Flowers on the Flats
Painting a flower from home on the wall, so that the neighbourhood is yours too.
Why this image
The tall side wall of an apartment block is painted with five huge flowers, a tulip, a carnation, a rose, a lily and a hyacinth, and a child leans out of a window to touch a petal. In the Merenwijk, where many migrants lived, five flower poems went up on the walls of the apartment blocks, from Turkey, Morocco, China, Suriname and the Netherlands, to give residents the feeling that they too belonged to Leiden 1. Leiden's walls carry large murals too: for the Museum Murals project twenty street artists made twenty murals for twenty museums 2. Not painted, but the same: flowers are one of the nine kinds of stall at the market on the Nieuwe Rijn 3.
What it draws on · 3
vijf bloemgedichten in de Merenwijk
Baykurt's poppies did not stand alone. In the Merenwijk, where many migrants lived, five flower poems went up on the walls of the apartment blocks: from Turkey, Morocco, China, Suriname and the Netherlands. The initiative came from the foundation 'Leiden, city of refugees', working with the Slaaghwijk neighbourhood group and the housing corporations. They wanted to affirm the district's multicultural character and to give residents the feeling that they too belonged to Leiden.
Sources · 2
- Muurgedichten Leiden — 'Gelincikler': de vijf bloemgedichten in de Merenwijk
- Straatpoezie.nl — 'Gelincikler – Klaprozen': initiatief stichting 'Leiden, stad van vluchtelingen'
street art
Beside the poems Leiden has a lively street-art scene, grown from tags into large murals. Karski works out of Leiden as far as Zimbabwe and uses a mural in De Hoven to raise a problem — litter; Klaas Lageweg is another well-known name. For the Museum Murals project twenty street artists made twenty murals for twenty museums; the duo Zender & Chaos were paired with the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden and took their cue from the Roman mask of Corbulo.
Sources · 3
- Mooiemuur — 'Street art Leiden: van underground tot erkende kunst'
- Museum Murals — museummurals.nl: 20 musea, 20 street artists, 20 murals
- Streetartcities — Leiden
wat er te koop is
The market sorts its stalls into nine kinds: vegetables and fruit, fish, flowers, delicatessen, meat and chicken, bread and confectionery, cosmetics, textile and accessories, and other. That eighth category is why people come here for clothes as well — and what hangs there is by no means only Dutch fashion.
Sources · 2
- Gemeente Leiden — officiële marktflyer 2025: categorieën groente & fruit, vis, bloemen, delicatessen, vlees & kip, brood & zoetwaren, cosmetica, textiel & accessoires, overig
- Leiden In Motion: De Diversity Walk — Stichting Güney / Turksarchief.nl
Shares its places with · 6
A Wall in Your ScriptPublic Art and Street Art · Market at the Nieuwe Rijn
A Flower Named After a HatPublic Art and Street Art
A Language as a VoicePublic Art and Street Art
Behind the FacadePublic Art and Street Art
The Name RemainsMarket at the Nieuwe Rijn
Where Waters MeetMarket at the Nieuwe Rijn
Painted with an image model from the facts on this page, and chosen by hand. City in Motion.