Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam is set to open its doors in 100 days – on 6th November 2021 – making the entire internationally renowned art collection of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen accessible to the public. Museums around the world usually display just 6 to 10 percent of their collections; the rest lies in storage. Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen breaks with this hidden tradition and makes all the invisible artworks visible – a world first. In the iconic, mirrored art depot designed by MVRDV the museum’s 151,000 artefacts are placed at the heart of the city. In this building the collection can be seen en masse and the care, handling and restoration of artefacts takes centre stage. The visitor can observe what happens behind the scenes at a museum, what the conservation and stewardship of a collection entails. What goes on in the depot is by no means staged: the ‘back office’ of the museum has become its ‘front desk’ and the care for the collection has become part of the public programme. Besides the various spaces for storage and care, the Rotterdam art depot accommodates various private depot compartments and at an elevation of 34 metres there is a restaurant and events space – as well as an award-winning rooftop forest. Online ticket sales will commence on 1st September via the museum’s website.
