Audax Textielmuseum Tilburg

Art around the museum building

Miet van Puijenbroek monument
The memorial for former alderman Miet van Puijenbroek (1914-1999) stands in front of the entrance building of the Audax Textielmuseum Tilburg. The artist Margot Homan made the marble statue in Pietrasanta (Italy), the famous place nearby Pisa where sculptors and sculptresses from all over the world work on the marble extracted from the quarries. A slab of marble weighing eight tonnes formed the basis for the immortalisation of Miet van Puijenbroek, one of the most remarkable women in Tilburg’s history.

Miet van Puijenbroek’s role in Tilburg has been unique. A textile worker who rose to alderwoman. Miet van Puijenbroek originally worked as head of mending/darning in the textile industry and in 1955 she became the paid chairwoman of the Tilburg branch of the Katholieke Arbeiders Vrouwen (KAV) (Catholic women workers guild). She was a councillor for 37 years, alderwoman for social and cultural affairs in Tilburg for four years and a member of the Provincial States of Noord-Brabant for fourteen years. She was deeply dedicated to the Textielmuseum Tilburg and involved in issues of social life. Miet fought for honesty, equal opportunities and was every inch a Tilburger. In 1972 she was responsible for the first policy document on emancipation in Tilburg and was voted Tilburger of the 20th century. All in all, reason enough for a monument at the Textielmuseum.

Groeimonument
In 2009 Tilburg celebrated the 200th anniversary of its charter. In honour of this jubilee year the municipality of Tilburg commissioned NEXT architects to design a monument relating to the textile industry that put Tilburg on the map. The Groeimonument depicts the expansive and evolving town stemming from its textile past. In addition, it quite “literally” symbolises today’s and tomorrow’s growth. The Groeimonument is a dynamic work of art that can grow along with the development of the town and the developments of the Audax Textielmuseum Tilburg. The work comprises vertical glass fibre rods positioned in the shape of a building with a ridge height of 8.5 metres. Flowering climbing plants grow between the rods trailing upwards along the tubes covering them. This living overgrowth generates the dynamics. The appearance will change in the coming years as different varieties of climbing plants are planted. A wooden platform underlines the connection with the architecture and can function as a seating element, catwalk, stage or rostrum. The Groeimonument is situated behind the Textielmuseum. The rear entrance to the museum is behind the reception desk to the right. Follow the path and the monument is on your right-hand side.

Both monuments are KORT projects. KORT stands for Kunstenplan Openbare Ruimte Tilburg (a plan for art in Tilburg’s public spaces). It is a collaboration between the municipality of Tilburg and the Brabants Kenniscentrum voor Kunst en Cultuur (BKKC) (a centre of expertise for art and culture in Brabant). The municipality is the client, the BKKC is the consultant.