David MylesJust under 10 minutes from Rotterdam Central Station, local artist Sigmar Vriesde has a gallery inside the Rotterdam Alexander station.
Galerie (Gallery) Noir Noir offers a platform specifically for Black and Brown artists to display their work, though Sigmar welcomes art from others; he opts to keep the art centred through a Black lens.
While conversing with Sigmar, I was intrigued by his name and origin. Sigmar revealed that his name is Swedish in origin. This is despite having no connection to the country. In Suriname, where he was born, he had a Swedish friend from the neighbourhood. According to his parents, he got his name from the Swedish boy’s family.
He trained as a bank manager and worked in the industry for several years, but Sigmar was never fond of his job. His keen interest lies in Black people, how they function within Dutch society, and the types of narratives that are relayed.
Frustrated by who decides what narratives get told and how they are told, Sigmar took the initiative to join the International Film Festival where he was responsible for checking tickets. ‘’It was a very long time ago’’ remarks Sigmar. ‘’I am talking about the beginning of 2000, ’’ he adds.
Before that Sigmar already had experience in the cultural sector as an event manager organising Hip Hop parties within the Netherlands, where Sigmar said: ‘’This is where it all started.’’ Simultaneous to all this activity, Sigmar was attending business school, but was not fully committed.
To progress further in the arts, Sigmar relocated to the States, citing that it was ‘I had to go and see why do I like this culture so much. How did they do it.’’ While there, Sigmar said he came across a Black-owned outlet called Nyorican Poets Café, which still exists and is located in Lower Manhattan, New York. ‘’I think I saw the future’’ admits the artist. He continued ‘’that was weird because I think there were only three people in the venue.’’
Having been astounded by a spoken word theatre piece called Emergency by an artist known as Daniel “Koa” Beaty about a slave ship appearing on a regular day in the harbour of New York. Daniel played an astonishing 43 characters. Tremendously inspired by the play, Sigmar got to see the backstory, which fuelled his commitment to establish something similar in the city of Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
Growing up in Rotterdam, Sigmar admits he seldom got to see Black-owned art spaces. ‘’New York is a very inspirational place where artists like Mos Def [Yasiin bey) and Erykah Badu performed when they were unknown artists” says Sigmar.
Returning to the Netherlands rejuvenated with a new purpose, Sigmar stepped away from the banking industry, quitting his job. Starting a new chapter, Sigmar began working for a non-profit organisation for free. ‘’I went from having a lot of money to having almost nothing. Of course I had some savings, ’’ says Sigmar.
While in the non-profit sector, Sigmar dedicated his time to fostering his experience by doing what he calls “different odd jobs,” acquiring knowledge and accumulating a formidable skillset that is reminiscent of a magnet building traction. Reflecting on this moment, Sigmar said: “When you are visible in this country [the Netherlands], people start recognising you. You start talking to people. People like what you’re saying, and they start asking, ‘Can you come work here?'”
As a result, Sigmar has worked in a myriad of roles in Rotterdam such as museums, galleries, music festivals and venue-oriented work. Additionally, Sigmar worked at the prestigious music academy Codarts in Rotterdam as a music programmer, worked as a music manager for relatively well-known artists, which included touring. Sigmar also initiated an array of music projects that ended up on Dutch television. ‘’Every time that I did something new, I built on the experience before’’ says Sigmar.
With no job before COVID and many countries effectively shutting down, Sigmar started cooking and delivering food to earn money.
In 2021, Sigmar opened his own outlet, across the street from where he is currently based on Stationsplein (Station Square) which is accessibly connected to Rotterdam Alexander train station and the metro station.
With a contract on the fourth floor above the shopping centre, Sigmar quickly used the 600 square metre outlet. ‘’I created office spaces, a film studio, and a broadcast studio, which I rented out to ‘’young Black and Brown entrepreneurs’’ says Sigmar.
To coincide with the opening of his outlet, Sigmar organised an art market for two consecutive years, and he underestimated the impact it would have on the wider city of Rotterdam.
After several years in Rotterdam Plaza, Sigmar received notice to vacate due to an anti-squatter’s complication. In early 2025, Galerie Noir Noir opened its outlet, where it currently sits inside Rotterdam Alexander station. Citing his new outlet as ‘’maybe by pure luck, I got the number NS Stations [Nederlandse Spoorwegen stations].’’
Using his background in management and presenting, Sigmar gave an appealing pitch for a space that would be one of twenty outlets the Dutch national railways has for ventures like his inside a railway station. Captivated by Sigmar’s idea, he did not have to face the bureaucratic process that he expected. Reflecting on his relationship with the Dutch, Sigmar always likens it to ‘’if you turn on the lights and turn it off at the end of the day, that’s fine with me.’’
Galerie Noir Noir is purported to be the only permanent art gallery located inside a Dutch railway station. While Haarlem station has a small artwork section on platform 3, and Leiden Central station previously hosted a provisional mini-museum in a waiting room in alliance with various cultural artists, such station galleries remain a rarity.
Work by biracial self-taught Afrocentric painter, Adelindra Mejer (left)
By being situated adjacent to two stations, Galerie Noir Noir can attract incidental commuters who may have otherwise never known about the gallery or traditionally engaged with art spaces. An art gallery with a lens focusing on Black and Brown artists is imperative in Dutch society.
Work by Rotterdam-based contemporary sculptor and visual artist, Peter Noel Hanson
Although venues like the Black Archives and Gallery 23 exist, both are located in Amsterdam—approximately 50 miles from Rotterdam. Open Arts Exchange, based in Schiedam (a short, five-minute train commute from Rotterdam), is a promising venue that aims to reflect the true heterogeneity of artists from non-white backgrounds.
Furthermore, while the African Art Gallery is based in Rotterdam, it operates strictly on an appointment-only basis. Galerie Noir Noir exists in an unimpeded manner where commuters can enter and exit as they please. This accessibility is quintessential to welcoming demographics that may not typically enter a gallery—particularly one that recentres art through the spectrum of Black perspectives, grappling with themes such as identity and cultural memories, and exploring how these are perceived, imagined, and retold using narratives embedded in traditions like the African griot.
Sigmar’s interest in art began when he scribbled graffiti as a teenager, but he describes that period as rebellious, and everything since as solemn. He always confides that ‘’I can’t draw.’’ However, this does not diminish his aptitude for art. Using collages, Sigmar says ‘’my outlet first started by doing collages. Cutting things out, putting things together, using a copying machine; because I am from the generation where there were no computers yet. Not in that way with Personal Computers [PCs].’’
Examples of Sigmar Vriesde’s work
Sigmar Vriesde’s art of Neo-Soul artist Erykah Badu is on display at Galerie Noir Noir
In the past, Sigmar created illustrations for friends’ and associates’ album covers for artists in genres like Hip Hop and Neo Soul. It was not until 2022 that Sigmar transitioned these collaging proficiencies into the art he produces today. Using a typewriter and enlarging material with a copier gave Sigmar an advantage as computers emerged. ‘’I could easily transfer that into digital versions, ” the artist discloses.
Galerie Noir Noir recently showcased their artwork at the Taste of World Festival. Sigmar said: ‘’ I think this reflects an important part of our approach: going where our audience already is, rather than expecting people to engage with the gallery exclusively through the gallery space itself.’’
