DSM is going, but Heerlen wants to keep the art collection in business

In a little while, DSM-Firmenich will leave Heerlen after 121 years. In Maastricht, the company’s new head office in the Wyck district is slowly taking shape.

The city of Heerlen is disappointed. After the mine closed about half a century ago, almost everything that reminded of the coal past disappeared rigorously from the Eastern Mining Region. And the region itself was called ‘Parkstad’. “From black to green”, was the motto. And now DSM is taking off, even though those three letters really stand for: Dutch State Mines.

The relocation of the head office cannot be reversed, but that of the DSM art collection (400 artists, 750 works) may well be. The company has been collecting art since 1927. Until 2003, a lot of work was purchased from good artists from or living in Limburg, such as Henri Jonas, Ger Lataster and Shinkichi Tajiri. Some of the mines could also be seen in works. After 2003, the collection policy took on a more national and international direction. What Limburg artists did not necessarily exclude, was apparent from the purchase of work by Tanja Ritterbex and Hadassah Emmerich, among others.

The spirit of the mining area

According to the Heerlen SP, the ‘deliberate removal’ of the collection from the city and region would justify the qualification ‘looted art’. Artist Toon Hezemans does not want to go that far, “But if the works disappear here, you will destroy the fabric of the Mining Region.”

Hezemans wrote an open letter about the matter with a number of other representatives from the local art scene. “The collection not only includes many artists and themes from here, but also represents the spirit that once reigned here. DSM organized exhibitions, had artists create works with their latest products and released a highly sought-after photo calendar every year between 1952 and 1999. People have pulled up to it. It also explains why Heerlen has produced a relatively large number of artists and architects.”

Hezemans assures that he is not bothered by “false nostalgia or a Calimero feeling”. But the idea that the art from DSM’s property will soon be displayed in Maastricht is an unbearable thought for him and some other people from the mining region. The Limburg capital, never directly involved in coal mining, already benefited greatly from compensation measures after the mine closure, including the establishment of Maastricht University. The collection could go even further afield. This year DSM merged with the Swiss company Firmenich.

Involved in the region

Hezemans also fears that the art collection will no longer receive the attention it deserves. “In earlier times, the management of the company was really involved in the region and the local art climate. Now everything seems to be geared towards shareholder interests.”

DSM-Firmenich says that the company is in talks with the municipality of Heerlen and Schunck, the museum for modern art and architecture in that place. A spokesperson: “Our ambition is that as many people as possible can continue to enjoy the art collection. A decision will be made before the end of the year.” The way in which it should be done should also be clear.

Fabian de Kloe, artistic director of the Schunck Museum, was involved in the initial discussions. He sees Heerlen and Geleen as obvious places to show the art from the collection to the public. “They tell the story of a community, its roots in the mining past, but also the capacity to transform afterwards. DSM, which reinvented itself a few times, is an example of this.”

According to De Kloe, Schunck fits, because that institution also manages Heerlen’s city collection. “It was partly created at the same time as the DSM collection and has overlaps in terms of artists.”