From memories and history to future dreams and utopias. The Building Bridges event takes you through the past, present, and future of De Esch: a diverse landscape full of contrasts. Contemporary writers, designers, and artists offer a personal perspective of the current area and its residents through the exhibition and on-site explorations. The event is inspired by the much-discussed “third city bridge” over the Maas.

Greetings from De Esch | Arjen van Veelen

Rotterdamer Arjen van Veelen is a journalist, columnist, writer and budding photographer. With his studio located in the heart of De Esch, he knows the nature reserve and its history inside out –  closely following its latest developments. For the Building Bridges exhibition, Arjen shares his thoughts and experiences every week, through words and images. Every Tuesday, he posts a homemade postcard from De Esch to OMI. With Greetings from De Esch, the exhibition is regularly updated with Arjen’s current and personal messages.

Mapping De Esch

For Building Bridges, artist Merel Smitt and landscape architect Anna Fink are exploring the various so-called islands of De Esch. They are traversing the area from north to south, from east to west, looking for what strikes them about the urban and natural landscape, the people, plants and animals. The exhibition will be supplemented with their personal observations and findings over the coming months. For their first introduction to the area, Anna and Merel set out with a disposable camera. No endless retakes, just one chance per photo. Now their findings from the past few weeks are also on display: in the exhibition and on location at De Esch.

Merel Smitt

Artist Merel Smitt lives and works in Rotterdam. In her work, she regularly uses prompts: short invitations or instructions that encourage you to experience a place, situation or system in a new way. For Building Bridges, she has developed a route through De Esch, with new prompts to view the existing environment from an unexpected perspective. You can walk the entire route from start to finish, but you can also choose to visit areas separately or simply select a few places that pique your curiosity. The prompts in the landscape serve as instructions that allow you to see, listen and move in new ways.

Anna Fink

Landscape architect Anna Fink divides her time between the Netherlands and Austria. In her work, she explores how we connect with the landscapes in which we live and move. Her fieldwork combines listening, experiencing and imagining. She develops spatial interventions, stories and encounters that focus on personal experiences with a place, in order to imagine new ways of living together with the environment. During Building Bridges, she explores the river landscape through fictional characters and speculative futures. The result is the story The dogs had known for a while, which allows you to get to know De Esch from a completely different perspective. Download the story using the button below and explore De Esch  from the curious and always friendly perspective of the dog.

Save the Date

Friday 9 January 2026, tour with Merel Smitt (tickets)