Portret van Leen Roels in het Nederlands Mijnmuseum, staand voor mijnwerkerspoppen en een bord met het woord ‘Zwart’.

Leen Roels

Leen Roels door Dani Silvia

Since 2023, Leen Roels has been the director-curator of the Nederlands Mijnmuseum (Dutch Mining Museum) in Heerlen. She sees the DSM Collection not only as art but also as heritage that evokes emotions and makes memories tangible.

For more than twenty years, she has delved into the mining past, always paying special attention to the voice of “the common person.” From this perspective, Roels sees the DSM Collection as both eclectic and layered: some works explicitly reference the mines, while others subtly reflect the region’s impact. She personally chose Lungs by Itamar Gilboa, a 3D-printed sculpture of lungs. The work symbolizes both the miners’ lung dust and the oxygen brought by industry — a powerful image of past and future. For Roels, this is exactly what the collection can do: evoke recognition, surprise, and spark conversations.

Read her full story in the Rooted in Change magazine, packed with interviews and background on the exhibition. Available from the end of October in the SCHUNCK museum shop.

Portret van Leen Roels in het Nederlands Mijnmuseum, naast een mannequin in mijnwerkerspak en onder een bord met de tekst ‘Stoflongen’.

Leen Roels door Dani Silvia