Besides the yearly festival weekend (1-4 June), in 2023, we also organise a project that can be visited the entire month of June: Bovenop Zuid! From 1 to 30 June, Rotterdamse Dakendagen transforms the six football fields of space on top of shopping mall Zuidplein into an art park. Visitors enter the rooftop via staircases and once you are up, an 850 meters long art route on various heights can be discovered.
Zuidplein is an important public transport hub and commercial centre with one of the largest bus terminals in the Netherlands. In recent years, the surrounding area has been transformed with new construction, renovations and a different layout of the public space. The shopping centre was first opened in 1972 and celebrated its 50th birthday last year, as well as the completion of large-scale renovations. Citizens of Rotterdam and the surrounding area have been coming there for decades to shop and dine, but never before were they welcomed onto the roof. On top of the building lie six football pitches of space over different levels, resembling a lunar landscape adorned with small structures and solar panels. Artists will create an exhibition of art works there, curated by Rotterdam Rooftop Days and inspired by stories from the neighbourhoods around the rooftop. In this way the space on the roof will be utilised as a platform for new perspectives on the area, its inhabitants, its history and its development.
This is not the first edition of Rotterdam Rooftop Days featuring large art works on rooftops. In 2019, the Sleeping Giants by French artist duo Ella & Pitr graced the rooftop of two other prominent buildings in the area. And in 2022, a large work by Leon Keer was made as part of the exhibition on the Rotterdam Rooftop Walk. The artists working on this upcoming project will be announced soon.
Rotterdam Rooftop Days (1 to 4 June) will take place on over 60 different rooftops all over the city. Bovenop Zuid is part of the city-wide campaign Zomer op Zuid. In the summer of 2023, Rotterdam’s cultural calendar will feature more cultural activities on the south side of the river, showcasing the area’s creative sector.