In celebration of Middelburg's 800th anniversary, Vleeshal organized a versatile program of excursions outside its walls to bring its collection of art in the public space into the spotlight. With its forty years of existence, Vleeshal makes up an essential part of Middleburg’s history. Often unknown is the fact that Vleeshal manages a large collection of sculptures in Middelburg's public space. Middelburg800 presented Vleeshal with an excellent opportunity to change this and organise a series of varied excursions past some of these sculptures.

The third edition of Outside Vleeshal’s Walls! focused on the sculptures Peter de Jong (1920-1990) made of women. From 1947 De Jong was active as an artist in Middelburg. He was involved with the restoration of the old town hall and several of his sculptures can be found in the historic city center. The female body plays an important role in his sculptural work.

This programme featured a guided tour by Rosanne van Ede (1996). During her internship at Vleeshal she completed an art historical research paper on the sculptures of de Jong, that are scattered throughout the city of Middelburg. She also incorporated her experiences as a life drawing model, based on De Jong’s sculptures, in her paper.

The subsequent sculpture workshop was led by artist Anne-Marie van Sprang (1960). During the workshop, participants were encouraged to look closely at different shapes and the use of material. Peter de Jong’s sculptures functioned as model and inspiration.