Tweet27-05-2010 om 12:16 by Amanda Potter

This past weekend Dan and I celebrated the lovely weather by tackling the KunstTour’s bike tour.  This unique way to explore art in Maastricht took us to parts of Maastricht we had not visited before and exposed us to a wide variety of art and studios.

The KunstTour is a yearly open house event in Maastricht intended to share the work of various artists in the region via galleries, open studios, and free access to some museums. Mostly modern and experimental projects, many visual themes, sound, and space pay into the works on display. This year’s theme “Zonder Titel” is a departure from previous years which has explicit themes; instead allowing artists to spread their wings and share whatever they like.

And spread their wings they did. In the galleries we discovered a variety of projects; some of which worked for us and some which didn’t.  That is, of course, one of the great things about the KunstTour. Both professionals and serious amateurs have the chance to share what they have been working on. And its likely you'll discover something new that resonant or at least amuses.


Particularly fun for me was a photographic collection with an interactive screen of back-lit cloth so you could make your own images.



More serious subjects, such as these paintings depicting children with weapons, were also present.

The KunstTour’s bike route took us further abroad this year than just walking did and several spots along the route were working studios tucked away in otherwise disused-looking factory buildings. It was neat to see the spaces that people actually work in and nice to see such buildings being put to good use. While the bike ride certainly too longer than the 2.5 hours advertised, I would wholly recommend it to anyone who wants to get off the beaten path of the center of Maastricht a bit.



We also discovered Frankenstraat, an entire street made up of art gallery space. Several artists had regular galleries there and a few temporary ones were also set up for the weekend, making it an excellent place to explore the KunstTour in a small space.

Interested in checking out the KunstTour next year? Keep an eye out for it at http://www.kunsttour.com/.

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