In 2025, we will commemorate and celebrate 80 years of living in freedom. Museum Kasteel Wijchen, together with the municipality of Wijchen, will also commemorate this event. With a mini-exhibition and the Freedom Theatre Festival Between Art and Freedom, you will experience what freedom means. Freedom is something you create together!
The war years are slowly shifting from ‘memory’ to ‘history’. A particularly tangible ‘memory’ object is the only preserved Maas en Waalse freedom skirt. This skirt, made of pieces of fabric, each with a story, tells us about freedom and was worn on special occasions. The skirt is central to the exhibition and the freedom theatre festival.
Freedom Theatre Festival
After lighting the liberation fire, the freedom theatre festival Between Art and Freedom will start on 5 May. The largest freedom skirt in the Netherlands, a MEGA skirt, will be in the castle garden. This is the centrepiece of the festival. After a theatrical welcome, the public will start collecting freedom stories. This will be done with visual forms, words, song lyrics and stage art. The stories, photos, poems, song lyrics etc. will be put on pieces of fabric. These pieces will be incorporated into the MEGA skirt. This will create a new freedom skirt at the end of the day with stories from people from the municipality of Wijchen. An improvisation singer will be at the top of the skirt. She will celebrate freedom with music in an interactive way with visitors. At 4:00 PM we will close with a performance by the Wijchen POP choir Event.
Do you have a story or an object about freedom? Or do you want to listen to the stories of others? Then come to the castle garden on May 5, and celebrate freedom together!
Freedom Meal
On May 5, you can participate in the Freedom Meal. Meet new faces, listen to each other’s stories and get to know each other better on Liberation Day. Will you join us for a cup of freedom soup?
The Freedom Theater Festival is made possible by the municipality of Wijchen and the Province of Gelderland.
Programm May 5
| 10:45 h | Speech Mayor |
| 11:00 h | Lighting the liberation fire |
| 11:15 h | start Freedom Theatre Festival |
| 12:00-13:00 h | Freedom meal |
| 16:00 h | End of festival Performance POPchoir |
