Rijksmuseum named European Museum of the Year

The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam has won the European Museum of the Year award for 2015. The European Museum of the Year Awards is organized by the European Museum Forum and the winner was announced in Glasgow, Scotland on Saturday. The museum received the EMYA trophy The Egg which it will keep fore one year. According to the European Museum Forum, the Rijksmuseum's decade long renovations lead to new concourse spaces, much better visitor services and circulation. "The stunning restoration of original wall-collections, a new Asian Art pavilion and a new medieval gallery: all celebrate the range and depth of the Museum's collections vividly." the forum writes on their website. The forum also called the Rijksmuseum's diverse educational and outreach programs "notable, impressive and achievable". "This is a great museum, at the height of its powers, providing a rich experience to the public, and a socially aware outreach program for visitors of all ages". The Late Rembrandt exhibition recently closed at the Rijksmuseum. The exhibition attracted more than half a million visitors to the museum - a record number. This led to some complaints that the exhibition was too crowded to enjoy properly. Director Wim Pijbes initially denied this, saying that busyness is "no measurable unit, but an experience". He later admitted that the exhibit may be too crowded and the museum decided to sell fewer tickets per time slot to spread the crowds out and make it a more enjoyable experience to all visitors. According to Pijbes, the exhibition was "a great success".