainian-Swiss artist based in Antwerp, presents textile works in which he addresses subjects such as religion, migration, queerness and the war in Ukraine. In 2026, Shantar will have a solo exhibition at M HKA in Antwerp. Hemaseh Manawi Rad presents textile works that, from an Iranian-Dutch perspective, explore the complex sense of home experienced by people with a migration background in Dutch society. Susanne Khalil Yusef presents work about the Palestinian diaspora, displacement, war and identity. Queer perspectives and identity Several artists in I Didn't Cross The Border, The Border Crossed Me work from or around queer perspectives, gender, sexuality and the body. Leon Stoffelen, for example, paints dreamlike images of homoeroticism and the queer community. Koes Staassen presents refined pencil drawings in which eroticism, desire and subversion come together. Hanneke Wetzer, with her interest in themes such as gender identity, presents Beings , a series of daily drawings on which she has been working since 2016. Exhibition design by Kiki & Joost Kiki van Eijk and Joost van Bleiswijk translate the theme of the exhibition into a series of spatial interventions. In each room, they carry out an intervention that makes the notion of the border visible or tangible in one way or another. In the very first space, visitors encounter a number of black lines, one of which crosses the floor: do you step over it? Elsewhere, an installation of glass beads in a misty, intimate setting also asks visitors to make a personal choice: do you allow yourself to be touched, or do you keep your distance? To avoid a hierarchical relationship between the works on display and to encourage visitors to look differently, Kiki & Joost also deliberately choose unexpected positions. A work by Nan Goldin, for instance, is not placed centrally in the room, but behind a wall. Spoken word by Salma Ali Spoken word by Salma Ali, former city poet of Weert, can be heard in each exhibition room. Drawing on personal experiences, Ali speaks about themes such as identity and growing up between two cultures. Her contribution gives voice to the diversity of Weert and adds a poetic dimension to the exhibition. About design studio Kiki & Joost Kiki & Joost is the design studio of Kiki van Eijk and Joost van Bleiswijk in Eindhoven. The studio works at the intersection of design, art, craft and material research, creating objects, furniture, installations and spatial designs. Characteristic of Kiki & Joost's work is its attention to the making process, the imaginative power of materials and the way in which objects and spaces can evoke stories. The studio works internationally and has realised projects and collaborations with, among others, the Rijksmuseum, Centraal Museum Utrecht, TextielMuseum Tilburg, Moooi, Hermès and Google. About Museum W Museum W is housed in the oldest town hall of Weert, a listed monument on the Markt. The museum is a house full of stories, grounded in its rich regional and religious collection. Its key concepts are identity and meaning. The permanent collection presentation centres on ten life themes, including the body, family, power and splendour, Weert, belief, stories, saints and heroes, work and leisure, suffering and death, and celebration. Read more Toggle Installation Painting