Amsterdam Museum is celebrating its 100th anniversary with a 100-day festival

The Amsterdam Museum is celebrating its 100th anniversary. From 3 September to 11 December 2026, the Amsterdam Museum will be marking this special occasion with a festive programme of events lasting 100 days. With the Amsterdam Museum Festival With a packed programme of activities across the city, the museum invites all Amsterdammers to join in the celebrations for this anniversary. In addition, for 100 days, the Amsterdam Museum will be spotlighting one Amsterdammer and one item from its collection every day.

100 Years of the Amsterdam Museum

Since its opening on 2 November 1926 in the Waag, the Amsterdam Museum has been telling the story of the city and its inhabitants. What began as the Amsterdam Historical Museum, part of the City of Amsterdam’s Municipal Museums department, has grown into a museum that collects, researches and presents the many stories of Amsterdam. Over the past hundred years, the museum has built up a collection of over 100,000 objects, ranging from 17th-century militia paintings to contemporary art, fashion and everyday objects.

Key milestones over the past 100 years include the opening of the Burgerweeshuis site by Queen Juliana (1975), the change of name to Amsterdam Museum (2011), the construction of a new storage facility (2009) and the temporary closure of the historic main site due to large-scale renovation work (2022).

At the same time, the museum gained national recognition through high-profile exhibitions such as Poverty in the Golden Age (1965), All Amsterdammers (1985) on immigration, Right Wrong (1989) the very first exhibition in the Netherlands on queerness, The World at Your Fingertips (1992) on Dutch art and curiosities collections, I’d much rather go to Amsterdam (2006) on the Amsterdam ‘levenslied’, the launch of the programme series New Narratives (2017), The Most Beautiful City, an exhibition curated by Eberhard van der Laan, the mayor, shortly before his death (2018), the digital exhibition Corona in the City (2020) and *The Golden Carriage* (2021).

The Amsterdam Museum was the first institution to introduce gender-neutral toilets (2015) and decided to stop using the term ‘Golden Age’ as a synonym for the seventeenth century (2019). The museum pioneered the creation of exhibitions and programmes in collaboration with communities across the city. Over the years, the museum has also welcomed numerous distinguished guests, including Queen Elizabeth II (2007) and Johan Cruijff (2012).

Managing Director Judikje Kiers: ‘Over the past 100 years, the Amsterdam Museum has evolved from ’a museum about the history of Amsterdam“ to ”a museum about the past, the present and the future. “: from a historical collection in the Waag to a participatory city museum that actively engages with the city of today and tomorrow, and where diverse perspectives on Amsterdam’s history come together. Our centenary therefore not only marks a century of history, but also highlights the museum’s ongoing development as a place for and by all Amsterdammers.”’

100 Amsterdammers, 100 items from the collection

At the heart of the anniversary programme are 100 Amsterdammers and 100 items from the collection. Over the course of 100 days, one object from the collection will take centre stage each day. One hundred Amsterdammers will explain on the Amsterdam Museum’s social media channels why that particular object is meaningful to them. Together, their stories form a multi-voiced portrait of Amsterdam. For example, Oos Kesbeke talks about the Pickle-Sticking Machine (1936) and Hui Hui Pan about the series of drawings Before I was born (2020) by Tja Ling Hu.

Mediacast series

Alongside the daily stories, a ten-part mediacast (a podcast with video) is being released. In each episode, a curator from the Amsterdam Museum talks to an Amsterdam resident about an object from the collection and the personal story associated with it. This creates a deeper insight into both the collection and the people who make up the city. Contributors to the podcast include Henk Schiffmacher, Natasja Kensmil, Judith Zilversmit and Ellen Deckwitz.

Amsterdam Museum Festival

The anniversary will be celebrated with a festival spanning the whole city. For a hundred days, the museum will be organising daily activities for a wide range of audiences, with the museum’s collection taking centre stage. Two anniversary books will also be published, an anniversary boat tour will be organised, and various exhibitions will open. Amsterdam Museum Festival – Celebrating 100 years of the city museum in 100 days will take place from Thursday 3 September to Friday 11 December 2026.