Part of Van Abbemuseum temporarily closed in spring 2025

Next spring, from 3 March to 27 April 2025, the Van Abbemuseum will invest in making the climate system in the Collection Building more sustainable. This will ensure an optimal and controllable environment in which artworks can be safely exhibited. As a result of this renovation, a part of the museum is temporarily closed. A large part of the 162 works on display in the collection presentation Delinking and Relinking will move to the Old Building for a temporary exhibition exposing the friction between collection preservation and climate change. The Hidden Connections exhibition will also close during these eight weeks.

Climate inside the museum

Wood, paper, textiles, metal or paint: works of art and historical objects are often made of fragile materials. This makes them sensitive to changes in temperature, humidity, light and contamination. Therefore, for the preservation of museum pieces, a stable and controlled environment is essential. Besides a technical responsibility, the Van Abbemuseum, as a public institution, also has an ethical duty to safeguard heritage for future generations. Since 2023, action has been taken to make the museum more sustainable, within the guidelines of the Smart Sustainability programme. An important step in this was the installation of a new heat pump, which led to a 50% reduction in gas consumption, Replacing old air conditioning systems with sustainable fans and filters, will further reduce energy consumption. In 2025, traditional lighting will be replaced by energy-efficient LED lamps. These measures significantly reduce CO2 emissions and gas and electricity consumption.

Climate outside the museum

Museums' maintenance of such a stable environment is still accompanied by high energy consumption despite all measures. This has an impact on the climate outside the museum walls, creating a certain tension. Globally, the earth is warming up, ecosystems are being disrupted and extreme weather situations are becoming more frequent. What does it mean to strive for an ideal indoor climate for the preservation of art, while the world outside is becoming increasingly fickle? Can we embrace this friction and use it for new connections? And what limitations do our own museum walls pose in this regard?

Temporary exhibition and special programme

To bridge this interim period, an open-depot exhibition with works from the collection's presentation Delinking and Relinking will open in the Old Building. This makes it possible to continue admiring masterpieces from the collection, but with new stories. The temporary exhibition emphasises art as a social phenomenon. This by showing how works acquire meaning through (historical) interactions with the changing environments around them.