Over arcadia
Stroomopwaarts / Upstream

Long ago, South-East Fryslân used to border the sea. The Linde and Tjonger rivers flowed from inland to the sea and created a unique but vulnerable delta. In 1701 and 1703, when the dykes between Lemmer and Kuinre were washed away, the region was flooded with brine. Lemmer and the locks at Schoterzijl and Kuinre were the gateways to the cities of the western Netherlands – where boats laden with peat sold their wares – and to the wide world beyond. In the opposite direction, high-ranking guests and foreign visitors disembarked in Lemmer and travelled upstream from village to village – through De Jouwer and It Hearrenfean to Beetstersweach, Drachten and onwards, in search of new culture. Travel Stroomopwaarts / Upstream yourself, from museum to museum and (re)discover South-East Fryslân.

Locations: Museum Dr8888, Museum Belvédère, Museum Heerenveen, the Vlechtmuseum and Museum Opsterlân 

Five museums in Fryslân worked together with Tresoar in 2022 to bring the history of the peat landscape into view. Tresoar is the archive for Frisian literature in Leeuwarden.

Exhibition at museum Dr8888
Together with: Smelne’s Erfskip and local village and neighbourhood associations
Opening: 15 April 2022

In the exhibition Van Plaggenhut tot Papegaaienbuurt (From Turf Hut to Parrots Neighbourhood) in Drachten, you travel through the history of Drachten and Smellingerlân. Its origin and growth, from turf huts to the bustling 1920s.

Turf hut near Drachten, ca. 1930, Smelne’s Erfskip

Exhibition at Museum Heerenveen
Opening: 16 April 2022

At Museum Heerenveen you discover the link between the cultural-historical collection and modern art. Present and past come together in the landscape, the economy and community life, where water and earth are central. Go with the flow, or against it if you like.

Koningsdiep map, Vegelin Opsterland detail. Collection Tresoar.

Exhibition at Museum Opsterlân
Opening: 1 May 2022

Museum Opsterlân tells the story of peat extraction in Nij Beets, the rise of the labour movement and the story of the nobility from Beetsterzwaag. During Stroomopwaarts, the museum shows old maps and atlases from Tresoar’s treasury, which show the changing landscape between 1700 and 1920.

Source unknown, peat cutting (trippen) near Heerenveen (presumably Jouke Zwart, Tjalleberd), ca. 1925. Collection Museum Heerenveen.

Exhibition at Museum Belvédère
Opening: 7 May 2022

Excavated peatlands became polders. Some were marshy, others suitable for farming. Photos and paintings picture a changed landscape. Museum Belvédère presents art from its collection connected to the landscape between the low peat marshes: De Deelen and the river Tjonger. 

Egge Baarveld (1955-2006) – untitled, 2001. Museum Belvédère, gift of Martin Beljon.

Het Nationaal Vlechtmuseum in Noardwâlde
Opening: 14 May 2022

In the former Rijksrietvlechtschool (National Reed Weaving School) stands the top 25 of Noordwolde design. The exhibition is about how Noardwâlder (Noordwolde) designs are positioned. Tastes and interior styles in the Netherlands and abroad keep changing. What does that mean for how Noardwâlder designs are valued?  

The Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, furnished with furniture by Jonkers Noordwolde, ca 1960.