Sculpture garden to return to Amsterdam’s Stedelijk Museum
The museum of modern and contemporary art and design Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam will reintroduce a sculpture garden in the autumn of 2024 in front of its entrance, the museum announced on Tuesday. In honor of Amsterdam's 750th anniversary, the garden will showcase various works from the museum's collection.
The garden will be located in front of the current museum entrance, where a garden existed until the beginning of the century. Featuring over ten sculptures of different sizes, the garden will be free to visit during the day, while in the evening, the sculptures will be illuminated behind the museum's glass facade, visible from Museumplein.
“This is our gift to the city and its residents in honor of Amsterdam's 750th anniversary,” said Rein Wolfs, director of Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. “We aim to create a new cultural hub in the heart of Amsterdam, 150 years after the museum's founding,” he added.
Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema expressed enthusiasm for the initiative. “In Amsterdam, we are working on a New Amsterdam Alliance (Nieuw Amsterdams Verbond), where residents, institutions, and companies work together. This sculpture garden from the Stedelijk Museum is a gift to the city that fits in seamlessly.”
The museum’s entrance area will receive “a complete makeover.” The museum wants to transform it into “a place for gathering and experience” with a seating area, coffee bar, and reading table for various uses. Renovations are also planned for the restaurant on the ground floor and the café on the first floor.
For this redesign, the museum is collaborating with French architect Paul Cournet. The sculpture garden is funded by the Don Quixote Foundation, a non-profit organization. Further details about the sculpture garden and the new entrance concept will be announced later.
In a similar development, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam recently received a record 12.5 million euro donation for its free sculpture garden exhibitions from an anonymous private donor.
