ROTTERDAM, 10 March 2026 – A new Laxmi Manuela mural at EDGE Coolsingel is turning a stretch of building hoarding on the Coolsingel into a quieter kind of public statement. The Rotterdam artist’s latest work places rest, motherhood and unseen labour right in the middle of one of the city’s busiest routes.
Laxmi Manuela mural at EDGE Coolsingel in Rotterdam. Photo: Brian Lubking
If you pass the construction site opposite City Hall, you will now see a large mural (muurschildering) of a woman asleep on a bench. It is part of the fifth round of the EDGE Coolsingel Artist Competition, Show Me Your (He)Art, and it shifts the mood of the street away from speed and productivity, even if only for a moment.
Manuela’s image is deliberately still. In a part of Rotterdam usually defined by movement, traffic and ambition, her sleeping figure makes space for recovery and asks you to look again at the kind of care work that often goes unnoticed.
Rest as a public statement
In her work, Manuela explores themes including women’s strength, identity and care. This mural focuses on the pressure many women face to remain constantly available, whether for family, work or the people around them, while the effort behind that care is rarely acknowledged.
“Rest is not a luxury,” says Laxmi. “It is a basic need. Women do not always have to be productive to be valuable.”
Laxmi Manuela mural at EDGE Coolsingel in Rotterdam. Photo: Brian Lubking
A mural in the middle of the city
By placing the work in public space, Manuela brings that conversation directly onto the street. Between passers-by and construction traffic, the mural creates a pause and introduces softness into an environment more often associated with pace and performance.
Manuela is a Rotterdam-based artist whose practice includes both large-scale murals and more intimate studio work. Across her art, she explores identity, culture and social questions through personal experience, with themes such as sexuality, queerness, self-discovery and women’s strength returning throughout her work. Her projects have appeared in public space in the Netherlands and abroad, including in India, Italy, and Germany.
Do you run a business? RotterdamStyle is looking for a main sponsor. Get exclusive visibility across our website for a fixed fee. Interested? Contact us 🤝
What EDGE Coolsingel is doing here
The artwork is part of the wider EDGE Coolsingel development at Coolsingel 75. EDGE says the future building will offer around 21,500 square metres of office space and is being developed with a strong focus on energy efficiency, sustainability and user wellbeing, including a Net Zero Carbon target and WELL Outstanding certification.
The Show Me Your (He)Art competition gives local artists the chance to show work on the site’s hoardings while construction continues. Earlier selected artists include Melissa Moria, Tjado Astrando Boerleider, Phlox van Oppen and Jlmer Konjo. The project runs from November 2024 until August 2026, the mural size is 11 by 2 metres, and the main prize is a permanent installation at EDGE Coolsingel.
How to get there
You will find the mural at Coolsingel 75, Rotterdam, opposite Rotterdam City Hall in the heart of the city centre. It is an easy walk from Stadhuis metro station and also close to Rotterdam Centraal if you are coming in by train and walking down the Coolsingel. Trams and metro lines through the centre stop nearby, and the artwork sits in one of the most recognisable stretches of central Rotterdam.
More information
You can find more about the competition at www.showmeyour.art. More about Laxmi Manuela is available at www.laxmimanuela.com and on Instagram at @laxmimanuela.
