UNTIL 14 JULY 2026 | The art installation De Ballen has opened on Noordplein, inviting visitors to experience how poverty and discrimination can weigh on everyday life. The installation was created by artist Daisy Ranoe, together with twelve artists and more than 100 Rotterdammers, commissioned by the Municipality of Rotterdam.
Photos: Erno Wientjens
The installation uses large and small balls to represent the weight people carry because of discrimination, poverty, and personal characteristics they did not choose themselves.
De Ballen opens on Noordplein
Alderman Abigail Norville, responsible for poverty reduction, debt counselling, language and benefits, opened De Ballen on Noordplein. After its first stop, the installation will travel to several public spaces across Rotterdam.
The project focuses on characteristics that shape people’s lives, such as height, sexuality, family background and origin. These are things that influence who you are, but also how others treat you.
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Visitors carry the weight
Inside a converted container, visitors are invited to feel what discrimination and poverty can do. They pick up one or more balls and walk with them through a door in the middle of the room.
The larger the balls, the harder it becomes to get through the door. The physical experience makes visible how unequal treatment can make ordinary movement through life more difficult.
Rotterdam stories shape the work
The balls were made together with artists and Rotterdammers. In and around the installation, visitors can read personal stories from Rotterdam residents who have experienced poverty and discrimination.
That local element gives the installation its strength. De Ballen is not an abstract message dropped into the city. It is built around lived experiences from people in Rotterdam.
De Ballen is a Rotterdam art installation that lets visitors experience the weight of poverty, discrimination and unequal treatment.
Norville calls for action
Alderman Abigail Norville said: “Experience does more than words, and that is the experience you get in this installation. The balls show what Rotterdammers come up against. At the same time, I also hope it makes visitors aware that we can only end racism and discrimination in any form together. Speak out and do not stand aside when you see or experience it.”
Her message links the artwork to a broader civic responsibility. The installation asks visitors not just to observe inequality, but to notice how it appears in daily life.
Personal experience becomes visible
Image-maker and writer Marloes shares one of the stories connected to the installation. She said: “Teachers said I was not dedicated to my studies. They treated me differently and I used to think it was because I am a country girl. I am, but I think they mistook my autism, with my different view and behaviour, for country behaviour.”
De Ballen connects to the city’s action plan Living together in one city (Samenleven in één stad). The project brings together the plan’s three main themes: connection, equal opportunities, and tackling discrimination and racism. Those themes were central during the preparatory meetings with artists and Rotterdammers. Together, they shaped the balls that now form the heart of the installation.
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De Ballen visits Rotterdam locations
The installation will be shown in several public places across the city. It starts on Noordplein and then moves through central, eastern, southern and western Rotterdam.
By travelling through different neighbourhoods, De Ballen brings the conversation closer to daily life in the city. You do not need to visit a museum to encounter it. You may find it while crossing a square, shopping or moving through your own neighbourhood.
De Ballen can be visited at the following Rotterdam locations:
- Noordplein: 28 May to 3 June
- Schouwburgplein: 5 June to 11 June
- Alexandrium: 13 June to 19 June
- Slingeplein: 21 June to 28 June
- Heemraadsplein: 30 June to 6 July
- Schouwburgplein: 8 July to 14 July
