Towards a Museum

“We are here now, at the building site, at the museum as work in progress. We wish for it to remain a work in progress, in continuous change, beyond its opening” – Beatrix Ruf 
 
We celebrated with our contractor JP van Eesteren the beginning of the construction of the Hartwig Museum. In a special ceremony we sealed a time capsule filled with meaningful items: Alderwoman Touria Meliani’s first Dutch residency permit, performance mementos from Julien Creuzet & Ana Pi, the ‘orgasm energy chart’ from General Idea & AA Bronson, a handwritten note from the original architect Ben Loerakker, placed in the capsule by his grandson Jan Loerakker, now part of the museum’s architectural team, and many other personal contributions from neighbours, schoolchildren, artists, friends, and colleagues. Each item symbolises personal hopes and wishes for the Hartwig Museum, becoming part of its foundation for centuries to come.  
 
For the design leading up to our building permit, we owe a big thanks to OMA and ABT. For the execution, we continue to work closely with a collective of designers, including Jan Loerakker and his team at LOA, JAM (London) and Formafantasma (Milan). 

The former brutalist courthouse still needs some work before it’s ready to open its doors as a museum in 2028. In the meantime, there’s something new and exciting in the making, just around the corner—literally! Proxy, a temporary public and meeting space, will soon open its doors on the Parnassusweg in Amsterdam. Proxy will be a neighourhood salon in continuous progress, a testing ground for our museum, and a place to grab a coffee, read a magazine, discuss new ideas or simply hang out. 

We’ll keep you updated on this page and through our social media channels (Instagram, LinkedIn) with the latest developments. For specific construction updates, especially for our neighbours, please consult the website of J.P. van Eesteren (in Dutch).

We are very pleased to announce that we will be starting the next phase of the construction process. The preparatory work has been completed, and this month we will begin the first demolition work on the non-monumental parts of the building.

The monumental part of the courthouse, designed by Ben Loerakker, will be completely renovated in the coming years, while preserving its characteristic features. In addition, a new section will be added to create space for the future museum. Building section F, located behind the monument, will be demolished to make way for modern new construction. This will result in a unique blend of historical and contemporary architecture.

Materials from the demolition will be reused as much as possible.

You can find more information and updates about the construction process on this website (in Dutch).

The preparatory phase of the construction will begin in November. For the latest updates from the contractor, please consult this website (in Dutch).

The Amsterdam City Council (the gemeenteraad) has voted in favour of the new zoning plan for Parnassusweg 220. This positive decision marks a major step forward towards the establishment of the new museum for contemporary art in Amsterdam.

Hartwig Art Foundation will be renting the former courthouse from the municipality. In the coming years, we will be making considerable investments from our own resources to renovate and extend the monumental building in order to bring it to the highest standards of sustainability, accessibility and design. This ambitious project represents a long-term commitment of the foundation to the city to provide a permanent space dedicated to the research, production and presentation of contemporary visual art, time-based art and future art forms in Amsterdam.

Please consult our latest Programmes and our Production | Collection Fund.

We are delighted that the board of the Mayor and Aldermen (the college van Burgermeester en Wethouders) of Amsterdam has voted positively to offer the zoning plan to Amsterdam’s City Council. Please consult their letter to the council here (in Dutch).

The support of the college brings us a step closer to establishing a new museum with which we hope to stimulate the production and visibility of contemporary art in Amsterdam and beyond and as such contribute to the creative fabric and cultural heritage in the Netherlands. The museum will be located within the vibrant Zuidas area in south Amsterdam, in the former courthouse building on the Parnassusweg.

Amsterdam City Council (the gemeenteraad) are scheduled to debate and vote on the adoption of the zoning plan on 5 Oct.

Please consult our website for full details of all active programmes and our Production | Collection Fund.

We’ve entered a new phase in the realisation of the future museum for contemporary art in Amsterdam. Today the municipality has released the zoning plan amendment for the new museum and the provisional environmental permit for the renovation of the former courthouse on Parnassusweg. Both are available for inspection from 3 Feb. until 19 Mar. 2022. For more information please consult www.zuidas.nl.

Last October, we extensively informed local residents about the museum’s plans during a special information evening with the municipality. A residents’ committee has also been set up in collaboration with the municipality to discuss the plans surrounding the old court building on behalf of the local residents. The neighbours will be invited again soon to an extra information meeting in which they can ask questions about the permits directly to the municipality, the designers and the initiators of the project.

In the meantime, we remain active through our partnerships and via Hartwig Art Production | Collection Fund.

We are happy that the City Council has agreed to the purchase of the monumental old court house at the Parnassusweg in Amsterdam from the Rijksvastgoedbedrijf. This makes it possible for Hartwig Art Foundation to rent this building from the City of Amsterdam for a new museum for contemporary art in the Zuidas district in Amsterdam.

Hartwig Art Foundation is in talks with the City of Amsterdam about a new museum for contemporary art in Amsterdam. The final decision on this matter lies with the City Council of Amsterdam, which will meet and decide on the matter in mid-September.

Our ambition is to add a leading international museum of contemporary art to the rich institutional art landscape of Amsterdam. The plan is to establish the museum in the monumental building of the former court building on the Parnassusweg.

If the decision of the City Council is positive, Hartwig Art Foundation will rent the former Court building from the City Council. We will cover all costs ourselves and will also renovate and develop the building at our own risk and expense. The museum will not request a subsidy from the city. The Amsterdam Arts Council has issued a positive recommendation on the plans. The Board is pleased with this initiative and considers it a great gift to the city.

The plan is for the museum – with the temporary name Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) – to become a centre where artists and thinkers can produce and exhibitions of new art can be held. Therefore, in addition to exhibition spaces, the museum will also have studios, accommodation for artists and makers of many disciplines, workshops and diverse hospitality formats. The MCA wants to be a host and home for artists and creative producers, it will not build its own collection. The art created by the artists and selectively purchased by the MCA will be donated to the collection of the Dutch state (‘Rijkscollectie’). Inspired by the national heritage idea of the ‘Collectie Nederland’, we want to contribute to a collection of contemporary art that is available to all institutions within the country and also internationally.

Our vision for the MCA is to have everything under one roof: the public spaces to exhibit, learn, share and discuss, the people who produce knowledge and art, and the facilities to experiment and create. This concept of a contemporary institution and public forum that offers living, working and exhibition spaces combined with gardens and kitchens is a reinterpretation of the model that museums had in their historical beginnings.

We want to become a public place and a forum dedicated to artists and creative production to explore the questions of our time. We want to engage in dialogue and active encounters with the many voices of makers, audiences and communities, and be a home for all who contribute to our diversity.

In the transformation and expansion of the monumental building into a museum, the MCA will commit itself to the highest standards of long-term ecological thinking.

We are now working hard to further develop our plans and obtain the necessary permits to make the building suitable for the new museum. It will be an accessible and approachable museum and a place for new talents from all creative disciplines. Above all, it wants to be a host for artists. Art will not only be shown, but also created. Therefore, in addition to exhibition spaces, the museum will also have studios, accommodation for artists, spaces for workshops and catering. The museum will not be building its own collection, but will donate its purchases to the ‘Rijkscollectie’, the art collection of the Dutch state.

We are pleased to announce that in designing and renovating the building, we are assured of the commitment of an inspiring group of designers and advisors, including architects Samir Bantal and Rem Koolhaas (AMO/OMA), Philippe Braun (OMA) and Jan Loerakker (LOA), the engineers of Oosterhoff in collaboration with sustainability experts Transsolar and LOLA Landscape Architects. The aim is to create a building that accommodates the dynamic world of contemporary art and already meets the climate requirements of 2050 upon completion.

In the coming period, we will discuss this further with the Bureau Monumenten en Archeologie (the Bureau for Monuments and Archaeology in The Netherlands), the CRK committee (which advises the Amsterdam municipal authorities about the quality of spatial developments), the neighbourhood and the authorities involved.