GAIA - Planet Earth
How do we treat the Earth? From 4 December 2026 to 16 January 2027, GAIA – Planet Earth devotes the monumental space of the Grote Kerk Breda to one of the great questions of our time.
The exhibition brings together artworks that make you look differently at a planet that has existed for 4.54 billion years, and at the life around us: a floating globe by British artist Luke Jerram, contemplative video works by Marjan Laaper, and seating and lounging pieces by Atelier Van Lieshout.
- 11 am – 3.30 pm: free admission
- 4 pm – 7 pm: €3.50
After 4 pm, daylight gradually gives way to evening. Marjan Laaper’s Bengal eagle-owl becomes visible and GAIA’s light shows more clearly. Tickets will be available soon.
GAIA – Planet Earth is an exhibition that invites you to slow down and see our planet in a new light.
Through an astronaut’s eyes
Beneath the opening in the vaulted ceiling, the highest point of the church, hangs GAIA: a gently rotating, internally lit globe seven metres across, designed by Luke Jerram. The work shows a photorealistic image of the Earth’s surface, based on detailed NASA imagery. One centimetre of GAIA represents 18 kilometres on Earth.
GAIA refers to the so-called ‘overview effect’: the experience astronauts describe when they see the Earth, in all its fragility, from space. Borders fade, distances become relative and the planet appears as a single whole.
A hushed animal kingdom
Where Jerram views the planet from afar, artist Marjan Laaper zooms in on the lives of individual animals. Her video projections on the walls of the church show animals that seem frozen in time, turning the monument into a place that invites stillness, reflection and wonder. The result is poetic, at times almost fairytale-like.
The work follows the rhythm of a winter’s day. In daytime, the animals appear subtly within the monument; as the afternoon wears on, they become more and more visible: a brown panda asleep against a pillar, a rhinoceros that seems to be waiting… For what?
From 4 pm, as dusk falls, the Bengal eagle-owl (Encounter) comes into view. The Grote Kerk Breda is also the first to show a new work by Laaper: Witte Wallaby (White Wallaby).
Building for the future
The Grote Kerk Breda is itself also a work in the exhibition. The monument, which has moved with the times for centuries, gives the exhibition added resonance. The church was built in the 15th and 16th centuries, over a period of some 150 years. Its medieval master builders were working for future generations, looking much further ahead than their own lifetimes. That way of thinking is relevant again today. How do we work together towards a liveable Earth?
The artworks in the church leave room for wonder at a planet that has existed for 4.54 billion years, and for curiosity about the life around us.
Lie back and look
Scattered throughout the interior are the Flying Dishmen by Atelier Van Lieshout. On these seating and lounging elements, you can lie back and take in GAIA and Laaper’s projections all around you. This makes the visit a relaxed experience, whether you come as an art lover or with the whole family.
From the Moon to the Earth
GAIA – Planet Earth follows on from Museum of the Moon, which was shown at the Grote Kerk Breda exactly five years ago. Where visitors then came face to face with the Moon, they now look at the planet where people, animals and nature live side by side. Together, the two spherical works form a diptych: first a view of another celestial body, now of our own planet, seen from the outside.
GAIA in numbers
- Diameter: 7 metres
- 1.8 million times smaller than the Earth
- 1 centimetre = 18 kilometres
- From 211 metres away, you see the Earth as an astronaut sees it from the Moon
- Soundscape: Dan Jones
About the artists
Luke Jerram creates sculptures, installations and live art projects. He has been working internationally for more than 25 years and has had nearly 1,000 exhibitions worldwide. His work is held in more than 50 permanent collections, including that of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. He made his breakthrough with Play Me, I’m Yours: street pianos in cities that anyone was free to play. These were followed by his monumental celestial bodies, such as Museum of the Moon and GAIA. His work sits at the intersection of art and science and often explores challenging themes and the health of the planet.
Marjan Laaper is a visual artist specialising in large-scale video projections, installations and public art commissions. She studied sculpture (fine art) at the Willem de Kooning Academy, the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam and the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore (USA).
Atelier Van Lieshout was founded by sculptor and visionary Joep van Lieshout. Over the past three decades, Van Lieshout has built a multidisciplinary practice at the intersection of art, design and architecture.
Route and parking
Coming by train? The Grote Kerk Breda is a 10-minute walk from Breda railway station. The church is also easily accessible by bus. You can walk to us in a few minutes from the Karnemelkstraat or Oude Vest bus stops.
Coming by bike or moped? Then park in one of the free bicycle parking facilities. Improperly parked bicycles are regularly removed by the municipality.
Coming by car? The car parks De Prins and De Barones are closest to the Grote Kerk Breda. Click here for general information on parking in Breda.
EXPLORE BREDA
Before or after your visit, let yourself be surprised by everything else the city has to offer and feel welcome in hospitable Breda. More info, including information on where to stay, can be found here.
