Due to the large-scale renovation in the neighbourhood, the residents of Mariaberg have been facing many changes for a long time. To preserve the neighbourhood's individual character while embracing the new, the 'Gruuts op Mariaberg' (Proud of Mariaberg) project – an initiative of the neighbourhood network – focusses on art. Because art brings colour, and connects. Last weekend, the first of ten murals was unveiled.

Mariaberg is full of stories. Especially because of the major renovation that has been going on for some time. Neighbourhood resident Manon Rijken's rabbit – an animal that always ran free in the garden – ran away during the construction work. It never came back. The story almost symbolises the impact of the many changes the neighbourhood is undergoing.

Gruuts op Mariaberg
To preserve all these stories, old and new, forever, the neighbourhood network went on the road with the Gruuts op Mariaberg project. Because what is really going on in the neighbourhood, who are the people who live there, what do they remember about the streets of yesteryear? Who are those who are newly settling there? Where do they come from?

Gruuts op Mariaberg – supported by various parties like the Elisabeth Strouven Fonds, the Gemeente (Municipality) and the housing corporations, went looking for them and tried to get answers. With success: in the coming period, a write-up of it will appear in ten different murals. Last Saturday, the first one was unveiled.

Read the original article in Dutch