Art as urban strategy

The Beyond programme of art is utterly unique in both concept and scale. Launched in 1997 in Leidsche Rijn, the largest new-style housing estate in the Netherlands, its art exploits the relationship between urban planning, landscape, architecture and the community that takes shape in this setting near Utrecht.

This book is a thoughtful study of ten years of Beyond, from the initial plans to the fulfilment of projects like the Paper Dome and The Building, and diverse events together with the recently unveiled artworks for Leidsche Rijn Sculpture Park. The authors look back at different aspects of the programme, including the flexible scenario, the idea of maakbaarheid – the belief that a place can be made – and the significance of cultural intervention in the process of urbanization.

Beyond has acquired something of an exemplary status in the international arena, attracting comparisons with other art programmes and ideas about curatorship in Europe.