Museum de Oude Wolden (; en, Museum The Old Wolds), abbreviated as MOW, is a

regional museum In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

in the village of

Bellingwolde Bellingwolde (; Gronings: ''Bennewolle'') is a village with a population of 2,655 people in the municipality Westerwolde in the Netherlands. It is situated in the southeast of the region Oldambt, in the north of the region Westerwolde, and in ...

in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. The museum focuses on art and history of the regions of Oldambt and Westerwolde in the east of the province of

Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...

. The museum opened on 10 August 1973. In the first decades, it primarily exhibited historical objects documenting everyday life. In the late 1990s, the museum started to exhibit artworks of

artist collective An artist collective is an initiative that is the result of a group of artists working together, usually under their own management, towards shared aims. The aims of an artist collective can include almost anything that is relevant to the need ...

De Ploeg De Ploeg (; en, The Plough or ''The Group'') is an artist collective from the city of Groningen in the Netherlands. The collective was established in 1918 by a group of young artists. Their goal was to create new opportunities for exhibitions and ...

and magic realist

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

Lodewijk Bruckman Lodewijk Karel "Loki" Bruckman (; 14 August 1903 – 24 April 1995) was a Dutch magic realist painter. He lived and worked in the Netherlands, the United States, and Mexico. Museum de Oude Wolden in the village of Bellingwolde has a permanent ...

. Since 2012, it has a permanent display of paintings by Bruckman and temporary exhibitions. The museum is an independent

foundation Foundation may refer to: * Foundation (nonprofit), a type of charitable organization ** Foundation (United States law), a type of charitable organization in the U.S. ** Private foundation, a charitable organization that, while serving a good cause ...

that is mainly funded by the municipality of

Bellingwedde Bellingwedde () was a municipality with a population of in the province Groningen in the northeast of the Netherlands. Bellingwedde was established in 1968, when the municipalities of Bellingwolde and Wedde had merged. It contained the villages ...

. From 2013 to 2016, the museum had around per year. It is one of the lesser-visited museums in Groningen.

Location

Museum de Oude Wolden is located at the Hoofdweg in the village

in the municipality

in the east of the province

near the Dutch–German border. It is situated in the south of the region Oldambt and in the north of the region Westerwolde. The old museum building is the restored backhouse ( nl, achterhuis) of a former mansion ( nl, herenhuis, links=no) of which the fronthouse was destroyed during a

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

bombing.Friggo Visser,
Charmant museum ouderwets opgezet
(in Dutch), ''

Nieuwsblad van het Noorden The ''Nieuwsblad van het Noorden'' (; "Newspaper of the North") is a former regional daily newspaper from the city of Groningen in the Netherlands. It was published from 1888 to 2002, when it was merged with the ''Groninger Dagblad'' and the ' ...

'', 1988. Retrieved 20 September 2013. In 1977, the building was expanded with a new wing for ().Streekmuseum als nieuw
(in Dutch), ''

'', 1977. Retrieved 20 September 2013. In 2012, the building was renovated and received a new glass entrance,Arjan Brondijk,
Opening museum De Oude Wolden in Bellingwolde pas in juli
(in Dutch), ''Het Streekblad'', 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2013. which cost in total.Museumbeleidsplan 2009–2012
(in Dutch), Municipality of Bellingwedde, 2009. Retrieved 3 August 2013.

History

''Streekmuseum de Oude Wolden'' (''Regional Museum the Old Wolds'') was opened on 10 August 1973 by the mayor of Bellingwedde Jurjen Jan Hoeksema. In the late 1960s, the province of Groningen requested the national government for

subsidy A subsidy or government incentive is a form of financial aid or support extended to an economic sector (business, or individual) generally with the aim of promoting economic and social policy. Although commonly extended from the government, the ter ...

to open a new museum in Bellingwolde. The subsidy was not granted, but the state paid indirectly for the restoration of the museum building via a subsidized employment project. In 1976, the museum exhibited primarily historical objects from the regions of Oldambt and Westerwolde, such as agricultural machines, traditional costumes, and

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

and

geological Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Eart ...

finds. After the expansion in 1977, the museum had enough space to hold temporary exhibitions, group the historical objects thematically, and display a 19th-century

grocery store A grocery store ( AE), grocery shop ( BE) or simply grocery is a store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday U.S. usage, however, "grocery store" is a synonym for supermarket, a ...

inventory. By the late 1980s, a

barber A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave men's and boys' hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a "barbershop" or a "barber's". Barbershops are also places of social interaction and publi ...

shop and

shoemaker Shoemaking is the process of making footwear. Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand, often by groups of shoemakers, or cobblers (also known as '' cordwainers''). In the 18th century, dozens or even hundreds of masters, journeymen ...

's inventory were shown in the museum. In 1988, the newspaper ''

'' called the museum "charming" and wrote: "A museum like ''De Oude Wolden'' is meaningful because of its rather complete documentation of everyday life in the 19th and early 20th century." In 1998, the museum started to exhibit paintings by artists of

, an

established in the city

. In 1999, the museum also exhibited paintings by

, who lived in Bellingwedde for some years. At the time, the press described De Oude Wolden as a museum with historical artefacts and artworks by De Ploeg and Bruckman. In 2003, De Ploeg celebrated their 85th birthday with an exhibition in the museum. In 2010, seven 17–19th-century

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...

s with an estimated value of were stolen during a break-in in the museum. At the time, the museum offered a reward of for tips that would lead to the recovery of the icons. The museum dropped the word ''streek'' (''regional'') from its name and now calls itself ''Museum de Oude Wolden'' (''Museum the Old Wolds'').Museum De Oude Wolden, Bellingwolde
(in Dutch), Museum de Oude Wolden, 2010. Retrieved 20 September 2013. Since the renovation in 2012, the historical objects and the artworks by De Ploeg are no longer on permanent display, the museum now focuses on art, region, and history with Bruckman's paintings and temporary exhibitions.Programma
(in Dutch), Museum de Oude Wolden. Retrieved 5 July 2013. In 2017, the museum became an independent

, although the municipality of Bellingwedde still owns the building and the collection.Arjan Brondijk,
Museum De Oude Wolden in Bellingwolde officieel op eigen benen
(in Dutch), ''Het Streekblad'', 2017. Retrieved 6 April 2017.

Exhibitions

Lodewijk Bruckman

The museum has a permanent exhibition of paintings by

(1903–1995). Bruckman lived in Bellingwolde in a hotel opposite to the museum from 1987 to 1989. He donated 21 paintings to the Bellingwedde municipality in 1988. These paintings, which are now exhibited in the museum, are mostly

still life A still life (plural: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly wikt:inanimate, inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or artificiality, m ...

s in a style which is described as realistic,

surrealistic Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...

, or magic realistic.Lodewijk Bruckman (1903–1995)
(in Dutch), Studio 2000. Retrieved 4 October 2013.

Temporary exhibitions

The museum has two concurrent temporary exhibitions: a larger exhibition spanning several months and a smaller monthly exhibition that features a regional artist. The smaller exhibitions are called ''24K'', which refers to an area around the museum with a radius of where the artists are from and the supposed quality of the artworks. The larger temporary exhibitions since the renovation in 2012 include: *''Typisch Hollands!'' (2012; ''Typically Dutch!'') with works of nineteen Dutch artistsArjan Brondijk,
Max van den Berg opent vernieuwde MOW in Bellingwolde
(in Dutch), ''Het Streekblad'', 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2013. *''Het einde, een nieuw begin'' (2012–2013; ''The end, a new beginning'') with works by De Ploeg *''Weer terug in Groningen'' (2013; ''Back again in Groningen'') with works by Chinese artist Zhuang Hong Yi *''Vooruitgangsvisioenen'' (2013; ''Visions of progress'') about the history of canalization in Westerwolde *''24K XL'' (2014) with works of 27 regional artists from previous ''24K'' exhibitions *''Net echt'' (2014; ''Like real'') with more than 40 works by Lodewijk Bruckman *''Voor de draad ermee'' (2014–2015; ''Coming clean'') about

quilting Quilting is the term given to the process of joining a minimum of three layers of fabric together either through stitching manually using a needle and thread, or mechanically with a sewing machine or specialised longarm quilting system. A ...

and textile art *''Want reizen is ook verdwalen'' (2015; ''Because travelling is also getting lost'') with works by Dutch artist Yvonne Struys *''Streekgenoten'' (2015; ''Fellow regionmen'') with photography of the region Westerwolde *''Onder Vuur'' (2015–2016; ''Under Fire'') about the First Münster War of 1665–1666 *''24K XL'' (2016) with works of 20 regional artists from previous ''24K'' exhibitions *''100% Maya'' (2016) with works by Dutch artist Maya Wildevuur *''Duizend Dingen'' (2016–2017; ''Thousand Things'') with various objects and art works from the museum collection *''Trillingen'' (2017; ''Vibrations'') with works by 24 artists of the collective VanTyNaarLo *''Uit Siberië'' (2017; ''From Siberia'') with works by artists from

Tyumen Tyumen ( ; rus, Тюмень, p=tʲʉˈmʲenʲ, a=Ru-Tyumen.ogg) is the administrative center and largest city of Tyumen Oblast, Russia. It is situated just east of the Ural Mountains, along the Tura River. Fueled by the Russian oil and gas indu ...

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

*''Verknipt'' (2017–2018; ''Cut up'') with works by quilting collective De Duikvlucht

Administration

The museum is a

. It has board of three members, a small paid staff (), and around 20

volunteers Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

. Peter Yspeert has been the foundation chairman since 2017. Obby Veenstra has been the

museum director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''Di ...

() since 2010. In 2010, the municipality of Bellingwedde has guaranteed to fund 95% of the museum's budget for the next fifteen years. The annual costs for the municipality are . The rest of the budget comes from other subsidies and (ticket) sales. The entrance fee for the museum is , but it is free on Wednesdays, during special events, and for children under 18.Arjan Brondijk,
Marja Bos, MOW, cijfers, de klok en de klepel
(in Dutch), ''Het Streekblad'', 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2014. In 2008, the annual total of included around visitors. In 2014, a

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counci ...

member claimed the amount of paying visitors was 50% in 2011, 35% in 2012, and 32% in 2013, and director Veenstra claimed it has been around 40% for years. In the period 2003–2012, the museum had around 1,800 to per year. In 2012, when the museum was closed for renovation from January to early July, it had . In 2013–2016, the museum had between 4,350 and per year. Although it is the most-visited museum in the eastern part of the province of Groningen, it is one of the lesser-visited museums in the entire province. De Oude Wolden is a member of Museumhuis Groningen (Groningen Museum House), which is an

umbrella organization An umbrella organization is an association of (often related, industry-specific) institutions who work together formally to coordinate activities and/or pool resources. In business, political, and other environments, it provides resources and ofte ...

for museums and heritage institutions in the province of Groningen. From 2004 to 2009, the museum was registered in the Museumregister Nederland (Netherlands Museum Register), a quality mark for museums in the Netherlands, but the registration was not renewed for several years. The museum has again been registered since 2016.Geregistreerde musea
(in Dutch), Museumregister Nederland. Retrieved 17 October 2016.

References

External links

* (in Dutch), official website
Lodewijk Bruckman
(in Dutch), museum website about the painter {{Authority control Museum de Oude Wolden Art museums and galleries in the Netherlands Museum de Oude Wolden History museums in the Netherlands Local museums in the Netherlands Museums in Groningen (province) Museums established in 1973