Villa De Bank

About the museum

The villa was built in 1855 in the neoclassical style as a country house for the Blijdenstein textile-manufacturing family. In 1958 the heirs donated it to the city on the condition that the house should always retain a public function for art and science. For years it housed a textile museum, and later the city leased it to the De Villa foundation, which offered artists' studios.

The art initiative “De Bank” was founded in Enschede in the late 1970s by the artists Paul Silder and Eric de Gram, with more artists joining later. They wanted to advance art in the textile city and offered a laboratory for new ideas in which quality and independence counted rather than marketability. In 1998 the De Villa foundation and De Bank merged to form the Villa de Bank foundation and moved into the villa as an exhibition venue.

Since then, the art space has presented mainly young, innovative artists from the Netherlands and abroad in around ten exhibitions a year, often as solo presentations and occasionally with thematic and exchange projects, for example with the Düsseldorf Art Academy or the art association ArtHAUS. The house stands in Blijdensteinpark; there is no collection in the classical sense.

Highlights

• Around ten exhibitions a year, mainly by young artists
• Neoclassical villa from 1855 in Blijdensteinpark
• Exchange projects with the Düsseldorf Art Academy and the art association ArtHAUS
• Upstairs meeting room, available to hire by the half day

Founded

1998

Operated by

Stichting Villa de Bank

Admission & discounts

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Accessibility

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Kids & families

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Getting there & parking

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Amenities & dining

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Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent

An upstairs meeting room can be hired by the half day.