Rotterdam institutions launch own Museum Night

The cultural institutions in Rotterdam will continue the Rotterdam Museum Night themselves.

The thirteenth edition of the Museum Night will take place on Saturday, March 7th, as scheduled. Visitors will no longer have to pay the 15 euro entrance, but may attend the event for free. The cultural festival will have a shorter duration than before. In terms of costs, the cultural institutions agreed to an end time of 23:00 p.m.

Earlier this week the Museum Night Foundation (Stichting Museumnacht), decided to withdraw from the festival. The reason for this was the decision of the six cultural institutions around the Mueseumpark to open the doors for free. It is a problem for the great museums that they make their own programs and receive the most visitors, but will receive no financial compensation from the entrance fees.

"Then we can organize Museum Night just as well ourselves and provide free access." says Sjarel Ex, director of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, on behalf of the various institutions. He estimates that the 60 cultural institutions taking part in Museum Night have around 40 communication employees. "Together they can organize a great Museum Night."

Ex finds it regrettable that the Museum Night Foundation has withdrawn from the festival. "They did a good job in past years. And everyone find the Museum Night a fun festival. But some matters can not be discussed with them."