Museum Rotterdam - Lions on the Coolsingel

Lions on the Coolsingel

Museum Rotterdam, Rotterdam (NL), 2020

Artists’ murals depict scenes from wartime in Rotterdam. These incredible stories are the myths the city is built on.

Myths of Rotterdam

2020 marks 80 years since the bombing of Rotterdam. The attack only lasted 15 minutes, but it left a trail of devastation in the city on the Meuse. The smoke had barely risen when the first incredible stories started to circulate. People told of lions walking down Coolsingel and a miller saving his mill from burning down by turning its sails. Over the years, these tales have become the myths of Rotterdam.

Stories of hope

In the exhibition, visitors wander through a surreal landscape filled with fragments of the city and encounter numerous stories of Rotterdam in the Second World War. As incredible as these mythical tales are, they often contain a surprising kernel of truth. Their power lies in their ability to make the incomprehensibility of life in wartime a bit more comprehensible. They give people hope, courage and the will to carry on.

Murals

Five Rotterdam artists created murals based on some of these tall tales. In short films, they speak with the exhibition’s curators, discussing the stories and explaining how they turned them into murals. The exhibition clearly demonstrates to visitors how these incredible war stories are the myths today’s city is built on.

 

“Visitors to the exhibition ‘Lions on the Coolsingel’ stand almost literally amid the blackened ruins of the old city.”

Marcel Potters, Algemeen Dagblad — 7 Februari 2020

Credits

Client
Museum Rotterdam
Stadsarchief Rotterdam
CBK Rotterdam

Content Design
Studio Louter

Spatial & Graphic Design
OPERA Amsterdam

Film Production
Gado Gado Filmproducties

Light Design
AVEQ

Construction
Heijmerink & Wagemakers

Hardware
BeamSystems BV


Mural Artists
Inge Aanstoot
Bier & Brood
Luuk Bode
Sandim Mendes
Isra Páez