Cooking from the Fridge

Treasure hunting in the collections of Het Domein, SCHUNCK and Bonnefanten

• Private opening by Her Majesty Queen Máxima: Tuesday 10 November 2026

• Public opening: Tuesday 10 November 2026, 17:00 – 20:00

On display: 11 November 2026 through 5 September 2027

Bonnefanten proudly presents Cooking from the Fridge: three South Limburg art collections served à la carte

No fewer than 27 guest curators were given free rein to ‘cook’ like top chefs for this exhibition. They selected the ingredients from three ‘fridges’: the selection of works from the collections of Bonnefanten Maastricht, SCHUNCK Heerlen and Het Domein* Sittard, which were acquired by Stijn Huijts. The result is a unique, delightful menu featuring 270 works of art by 145 national and international artists.

The exhibition has been organised to mark Stijn Hujits’ forthcoming departure as general and artistic director of Bonnefanten, a position he has held since 2012. Over the past three decades, he has also served as director of two other museums in the South Limburg Urban Cultural Region: Het Domein* in Sittard-Geleen (1996–2007) and SCHUNCK in Heerlen (2007–2012). These three leading art museums in the region have joined forces for Cooking from the Fridge. The more than one thousand works of art Huijts has acquired for those three museums represent a distinctive mix of regional, national and international voices.

Sustainable creation

The idea for this exhibition was partly inspired by the dynamics of our times, in which not only geopolitical but also economic and ecological developments are leaving their mark on museum practice. Geopolitical tensions can stand in the way of international loans. Persistent inflation, rising energy costs and declining government funding are placing a heavy strain on exhibition budgets, while climate change demands that we attempt to minimise our carbon footprint. Both of these developments are prompting museums to take a critical look at the financial and environmental implications of their exhibition activities. One logical consequence of this is that museums will once again focus more on the qualities found in their own collections – or in their immediate surroundings. 

These considerations have helped shape the inspiration behind the focus on the three museum collections in South Limburg on which Huijts has worked over the past thirty years.  

Twenty-seven chefs and ingredients from our own kitchen

Although Huijts is the initiator of the exhibition and the driving force behind the acquisition of the works on display, he was not involved in selecting the works or designing the exhibition spaces. He has entrusted this task to 27 guest curators from the Netherlands and abroad, all of whom have played a significant role in the development of his artistic vision as a museum director over the past thirty years. 

The guest curators are: Maria Barnas, Paula van den Bosch, Lex ter Braak, Berlinde De Bruyckere, Valentijn Byvanck, Ann Demeester, Marian Duff, Hu Fang, Celien Govaerts, Krist Gruijthuijsen, Lene ter Haar, Ad Himmelreich, Roxy Jongewaard, patricia kaersenhout, Fabian de Kloe, Mees Knarren, Victoria Noorthoorn, Hoor Al Qasimi, Jip van Reijen, Catharien Romijn, Wilma Sütö, Jennifer Tee, Ranti Tjan, Jerika Vertegaal, Zhang Wei, Wieteke van Zeil and Kitty Zijlmans.

A mix of flavours

From the outset, Huijts’ collection and display policy aimed at opening up the mainstream canon, among other things, by focusing on artists and media operating on the margins of, or outside, the institutionalised concept of art.

The guest curators’ choices and the surprising ways in which they have brought them together in their displays offer fresh perspectives on current themes. They also demonstrate the social significance of thirty years of collecting in South Limburg. Cooking from the Fridge is a kaleidoscope: a tribute to the collaborative work of museums, artists and curators, who together are shaping the future of the Netherlands Collection (Collectie Nederland).

What’s on the menu

Among many other things, visitors can look forward to works of art by Rineke Dijkstra, Marlene Dumas, Mark Gonzales, Bjarne Melgaard, Rik Meijers and Jennifer Tee from the Het Domein* collection. Works by Joan van Barneveld, DEES, Chris Johanson, Natasja Kensmil, Johan Tahon, Helen Verhoeven and others are being brought over from SCHUNCK Heerlen. There will also be works on display from the Bonnefanten collection by artists such as Kahlil Joseph, Mark Manders, Grayson Perry, patricia kaersenhout, Tanja Ritterbex, Wael Shawky, Ed Templeton, Mounira Al Solh and Małgorzata Mirga-Tas.  

The full list of participating artists can be found here. https://www.bonnefanten.nl/en/exhibitions/cooking-from-the-fridge

Cooking from the Fridge begins and ends with impressive works by Betye Saar and Cao Fei respectively. Realised specially for the Bonnefanten, these installations bring thirty years of collecting to a close but also open the door to new ideas about the future of the collection.

Cooking from the Fridge publication

The exhibition is accompanied by a publication of the same name, featuring an introduction by Stijn Huijts and essays by Sarah van Binsbergen, Edo Dijksterhuis, Hu Fang and Aaron Rose. It is complemented by interviews with the guest curators and a visual record documenting thirty years of acquisitions for the collections of Het Domein* Sittard, SCHUNCK Heerlen and Bonnefanten Maastricht.
The publication is put out by nai010 Publishers based on a concept by Bonnefanten, with final editing by Bodosz, designed by Buro Marcel van der Heyden and printed by Drukkerij Walters.

Clever collaboration

Cooking from the Fridge is an initiative by Stijn Huijts (director of Bonnefanten), with special support from Het Nieuwe Domein in Sittard, and SCHUNCK Museum in Heerlen.
In collaboration with the following guest curators: Maria Barnas, Paula van den Bosch, Lex ter Braak, Berlinde De Bruyckere, Valentijn Byvanck,  Ann Demeester, Marian Duff, Hu Fang, Celien Govaerts, Krist Gruijthuijsen, Ad Himmelreich, Lene ter Haar, Roxy Jongewaard, patricia kaersenhout, Fabian de Kloe, Mees Knarren, Victoria Noorthoorn, Hoor Al Qasimi, Jip van Reijen, Catharien Romijn, Wilma Sütö, Jennifer Tee, Ranti Tjan, Jerika Vertegaal , Zhang Wei, Wieteke van Zeil and Kitty Zijlmans.

This exhibition is made possible by: Province of Limburg, Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, VriendenLoterij, Mondriaan Fund, Het Nieuwe Domein and SCHUNCK

* now known as Het Nieuwe Domein

Note to the editor (not for publication):
For further information, images, previews and interview requests, please contact Esther Wagemans pressoffice@bonnefanten.nl, +31 (0)6 2863 4294