Sculpture garden Achter De Westduinen is a private sculpture garden located in Ouddorp, on the South Holland island of Goeree-Overflakkee. The garden, the art, the surrounding dune landscape, and the proximity to the sea all contribute in making this a unique and poetic place.
Season 2024 open again!
from Thursday June 20 to Saturday September 7
every Thursday, Friday and Saturday
between 12:00 and 5:00 pm.
Please note that these are revised opening hours compared to previous years!
Jubilee year with lecture programme
This is an anniversary year for the Achter de Westduinen Sculpture Garden: 2024 is now our 10th season!
To celebrate this, we are organizing a lecture program this year: during the months that the sculpture garden is open, there is an interesting lecture every Wednesday evening, possibly with a tour of the sculpture garden. More information about the topics, dates and times here.
Special exhibition 2024: legacy of Gerard Höweler
We are very grateful and at the same time proud to be able to present a special exhibition dedicated to Gerard Höweler (1940 – 2021) and his legacy this year, in addition to the individual works of various artists. His heirs have asked us to take care of his oeuvre: all statues and models from his studio can now be found in our sculpture garden. Arthur Broek, owner of the sculpture garden and architect, designed and built a special installation for this legacy: larger and smaller works, a total of 120 works, are brought together in an architectural presentation. By presenting his oeuvre in this way we show the beauty of all the works together, while each individual work also comes into its own beautifully.
To draw attention to Gerard Höweler’s work, the sculpture garden is also initiating a series of conversations this season with experts of his oeuvre and people who knew him. We will record these conversations in images and writing and publish them on this website.
Summer exhibition 2024
In addition to the special exhibition with the legacy of Gerard Höweler, you can of course also enjoy our permanent collection and a large number of works by artists who have also exhibited in our garden in previous years. Some have posted new work and others have had their work regrouped or placed in a different location. A tour through the garden will therefore feel like a renewed acquaintance. We also present this seasonal work by a number of artists who have not previously exhibited in our garden.
This season we are showing work by 38 artists. These artists are diverse in their views, expressions and techniques. The works have been selected based on their interaction with the garden. In an interview with de Volkskrant, initiator Stasja Goedbloed says: “The statues must fit in with the garden and the garden must add something to the statues. A large part of our pleasure is the journey of discovery, the contact with artists and visitors.” “The common thread is rather a point that expands in all directions,” adds her partner Arthur Broek, “not a straight path from A to B.”
Unique place with space and tranquility, art and nature
Sculpture garden Behind the Westduinen in Ouddorp you will experience as a pleasant, sheltered place.
A visit to our garden is a total experience where art offers space for curiosity, amazement and reflection. The environment creates tranquility through the rustling of the trees, the singing of the birds and the summer flowers. To complete the experience, the restaurant in the garden offers a lunch option in the form of a daily menu. Of course we take vegetarians into account.
The combination of art, nature and a lunch with a drink or coffee and something tasty on our beautiful terrace makes the sculpture garden unique and is therefore one of the special sights of Ouddorp.
Ouddorp and Goeree Overflakkee
The village and seaside resort of Ouddorp is located on the tip of the Goeree Overflakkee island in the province of South Holland and, according to its residents, is blessed with the most hours of sunshine in the Netherlands. Just 1 kilometer away from the sculpture garden are the beach, extensive dunes, and forested dunes. The landscape of the Kop van Goeree is unique due to the characteristic ‘schurvelingen’: sand ridges planted with grass and shrubs that divide the landscape and indicate the property boundaries. Our sculpture garden is also surrounded by these sand ridges, providing shelter and creating intimacy in the garden. The extensive surroundings of Ouddorp are wonderful for walking, cycling, swimming, and lounging. You can combine a visit to the sculpture garden with an afternoon at the beach or other attractions in Ouddorp.
Practical
Opening hours
From Thursday June 20 to Saturday September 8
Open on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Please note: these are changed opening hours compared to previous years!
Admission price
€ 6.50 per person; € 1.00 of which goes to charity.
We support SOS Children’s Villages and the Zuid-Hollands Landschap (South Holland Landscape).
Parking
You can park your car for free along the wide verge of the Klarenbeekweg.
Please note that parking is not allowed on the playing field of camping site de Kotestee.
Bicycles can be taken on site.
Dogs
Unfortunately dogs are not allowed.
Sculpture garden Achter De Westduinen is a private sculpture garden located in Ouddorp, on the South Holland island of Goeree-Overflakkee. The garden, the art, the surrounding dune landscape, and the proximity to the sea all contribute in making this a unique and poetic place.
Season 2024 open again!
from Thursday June 20 to Saturday September 7
every Thursday, Friday and Saturday
between 12:00 and 5:00 pm.
Please note that these are revised opening hours compared to previous years!
Jubilee year with lecture programme
This is an anniversary year for the Achter de Westduinen Sculpture Garden: 2024 is now our 10th season!
To celebrate this, we are organizing a lecture program this year: during the months that the sculpture garden is open, there is an interesting lecture every Wednesday evening, possibly with a tour of the sculpture garden. More information about the topics, dates and times here.
Summer exhibition 2024
In addition to the special exhibition with the legacy of Gerard Höweler, you can of course also enjoy our permanent collection and a large number of works by artists who have also exhibited in our garden in previous years. Some have posted new work and others have had their work regrouped or placed in a different location. A tour through the garden will therefore feel like a renewed acquaintance. We also present this seasonal work by a number of artists who have not previously exhibited in our garden.
This season we are showing work by 38 artists. These artists are diverse in their views, expressions and techniques. The works have been selected based on their interaction with the garden. In an interview with de Volkskrant, initiator Stasja Goedbloed says: “The statues must fit in with the garden and the garden must add something to the statues. A large part of our pleasure is the journey of discovery, the contact with artists and visitors.” “The common thread is rather a point that expands in all directions,” adds her partner Arthur Broek, “not a straight path from A to B.”
Ouddorp and Goeree Overflakkee
The village and seaside resort of Ouddorp is located on the tip of the Goeree Overflakkee island in the province of South Holland and, according to its residents, is blessed with the most hours of sunshine in the Netherlands. Just 1 kilometer away from the sculpture garden are the beach, extensive dunes, and forested dunes. The landscape of the Kop van Goeree is unique due to the characteristic ‘schurvelingen’: sand ridges planted with grass and shrubs that divide the landscape and indicate the property boundaries. Our sculpture garden is also surrounded by these sand ridges, providing shelter and creating intimacy in the garden. The extensive surroundings of Ouddorp are wonderful for walking, cycling, swimming, and lounging. You can combine a visit to the sculpture garden with an afternoon at the beach or other attractions in Ouddorp.
Special exhibition 2024: legacy of Gerard Höweler
We are very grateful and at the same time proud to be able to present a special exhibition dedicated to Gerard Höweler (1940 – 2021) and his legacy this year, in addition to the individual works of various artists. His heirs have asked us to take care of his oeuvre: all statues and models from his studio can now be found in our sculpture garden. Arthur Broek, owner of the sculpture garden and architect, designed and built a special installation for this legacy: larger and smaller works, a total of 120 works, are brought together in an architectural presentation. By presenting his oeuvre in this way we show the beauty of all the works together, while each individual work also comes into its own beautifully.
To draw attention to Gerard Höweler’s work, the sculpture garden is also initiating a series of conversations this season with experts of his oeuvre and people who knew him. We will record these conversations in images and writing and publish them on this website.
Unique place with space and tranquility, art and nature
Sculpture garden Behind the Westduinen in Ouddorp you will experience as a pleasant, sheltered place.
A visit to our garden is a total experience where art offers space for curiosity, amazement and reflection. The environment creates tranquility through the rustling of the trees, the singing of the birds and the summer flowers. To complete the experience, the restaurant in the garden offers a lunch option in the form of a daily menu. Of course we take vegetarians into account.
The combination of art, nature and a lunch with a drink or coffee and something tasty on our beautiful terrace makes the sculpture garden unique and is therefore one of the special sights of Ouddorp.
Practical
Opening hours
From Thursday June 20 to Saturday September 8
Open on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Please note: these are changed opening hours compared to previous years!
Admission price
€ 6.50 per person; € 1.00 of which goes to charity.
We support SOS Children’s Villages and the Zuid-Hollands Landschap (South Holland Landscape).
Parking
You can park your car for free along the wide verge of the Klarenbeekweg.
Please note that parking is not allowed on the playing field of camping site de Kotestee.
Bicycles can be taken on site.
Dogs
Unfortunately dogs are not allowed.
Who are we
Sculpture garden Achter de Westduinen is an initiative of Stasja Goedbloed and Arthur Broek. After a life as an entrepreneur in the reintegration industry and as an architect respectively, they moved from Dordrecht to Ouddorp in 2008.
In 2012 they met the German artist Dörte Berner in Namibia. Both were deeply impressed by her work and suddenly a series of dormant ideas and previous initiatives merged into a clear self-evidence that led to the Sculpture garden Achter de Westduinen.
Sculpture garden Achter de Westduinen is now in its eighth season and is one of the leading sculpture gardens in the Netherlands. The sculpture garden has no commercial purpose and does not receive any subsidies.
Portrait of Stasja and Arthur by Natascha Libbert