Den Hekse Weeg - The Witches Road
Den Hekse Weeg (The Witches Road) is a multidisciplinary art project by Dutch artist, photographer, and costume designer Ingeborg Steenhorst. The project serves as an homage to free-spirited, creative women and their deep connection to nature, using the archetype of the witch as its central theme.
The project consists of several components:
- Photo Book: A 160-page art book featuring analog photography, stories and poems designed and written by Steenhorst. The book features Limburg-based artists Kim and Rafke Hotterbeekx, who served as models as "witch sisters" .
- Hiking Trail: On February 1, 2026, a new hiking route by the same name was officially opened in Gronsveld (South Limburg). This 12 km trail winds through the Savelsbos forest and includes a self published hiking map with QR codes that lead hikers through the landscapes and connect the photo series and artworks of Steenhorst and the Hotterbeekx sisters with local witch stories and folklore.
- Exhibitions: The photoseries of Steenhorst and the art of the Hotterbeekx sisters has been exhibited at the Cutureel Podium Lutherse Kerk in Maastricht in late 2025 and at Streekmuseum Grueles on February 1st 2026.
Art Exhibition at Cultureel podium Lutherse Kerk Maastricht, the Netherlands
Artists Ingeborg Steenhorst, Rafke Hotterbeekx and Kim Hotterbeekx showcasing the art book and Hiking Map at bookstore Dominicanen Maastricht
Editorial in PF Photography Magazine
Hiking route Den Hekse Weeg - The Witches Road
The hiking route Den Hekse Weeg start at Gronsveld, Limburg
The Hiking map can be purchased at the near by located streekmuseum Grueles
Subsidies and Financial Support
The project received backing from several local and regional organizations to realize its multidisciplinary goals:
- Municipality of Eijsden-Margraten: The municipality provided direct financial support for the hiking trail part of the art project. They also funded and installed the permanent Corten steel information panels that mark the start of the trail, as part of their initiative to make heritage visible in public spaces.
- Municipality of Maastricht: The project received a specific grant from the Municipality of Maastricht. This financial support was essential for the realization of the exhibition weekend (November 22-23, 2025) in Cultureel podium Lutherse Kerk. Thanks to this grant, admission to the exhibition remained free for the public, lowering the barrier to experiencing the combination of analog photography, costume design, and local mythology. The municipality saw the project as a valuable contribution to local cultural experience and the connection between the city and the surrounding nature.
- Nature & Heritage Organizations: Further development of the hiking route was supported by Grueles Heemkundekring Gronsveld, Vereniging tot Natuurbehoud (VTN) Cadier en Keer and the Historische Kring Cadier en Keer.
- Private Fundraising: To ensure the continued growth and maintenance of the trail and regional nature conservation, the collective auctioned their first joint artwork, "The Dance," on eBay in February 2026.
Impressions of the photoseries
The Dance
The unique collaborative artwork, "The Dance," revealing the unique interplay between Steenhorst and the Hotterbeekx sisters, is an ode to the sisterly, magical, and natural landscape that surrounds and inspires us. It combines photography, pen and ink drawing, and ceramics into a single, layered whole. An image that balances between past and present, between visible and hidden worlds.
Artists:
Ingeborg Steenhorst — photography & costume design
Kim Hotterbeekx — textile art, pen and ink drawings
Rafke Hotterbeekx — ceramics
Artwork details:
• Size: 120 × 80 cm
• Materials: photo print, micron pen, and pastel pencil on textile, decorated with embroidery, ceramic amulets, and beads. Stretched across wooden branches from the area photographed.
