Amsterdam Museum Festival kicks off: 100th anniversary, 100 days of celebrations

From Thursday 3 September to 11 December, the Amsterdam Museum is celebrating its 100th anniversary with a festive programme of events lasting 100 days. With the Amsterdam Museum Festival, featuring a host of activities across the city, the museum invites all Amsterdammers to join in the celebrations. The programme, most of which is free, includes workshops, guided tours of the Collection Centre, an anniversary book, a podcast series and a symposium.

The Amsterdam Museum Festival takes place across the whole city. For a hundred days, the museum organises daily activities for a wide range of audiences, with the museum’s collection taking centre stage.

Visitors can take part in special 100th-anniversary guided tours, come along to one of the Amsterdam Museum’s venues each week to enjoy a slice of birthday cake, and, at various times, take a peek inside the Collection Centre, which is not normally open to the public. In addition, everyone can have their own birthday portrait made and take part in workshops on disciplines featured in the Amsterdam Museum’s collection, such as ceramics, textile arts and paper-making. There is also a ten-part podcast series, an anniversary boat tour and two anniversary books.

At the end of the festival, the Amsterdam Museum is organising a symposium on a century of collecting. The focus will be on how the collection has developed over the past hundred years and which stories still need to be told in the future. The festive conclusion to the 100-day celebrations will feature the Great Collection Polonaise Show and a quiz about the collection, organised in collaboration with Ons Amsterdam.

The Amsterdam Museum’s website features a calendar listing all activities, dates, times, venues and any admission charges (many of the events are free).

3 September: free anniversary medal

On Thursday 3 September, from 2.00 pm to 8.00 pm, everyone is welcome free of charge at the Amsterdam Museum’s main venue (currently closed for renovation) at Kalverstraat 92. This is where the Amsterdam Museum Festival will kick off. Visitors can enjoy performances, have their photo taken, leave a message in a time capsule and, of course, enjoy a slice of cake. And as it’s our birthday, we’re treating everyone: all visitors that day will receive a unique anniversary medal. This replica of the historic Burgerweeshuis medal from 1749 has been specially produced in a limited edition to mark the museum’s 100th anniversary and grants free entry to the refurbished Amsterdam Museum during its opening weeks in 2030.

Creative Grounds

As part of its anniversary celebrations, the Amsterdam Museum is also launching the Creative Grounds event. The Amsterdam Museum’s main venue, the former Burgerweeshuis on Kalverstraat, is currently undergoing renovation. Through this event, the Amsterdam Museum aims to connect young artists with the city centre and the museum’s collection whilst it is temporarily unable to operate from that location. The museum is achieving this through art commissions, research and an annual three-day event featuring showcases, workshops, talks, tours and performances at various venues in the city centre. The first edition, centred on the theme of craftsmanship, will take place on 18, 19 and 20 September, featuring artists and designers such as Ella de Haas, Jero Leeflang, Zoe Smith and Tijmen IJsendijk, and partners including the BIZ Kalverstraat, Athenaeum Nieuwscentrum, De Nachbar, Het Vrijpaleis, Spui25 and Theater de Richel.

Chief Curator Imara Limon: ‘The museum’s mission is to connect people with the city and with one another. That is also what we are doing with this festival. The anniversary is not just a look back, but also a celebration of the fact that the Amsterdam Museum and the heritage we manage belong to and are for everyone.’’