Enhancing the museum experience
Three hundred and fifty years after it was built and almost thirty five years after it became a museum it had become clear that the building was no longer fit as a modern-day museum. The building could hardly cope with the growing number of visitors, making it difficult to provide the interactive experience that the audience demanded.
A major renovation in 2011 has turned the National Maritime Museum into a modern museum, where experience comes first. Multimedia, games and plays for children have been added to the traditional exposition and have turned a simple visit into an interactive happening. With the refurbishment, its commercial strength has increased and with it, it’s reputation as a high quality museum and event locale for meetings. Triodos Cultuurfonds financed part of the renovation costs.
These are the kind of commercial activities that generate an important part of the total income of the museum. Moreover, they also attract people who usually would not visit a museum.
The role of Triodos Culture Fund
This project is a prime example of the kind that Triodos Cultuurfonds finances. “We see it as our primary role to facilitate cultural entrepreneurship”, says fund manager Eric Holterhues. The past few years have shown that the culture sector needs to diversify its sources of income and diminish its dependency on (state) subsidies, in order to stay attractive and competitive. Governments have increasingly cut their spending, forcing the sector to look for alternatives.”
In the case of the Maritime Museum, Triodos Cultuurfonds financed part of the renovation and refurbishment of the museum shop and the restaurant. “These are the kind of commercial activities that generate an important part of the total income of the museum. Moreover, they also attract people who usually would not visit a museum ,” explains Holterhues. “Whether by facilitating the diversification and increase of the sources of income, or by facilitating a decrease of the cost base, for example by financing affordable workspace for artists, the goal of Triodos Cultuurfonds is to help maintain a viable cultural sector that as many people as possible can enjoy.”
Golden Age glory
The museum’s history is rather extensive. Originally the Arsenal of the Amsterdam Admiralty, it was built in 1656, during the Golden Age, when the city was the largest port and market place in the world and Dutch vessels roamed the seas. Today, the building remains an imposing and impressive building with a great deal of character. It exudes history, making it the perfect location for The National Maritime Museum, which has been housed here since 1973.
Visitors ahoy
The result of the renovation is a modernised museum that brings The Netherlands to life as ‘the country of water.’ Visitors from all over the world discover how the Dutch culture was formed by the sea. However, the Maritime Museum is more than just a museum. Given the idea to turn the building also into a special and comfortable meeting place, gastronomical functions also played an important part in the renovation plans.
For an overview of Triodos Cultuurfonds, please visit the Arts and Culture investment strategy page.