Mural with poem by Jean Pierre Rawie

About this artwork.

Groningen native Jean Pierre Rawie, who made his debut in 1979 with his collection of poems The Girl and Death (Het meisje en de dood), is now one of the most-read poets in the Netherlands. 
 
The poem on the facade of the Waagstraat complex, where the municipal administration is also located, refers to the history of this location: “but it was always this place that determined the essence / of Groningen's city and surrounding countryside.” For centuries this has been the administrative heart of Groningen. 
 
In the 1980's, the area around the town hall was an unattractive inner city neighbourhood. That is why in 1994 the town council decided to demolish the town hall, which dated back to 1962. Through a public survey, the population of the city of Groningen was involved in selecting an architect's design for the new Waagstraat complex. More than 80% of the voters chose the plan of the Italian architect Adolfo Natalini. It was mainly the traditional-looking architecture in Natalini's design that appealed to a large part of the city residents. The buildings of the Waagstraat complex, which have both a business and residential function, surround the 17th-century Goudkantoor and a covered courtyard. 
 
Poem text:
 
The eternally changing sky vaulted
over the same ground for centuries,
where the city, always different
and always the same, found itself again and recovered;
 
much of what has risen here over the years
has been again knocked down over the years,
but it was always this place that
defined Groningen's city and surrounding countryside,
 
that, each time new and old are
warily put at risk again,
and retained for future generations,
when these walls, too, have been torn down.
 
Jean Pierre Rawie

Facts & Figures.

• Design
  Jean Pierre Rawie

• District
  Centrum

• Year of creation
  1996

• Art type
  Art in / on a building, Facing brick

• Material
  Marble

• Dimensions
  h 0,80 x b 1,20 m