MODULE: a new face for art in the city
During The Notorious IBE on Saturday 16 August, the first Heerlen interchangeable frame – MODULE – will become a reality.
SCHUNCK, together with Kool Cult and Robin Vermeulen, curator of public art in Heerlen, is launching a new way of working in public space. MODULE is a movable panel measuring approximately 3 by 8 metres, showcasing (semi-)permanent art interventions: graffiti, street art and other forms of independent, temporary visual language – visible in the city while retaining its transient character.
Abstract graffiti
For the first edition, SCHUNCK is collaborating with Martinus Papilaja (Arnhem, 1988). Papilaja is a multidisciplinary artist who creates ballpoint drawings, tattoos and large murals. His work resembles abstract graffiti, built up from complex, organic shapes. Using pens, markers, brushes and spray cans, he lets his lines grow intuitively across the surface. Papilaja is fascinated by graffiti: what drives the urge and necessity to leave your tag everywhere? And how can you use this visual language in your artwork without cutting ties with the origins of graffiti?
Menari
During IBE, Papilaja draws inspiration from the Moluccan Menari dance. Kool Cult invites several Moluccan dancers to the festival, and Papilaja responds by treating his tags as dance movements. His body determines the form and scale of the piece, which he will create live that day on the square next to SCHUNCK, between 1:00 PM and 6:00 PM.
MODULE #1 will be on view through September 2025. After that, the interchangeable frame will travel through the city, each time featuring new work by a different artist in a new location – shaped by the context and in collaboration with the municipality. MODULE is a pilot project with ambition: marking the start of a series of interventions that enrich Heerlen’s public space with contemporary visual art.
ArtBase
This first edition is part of ArtBase, a nationwide programme for regional contemporary art. SCHUNCK is one of three participating institutions. Over the coming years, the programme will explore how art from and in the region can gain greater visibility – also beyond the museum walls.