On Wednesday 14 January 2026, the artwork *Polderdiepten* by artist Birthe Leemeijer was officially unveiled in Zuidoostbeemster. The artwork serves as a new landmark in the De Nieuwe Tuinderij Oost residential area and is a contemporary interpretation of the characteristic structure of the Beemster.
Arne Elgersma
Kunstwerk Polderdiepten
Arne Elgersma
Unveiling by young local residents
The artwork invites visitors to walk through it, and that is exactly what Sara and Afke did during the festive unveiling. As local residents, they had the honour of unveiling the artwork and being the first to step inside it. The unveiling took place at the end of Drie Merenweg, in the presence of residents and partner organisations involved in the project. Councillor Pascal Verkroost delivered the official address, followed by an explanation of the artwork’s creation by Martijn Hemmer of BPD | Bouwfonds Gebiedsontwikkeling. The pattern is clearly visible from the Oostdijk, and in the evenings, ‘Polderdiepten’ is atmospherically illuminated.
‘Polderdiepten’ visualises the origins of the Beemster
During the opening, Councillor Pascal Verkroost also emphasised the importance of art in new neighbourhoods: ‘In these new neighbourhoods, residents are building their future on a strong historical foundation. *Polderdiepten* visualises the origins of the Beemster and brings the past back into today’s streetscape. *Polderdiepten* has become a wonderful landmark in the neighbourhood’.
Three works of art in the Beemster
Over 400 years ago, the desire to reclaim land arose from a vision of growth. Even in 2026, the municipality is still growing rapidly and there is a great need for housing. In De Nieuwe Tuinderij (East and West) and De Keyser in Middenbeemster, over a thousand homes have been built in recent years: around 550 in De Nieuwe Tuinderij and approximately 590 in De Keyser.
Polderdiepten is the third artwork in a series developed specifically for new residential areas in the Beemster. In 2019, the artwork *De Beemster Boog* by Gabriel Lester, in collaboration with Arnaud Hendrickx, was installed in De Nieuwe Tuinderij West. This was followed in late November 2025 by the unveiling of *De Beemster Beelden* by Rob Cerneus in De Keyser in Middenbeemster. The artwork *Polderdiepten* was commissioned by De Beemster Compagnie, a partnership between BPD | Bouwfonds Gebiedsontwikkeling and the municipality of Purmerend, in collaboration with Gebr. van ’t Hek and Linden Staalbouw.
Modern art in a historic landscape
The Beemster was reclaimed in the early seventeenth century and, from the very outset, designed according to a strict geometric grid pattern of straight lines, plots and waterways. This rational layout is still visible in the landscape and forms the basis of the Beemster’s UNESCO World Heritage status. The artwork ‘Polderdiepten’ draws on this layout. The steel sheet piles have been installed in a geometric pattern and vary in height. In this way, the work refers both to the polder’s land division and to the Amsterdam Ordnance Datum (NAP) and the water levels that have been decisive for the creation and continued existence of the Beemster.
Source: Municipality of Purmerend