Exhibitions
A polder plan on paper: Van Scorel and Pé Okx in Alkmaar
From 10 October, Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar brings an old map of the Zijpe together with contemporary art. Paper, linen and a digital landscape show how an idea for new land takes shape.
80 x 240 cm: that is the size recorded by the Dutch National Archives for the manuscript map of the Zijpe embankment plan. The paper is mounted on linen. The map shows northern Noord-Holland, islands and work on the embankment. It is a design for a landscape that is meant to change.
For Van water naar land, Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar is borrowing the map from the National Archives. The exhibition opens on Saturday 10 October. Alongside old maps and paintings are contemporary artworks and an installation where visitors can create their own version of a landscape.
A map for an application
The National Archives date the preliminary map of the Zijpe to around 1552–1553 and give its dimensions as 80 by 240 centimetres. The embankment plan formed part of an application for a charter; this map belonged to it. The drawn landscape therefore had an administrative role: it made a proposed intervention imaginable.
The coast is shown in detail. The archive names Eierland, Texel, Wieringen, Huisduinen and Callantsoog, as well as the work on the Zijpe. The map consequently includes both the surroundings and the place where the land would be altered. A plan for a polder is easier to understand when the surrounding land and water are shown too.
The attribution needs a qualification. The National Archives attribute the map to Jan van Scorel, but also mention the possibility that a pupil drew it. That uncertainty is part of the object's history. The museum places the embankment plan towards the end of Van Scorel's life; the artist lived from 1495 to 1562.
From a design to a digital intervention
In Alkmaar, the historical material is joined by work by Pé Okx. According to the museum, his subject is the relationship between people, their natural surroundings and the landscape. There are also paintings, maps and designs from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The polder plan thus sits among different ways of looking at land and representing it.
The digital installation gives visitors access to part of that process. They can make changes within the installation and produce a different representation of the area. Technology partner Hypersolid developed the interactive experience with the museum. Visitors can remove elements, introduce new ones or protect parts of the landscape. An imaginary area takes on a different shape as they work.
The old design and the new installation use very different materials. On the manuscript map, lines are fixed on paper; in the digital environment, visitors can alter the representation. Their connection lies in the preceding step: someone imagines what a landscape could look like. The exhibition gives that thinking a form that can be seen.
Planning your visit
Van water naar land runs from 10 October 2026 through 28 February 2027, inclusive. Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar is at Canadaplein 1, 1811 KE Alkmaar. It is open Tuesday to Sunday, 11am–5pm. The museum is closed on Mondays, as well as on 25 December and 1 January.
The visitor information lists a full admission price of €17.00 for 2026. Admission is free with the Museumkaart (Dutch museum pass) and for visitors aged 18 or under. Cash is not accepted; bring a debit card. Lockers are available for larger bags. The museum's own website gives its general visiting conditions and any temporary restrictions.
Visitor information checked on 4 October 2026; consult the museum's current information before travelling.
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