About the exhibition
In 2024, dsm-firmenich donated the core of its art collection to the municipality of Heerlen. This collection, one of the oldest corporate collections in the Netherlands, enriches SCHUNCK’s municipal art collection with works by regional, national, and international artists.
From autumn 2025, the DSM art collection will be shown to the public for the first time in a comprehensive exhibition, spread across SCHUNCK Museum, the Nederlands Mijnmuseum (Dutch Mining Museum), and the Town Hall (Municipality of Heerlen). The exhibition also engages the community, featuring favorite selections from local residents of the Mijnstreek region.
The history of the DSM art collection reflects DSM’s transition from a state-owned company to a global player, with a focus on innovation and sustainability. Alongside the SCHUNCK collection, the DSM collection serves as a springboard for visual artists from the Netherlands and abroad. The combination of both collections’ stories offers multiple entry points to further explore the history of the former mining region and the corporate collection for the future, in collaboration with various partners.
For example, Heerlen native Jop Vermeesch, whose family history takes us to the Ombilin mine, collaborates with visual artist Lara Gasparotto from Liège to shed light on an overlooked chapter of the Dutch State’s mining activities in former Dutch East Indies. This project also casts new light on the former State Mines, the collection, and its relationship with the community—a connection that reaches far beyond the former mining region alone.
melanie bonajo, Daisy (Last child in the woods), 2017, C-print op Canon Luster papier
The DSM art collection includes works by, among others: Frank Ammerlaan, David Bade, Harrie Bartels, Jeroen van Bergen, Rob Birza, Laurens Bisscheroux, melanie bonajo, Tom Claassen, David Czupryn, Pieter Defesche, Sander van Deurzen, Paul Drissen, Hadassah Emmerich, Ruud van Empel, Maarten van den Eynde, Charles Eyck, Itamar Gilbao, Vera Gulikers, Aad de Haas, Jacqueline Hassink, Heringa/Van Kalsbeek, Teun Hocks, Duan Jiangyu, Kaspar de Jong, Claudy Jongstra, Sidi el Karchi, Fransje Killaars, Harry Koolen, Charlotte Lagro, Ger Lataster, Chaim van Luit, Keetje Mans, Jan van Munster, Lucy & Jorge Orta, Stefan Peters, Jacques Reubsaet, Tanja Ritterbex, Donya Saed, Vivianne Sassen, Berndnaut Smilde, Marijke Stultiens, Aline Thomassen, Hans Truijen, Helen Verhoeven, Bas de Wit, and many others.
Daan Wildschut - Zonder Titel