Wilhelminaring Vijfentwintig jaar

The Wilhelmina Ring Celebrates 25 Years!

The Wilhelmina Ring, a national lifetime achievement award for Dutch sculptors over fifty, has been awarded biennially since 1998 and is connected to the city of Apeldoorn. Winners create a sculpture for Apeldoorn’s Sprengenpark and, since 2015, receive a solo exhibition at the CODA Museum.

After thirteen editions, the Sprengenpark has evolved into a genuine sculpture park. Its collection showcases a wide range of artworks—from abstract and minimalist to modern classical and conceptual—that reflect both the spirit of the times and the evolution of Dutch sculpture over the past two and a half decades.

A unique aspect of the Wilhelmina Ring is its multidisciplinary approach, linking sculpture, jewelry design, and poetry. This anniversary book reflects on this combination: the prize winners and their work, the jewelry designers and the rings they crafted for the laureates, and the poets who composed a special poem in their honor.

In a thought-provoking essay, art critic and cultural journalist Edo Dijksterhuis connects the Wilhelmina Ring to the development of public art in the Netherlands, outlining the award’s unique position in the landscape of art prizes. At the same time, Dijksterhuis challenges both the Wilhelmina Ring and Apeldoorn to break from tradition, paving the way for a glorious future in which Apeldoorn becomes the Netherlands’ city of sculpture.

The sculptures created for the Sprengenpark have been specially re-photographed for the book by Gerrit Schreurs.

Wilhelmina Ring Winners:
Joop Beljon, Joep van Lieshout (AVL), Jan van Munster, Carel Visser, Maria Roosen, John Körmeling, Piet Slegers, Hans van Houwelingen, Auke de Vries, Eja Siepman van den Berg, Tirzo Martha, Lily van der Stokker, Henk Visch.