Dutch museum's open mirrored depot to bring overlooked 151,000 artworks out of basement

Rotterdam’s Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum is embarking on a bold mission to display more of its collection to the public. Moving forward, the museum will house its collection in a gleaming mirror-coated new depot, a work of art in itself, that will open to the public next year after 151,000 art pieces are transferred.

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Museums endeavour to display more of its collection

Museums across the world only display a very small portion of their collection of paintings, sculptures, and other works. This is because the museums have limited space and are thus forced to carefully curate the collections that go on display.

While speaking to The Associated Press, Rotterdam’s Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen’s director Sjarel Ex said, "You mount about 6% of the collection — it could be 10 — but then you have 90% in storage. What is the public responsibility to not show 90%?” 

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Another reason behind the ambitious project remains that the museum's basement has become prone to flooding, thus putting countless artworks in the museum’s collection at risk. As per reports, the new depot is located in the heart of Rotterdam’s Museum Park and consists of over 1,500 mirrored panels. Several individuals and organisations that wished to show support for the new building have adopted many of the building's glass panels at fixed prices. The new depot reportedly cost over $100 million.

The new deport has been designed by award-winning architect Winy Maas who is known for the spectacular arch-shaped Market Hall in Rotterdam. The new depot is in the middle of a park and is surrounded by other museums. 

When asked about the security plan for the open depot, the museum director said “You can see you have cameras. You have very strong glass doors. You have hidden secrets. And we feel comfortable.”

(With AP inputs; Image Credits: AP)

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