Mensen zoals wij at Chabot Museum explores migration through art

NOW ON UNTIL 7 MAR '27 | ROTTERDAM, 5 November 2026 | What connects a Dutch expressionist painting during the Second World War with a Moroccan-born artist depicting today's refugee crisis? At Rotterdam's Chabot Museum, two artists separated by generations and very different cultural backgrounds are brought together in Mensen zoals wij (People Like Us), an exhibition exploring migration, vulnerability and human dignity.

_{Images: Mensen zoals wij, featuring works by Nour-Eddine Jarram and Henk Chabot. Photo: Chabot Museum Rotterdam.}

Running from 25 October 2026 to 7 March 2027, the exhibition presents the work of Nour-Eddine Jarram (1956) alongside that of Henk Chabot (1894–1949). Although the two artists never met, their work reveals striking similarities in how they portray people facing uncertainty, displacement and hardship.

The exhibition features selected paintings by Chabot alongside approximately 40 to 50 paintings, watercolours and drawings by Jarram, bringing historical experiences of war and persecution into conversation with contemporary questions about migration and identity.

Two artists, different times, similar concerns

Henk Chabot is best known as one of Rotterdam's leading expressionist artists. His paintings often portrayed ordinary people, particularly farmers, workers and families, with an emphasis on their physical presence and emotional lives.

During the German occupation of the Netherlands between 1940 and 1945, his work increasingly reflected the suffering caused by war. Refugees, people in hiding and prisoners became subjects of paintings that captured fear, vulnerability and the disruption of everyday life.

Decades later, Nour-Eddine Jarram began exploring comparable themes through the experiences of people fleeing conflict, persecution and uncertainty in the present day.

Since 2015, Jarram has frequently used photographs from news reports and social media as starting points for watercolours depicting refugees and young people searching for a sense of identity.

Displayed together, the works invite visitors to consider how the circumstances of displacement may change over time, while many of the human experiences remain recognisable.

Nour-Eddine Jarram between two artistic traditions

Born in Casablanca in 1956, Nour-Eddine Jarram moved to the Netherlands in 1979 to study at the AKI art academy in Enschede.

His artistic development has been shaped by his experiences with both Islamic visual traditions and Western European painting. Elements of abstraction, geometry and decorative patterns appear alongside figurative representations of people and their surroundings.

That combination is particularly evident in his paintings and watercolours, where the human figure often occupies a central position within an expressive composition.

Jarram's work addresses migration, cultural identity and the experiences of young people growing up between different cultural environments.

His series Moroccan youngsters was acquired by the Rijksmuseum in 2021 and has been on display there since 2026, reflecting the growing recognition of his contribution to contemporary Dutch art.

Rembrandt as a shared inspiration

Despite their different backgrounds, both Jarram and Chabot found inspiration in seventeenth-century Dutch painting, particularly the work of Rembrandt.

For Jarram, Rembrandt's use of chiaroscuro, the dramatic contrast between light and shadow, has been a lasting influence. The technique allows artists to draw attention to faces, gestures and emotions while creating a sense of atmosphere and depth.

Chabot admired Rembrandt's humanity and artistic freedom, qualities that also found expression in his own work.

The exhibition explores these shared influences alongside unexpected visual connections between Jarram's abstract patterns and Chabot's earlier experiments with geometric and cubist forms.

These similarities help explain why works created in different periods and cultural contexts can feel surprisingly connected when displayed side by side.

A fitting setting in Rotterdam's Museumpark

The exhibition takes place at the Chabot Museum, housed in a striking modernist villa in Rotterdam's Museumpark.

Completed in 1938, the building is an example of the Dutch architectural movement known as Nieuwe Bouwen, which emphasised light, space and functional design.

The museum's relatively intimate rooms provide an interesting setting for an exhibition focused on personal experiences and human emotions.

Dedicated to the work of Henk Chabot and artists connected to his artistic outlook, the museum regularly presents exhibitions that place his paintings and sculptures in a wider historical and contemporary context.

With Mensen zoals wij, that approach brings Chabot's wartime paintings into direct conversation with the experiences and concerns of a living artist.

Visiting Mensen zoals wij at Chabot Museum

Mensen zoals wij – Nour-Eddine Jarram and Henk Chabot is on display until Sunday 7 March 2027.

• Exhibition: Mensen zoals wij (People Like Us)
• Dates: 25 October 2026 to 7 March 2027
• Location: Chabot Museum, Museumpark 11, Rotterdam
• Opening hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 11:00–17:00; Sunday, 12:00–17:00
• Closed: Mondays and public holidays
• Admission: €12 for adults, €6 for students and CJP holders; free for visitors under 18
• Museumkaart and Rotterdampas: Free admission

For further information about the exhibition and tickets, visit the official Chabot Museum exhibition page.

Getting to Chabot Museum

The museum is located at Museumpark 11 in central Rotterdam, within walking distance of several other cultural attractions, including Kunsthal Rotterdam and Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen.

Metro station Eendrachtsplein is nearby, and Rotterdam Centraal is approximately ten minutes away on foot. Visitors arriving by car can use the Museumpark parking garage, located diagonally opposite the museum.

Use the map below to find the museum and plan your visit.

Visitors with reduced mobility should be aware that the historic museum building has several steps at its entrance and is not entirely wheelchair accessible. Contacting the museum before visiting is recommended if assistance is required.

For anyone interested in expressionist painting, contemporary art or the ways artists respond to social upheaval, Mensen zoals wij offers a thoughtful encounter between Rotterdam's artistic past and the concerns of the present.