Join the Ivy Circle for A look behind the scenes at the depot of the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (SMA), the premier modern art museum of the Netherlands. Optional extension to the SMA on Museumplein will depend on the level of interest.
The depot of the SMA is a high-tech, temperature and humidity-controlled warehouse where most of the museum’s collection is analyzed, treated where necessary, prepared for transport, and stored. The depot also constructs its own one-of-a-kind crates for shipping artwork to museums around the world.
Some of the daily challenges are:
- preserving renowned artworks, including paintings, sculptures (wood, ceramic and metal), applied art, digital art, and works on paper, the last of which includes many different types of paper as many different inks, from India ink to various generations of inkjet printers.
- blending scientific analysis and aesthetic judgment to maintain the integrity of the artwork
- special handling: how do they ship these things safely around the world anyway? (hint: it’s as much about satisfying insurance companies and lawyers as curators and conservators)
When: Thursday, September 3
Where: Gyroscoopweg 16, Amsterdam-West
Cost: €15, including entrance to the museum (normally €20 alone). Direct bus transport from the depot to Museumplein may be available for an additional €15. Public transport connections from the depot are poor and require a 20-minute walk to Station Sloterdijk.
Schedule: 17.00 – 17.30 welcome
17.30 – 19.30 depot tour. Three different specialists talk about their work, one for each of the three topics above.
NOTE: No food or drink is allowed in the depot. It’s an intensive care facility for artwork. Bring mints.
Access: Plenty of free parking. By public transportation, it’s a 20-minute walk from station Sloterdijk.
OPTIONAL ADD-ONS:
For those with more stamina, two optional extensions at Stedelijk on Museumplein are available:
- dinner in the museum restaurant, located in “the Bathtub”, the new extension; and
- special access for a guided tour with an art historian of the main exhibition, “ZERO”, (click here: http://stedelijk.nl/en/exhibitions/zero-let-us-explore-the-stars)
These options can be added depending on the level of interest. Dinner would be at cost, payable directly to the restaurant; access to the museum and the tour are free. For an additional fee we can also arrange bus transportation from the depot to the museum. The museum closes at 10:00 p.m.
NOTE: This event can accommodate a maximum of 40 guests. Payment secures your spot. See payment details below.
Please RSVP to Richard N. Golden (rng (at) balticcapital.net), specifying the number of people, names and preferences as follows so that we can tailor the event to our membership’s overall preferences:
A: depot visit only
B: depot + dinner only at the museum café (NO guided tour of the ZERO exhibit upstairs in the museum)
C: the full boat: depot + dinner + a guided tour of the ZERO exhibit upstairs in the museum
D: only dinner + a guided tour of the ZERO exhibit upstairs (NO visit to the depot)
Payment €15,- per person by Monday September 1st to Ivy Circle Netherlands account NL83 TRIO 0254 8413 09, include your name + number of guests as payment reference. Depending on response for dinner + tour upstairs , we may pre-order dinner to save time as we would be sitting down between 8 and 8:15 p.m and the museum closes at 10 p.m.
