Exhibition 'Lapwerk van levensdraden | Patchwork of Life Threads' in Koppelkerk - art & culture
From February 1 to March 22, 2026, the Koppelkerk in Bredevoort will be exhibiting work by Annemie Slager. This is the first time that a retrospective exhibition of the artist, who turns 90 this year, will be on display. It includes location-specific tapestries that Annemie Slager made for various organizations and institutions.
Almost since the Koppelkerk began as a cultural sanctuary, an impressive tapestry by Annemie Slager has had a place in the church hall—prominent, but not always visible. In plain sight, but not always noticed—like so many of Annemie Slager's monumental tapestries.
Old work, new life
For years, the enormous work, originally commissioned by the municipality of Brummen, has been a source of wonder. When the Koppelkerk became a cultural sanctuary, the tapestry ended up there – the Koppelkerk's only long-term loan. At the beginning of 2025, director Hiske Kremer visited the artist, who still lives in Winterswijk. A long and animated conversation ensued in the striking home of the then 88-year-old Annemie. A follow-up visit sealed the deal: it is high time that a selection of Slager's beautiful work be displayed in a place that does it justice. For the Koppelkerk, it is also a good moment to give the familiar tapestry a new home and perhaps a new life.
The artist
Annemie Slager is not only a gifted artist but also a very vivid storyteller.
Many people in and around Winterswijk have taken lessons from her. She herself talks vividly about these courses: how she got scraps of fabric from everywhere; old, discarded stuff, leftover fabric she got from factories. Is there a chance she will take another group under her wing during this exhibition? Who knows. When we look at the twinkle in the artist's eyes, we see that nothing is impossible, but that you can't count on anything.
