The Bonbonnière Maastricht

Cultural houses

Governance

Form a quarter

  • Client Municipality of Maastricht
  • Roll Co-ordinator
  • Period 2026

  • The Bonbonnière, Municipality of Maastricht

The whole of Maastricht is looking forward to it! As a project manager, I am working on a new future for the beautiful, monumental Bonbonnière in the heart of Maastricht. A building with a rich history as a venue for culture, theater, and meeting that can once again take on a meaningful place in the city. The ambition is to create an open and welcoming House for Culture, Knowledge, and Society where the citizens of Maastricht, creators, students, researchers, and visitors can meet each other.

Once a Jesuit church, later one of the oldest theaters in the country — the Bonbonnière carries the traces of centuries of knowledge transfer, entertainment, and meeting. Despite years of vacancy, the building has never faded from the collective memory of the city. That history is not a backdrop, but the foundation upon which the new interpretation builds.

The three pillars, culture, knowledge and society, translate that history into the future. Culture, from professional performing arts to folk culture and amateur initiatives. Knowledge, as a platform for research, dialogue and knowledge sharing with the city. Society, as a place where citizen initiatives, encounter and participation have space. None of the three stands alone: the added value lies precisely in their interconnectedness, in the cross-fertilization between creators, thinkers and residents. It is crucial that the Maastrichtian feels at home there; the Bonbonnière should not only be a home for visitors and partners, but above all a place where the city recognizes itself.

 

My approach does not start with a ready-made plan, but with an exploration. I engage in conversation with the initiators and partners who are at the core of this idea, including the Friends UM/MUMC+, MECC, Maastricht Convention Bureau, Theater aan het Vrijthof, Elisabeth Strouven Fonds, and a representation from the folk culture, with cultural institutions, with entrepreneurs, and with neighborhood residents. At the same time, I work towards a solid foundation: clear choices regarding programming, realistic operations, and an organizational form that honors the ideas of the initiators. The Bonbonnière grows step by step from a monument with a beautiful past into a home with a vibrant future; a home where the Maastrichtian feels welcome. Low-threshold, warm, and always good without being elitist.