Press release Vernieuwd Museum De Lakenhal: museum van en voor Leiden met presentaties van middeleeuwse tijd tot en met hedendaagse kunst

1 March 2019

Restored Museum De Lakenhal: Museum of and for Leiden with exhibits from the Middle Ages to contemporary art

After the festive reopening of Museum De Lakenhal, the collection of visual art, crafts and history will again be available for viewing in the restored galleries. Seven core narratives, from the 16th century to today, are central to the exhibits. The new wing is dedicated exclusively to temporary exhibitions, while all exhibits in the restored museum are from Leiden-based sources. Museum De Lakenhal will again be returned to the public in June; everyone is welcome during the free opening festival from 20 to 23 June.

Contemporary art

The new exhibition galleries will be dedicated to two exhibitions of contemporary art. Four houses on Lammermarkt dating from around 1900 needed to make way for the new Museum De Lakenhal building. As a final tribute to these buildings and their history, artist Marjan Teeuwen realised the historic project Verwoest Huis Leiden in 2015. The series of photos she produced of this were acquired for the museum collection and can be viewed from June. A series of works by Belgian photographer Karin Borghouts will be exhibited in the second gallery and record the transformation of the museum building. Borghouts used her camera to track the renovation process in Museum De Lakenhal from 2016. She meandered through the museum on many occasions, hunting for powerful images of demolition, of rediscovered historic constructions and of the chaos of renovation, with an eye for those sometimes unremarkable but nevertheless unique details.

Eleven contemporary art commissions for restored museum

The result of the eleven art commissions issued by Museum De Lakenhal during the restoration and expansion can be seen from June; these have the collection, building and history as source of inspiration. This series of works offers a current impression of art, crafts and history in Leiden. The following artists were commissioned to produce works: Mark Dion (US), Sophie Ernst (Berlin/Oxford), Kolk en Kusters (Eindhoven), Hansje van Halem (Amsterdam), Karin Borghouts (Belgium), Aleksandra Gaca (Delft), Ilja Leonard Pfeiffer as well as Leiden artists Iemke van Dijk, Ankie Stoutjesdijk and Thomas Raat. Christie van der Haak, Mae Engelgeer, Edwin Oudshoorn, Petra Blaisse/ Inside Outside and Claudy Jongstra designed Nieuw Leids Laken for the museum.

Seven core narratives reflecting past and present

The new exhibition wing means that the collection no longer needs to make way for temporary exhibitions. From now on, the existing building will be dedicated entirely to the collection. Seven core narratives have been selected from the sizeable collection of around 23,000 objects: The Siege and Relief of Leiden, Leiden as the cradle of the Golden Age, Leiden a University City, Devotion in Middle Ages and Renaissance, Seven centuries of Leiden cloth, Collectors in the 18th century and The modernisation of life. An eighth narrative has been added to this: that of the museum building itself, the largest collection highlight. Following the restoration, the 17th-century listed building can again be admired in all its glory.

Museum De Lakenhal functions on the intersection between present and past, making history recognisable in the here and now. Visitors to the restored museum will come face to face throughout the building with contemporary works of art by local, national and international artists. Modern and contemporary art exhibits can be viewed including by Marlene Dumas, Atelier van Lieshout, Erwin Olaf, Eric van der Schalie, Bertien van Maanen, Roy Villevoye, Gert Gemeraad, as well as Leiden artists Barthel Brussee, Koen Hauser, Onno S/Allart L., Rob Overmeer and Edwin Oudshoorn.

Of and for the city

From the reopening, Museum De Lakenhal will be presenting itself as an inspiring collection museum in which narratives are told using Leiden-based sources that impact beyond the city and national borders. Everyone is welcome in the inclusive museum: Leiden residents, and visitors from the region, the Netherlands, Europe, the world as well as online. Meta Knol, Director of Museum De Lakenhal: ‘Museum De Lakenhal is a public institute. The museum exists by the grace of public support. We are looking forward to sharing Leiden’s unique narratives and exhibition highlights with the public. We’ve really missed that.’

About Museum De Lakenhal

Museum De Lakenhal is the visual arts, history and crafts museum of the city of Leiden. The city’s illustrious past is highlighted in seven collection presentations, including The Cradle of the Golden Age, Leiden University City, The Siege and Relief of Leiden, and Seven Centuries of ‘Leids Laken’. The internationally renowned collection contains numerous highlights such as Lucas van Leyden’s ‘Last Judgment’ (approximately 1526-27), beautifully stained glass, and paintings by Rembrandt and contemporaries. Since 1874 the museum has been located in a monumental 17th-century hall for woollen fabrics, carefully restored in 2017-2019 and expanded with modern architecture. The unique encounters between past and present that occur here make Museum De Lakenhal a source of inspiration for all!