13/08/2026
What is the power of illustration?
As one of the visitors of the Illustratie Biënnale 2026 expressed in response to this question
“Imagination. By literally visualising things, you delve deeper, broaden your horizons, inspire yourself, learn to see with fresh eyes, to seek, to find and to express yourself throughout the creative journey, which in turn leads you back to sharing and connecting.”
Some weekends stay with you for a long time. The eighth edition of the Illustratie Biënnale, held on 6 and 7 June 2026 at Schuur Haarlem, was one of those weekends. For two days, makers, students, designers, researchers and visitors came together to look, draw, listen and above all: meet each other.
On Saturday 6 June, the speaker programme opened with nine illustrators sharing their creative processes, inspirations and the many different forms illustration can take.
Guus Møystad kicked the day off with a unique combination of performance, illustration and storytelling. Inspired by a Norwegian myth, he brought together politics, history, fantasy and personal experiences in a living comic that blurred the boundaries between image and narrative.
Annemarie van Haeringen shared how coincidence plays an important role in her creative process.
Unexpected discoveries and spontaneous ideas are not distractions, but opportunities that can lead her work in new directions.
Inge van Noortwijk invited the audience to look more closely at the world around us.✏️
From virtuoso picture books to data illustration, from ceramics to social cartography: the Illustratie Biënnale showed that illustration is much more than a technique. It is a way to tell stories, reveal connections and look at the world from new perspectives.
Read the full recap via the link in our bio.
ArtistTalk VisualCulture ArtFestival SchuurHaarlem Haarlem GuusMøystad AnnemarieVanHaeringen IngeVanNoortwijk Gu(u)s Møystad annemarievanhaeringen Inge van Noortwijk
Through her highly detailed insect illustrations, she showed how drawing can also be a form of research — where careful observation can reveal details that often remain un