Exhibition 'Van wie is de berg? - Een eeuw graven en dromen in de ENCI' in Bureau Europa
In 2026, it will be 100 years since the Eerste Nederlandse Cement Industrie (ENCI) began quarrying the Sint Pietersberg. To mark this centenary, Bureau Europa presents the exhibition Who Owns the Mountain? – A Century of Digging and Dreaming at ENCI.
The exhibition brings together, for the first time, a large body of contemporary artworks created in and around the ENCI quarry over the past decade. The artists explore the site as an ever-changing landscape where industry, nature, memory, and imagined futures collide. Throughout the past century, the area remained largely closed to the public, yet it proved to be a magnet for artists. They shaped the visual identity of the factory and its workers, gave form to protests against quarrying, were captivated by the quarry's surreal landscape, and delved into the subterranean mysteries of its centuries-old network of tunnels.
Since parts of the area were opened to the public in 2016, artists and researchers have explored the ENCI from a wide range of perspectives. Projects such as Overgangszone, Pioneers, and the Artistic Research in Situ (ARiS) minor programme have generated new stories, images, and interpretations. This exhibition marks the first presentation in which these artistic investigations are brought together.
The works reveal the ENCI as a landscape in transition: a place where the traces of human intervention remain visible, while new possibilities continue to emerge.
