Bergeijk, portret van het verenigingsleven in een Brabants dorp
Photography: Koos Breukel & Amke de Kiviet; Authors: Martin Bril en Johan Biemans; Graphic design: Aldus projecten; ISBN: 90-777217-6-2; Language: Dutch
Rabobank Bergeijk commissioned portrait photographer Koos Breukel (1962) to create a series of photographs on the active club and association life in Bergeijk. On 24 November 2005, seven photographs were unveiled at Rabobank Bergeijk. The book entitled Bergeijk; portret van het verenigingsleven in een Brabants dorp (Bergeijk: a portrait of club and association life in a village in Brabant) was also published in conjunction with the event. Copies of the book were presented to members of Rabobank Bergeijk.
Bergeijk is a small village near Eindhoven. ‘The first time I visited Bergeijk, I thought: “What a boring village”. But when I had the opportunity to look behind the scenes, I discovered it is actually bustling with activity,’ explains Koos Breukel. The bank’s working area encompasses a population of 18,000 and no less than 400 clubs and associations. This means that virtually every resident of Bergeijk is a member of a club or association. Rabobank Bergeijk wanted to document this exceptional fact as a way of demonstrating its involvement with the local community. The commission also gave the clubs and associations the opportunity to show what connects and engages the local community. The range of clubs and associations covers the entire spectrum from a senior citizen exercise club to a brass band and from a carnival association to the police dog club. Breukel also photographed prominent people in the village, such as the oldest resident and the village priest, which gave the commission an almost anthropological character. The bank ultimately purchased two large and five smaller photographs.
