Craving for Boijmans

Programme

Craving for Boijmans is a unique project in Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, which is now a construction site. To mark the museum’s 175th anniversary, we are opening the building to the public for five weeks from 1 June 1 to 7 July 2024. A special art route through the building celebrates seven memorable events from Boijmans’ history, which are brought to life again in different ways through works from the collection and documentation. We have invited seven contemporary artists to reflect on these memories through their work. Videos displayed at six places along the route explore the building’s various parts and its construction history. And there’s a varied programme of activities, including workshops and a special edition of Rotterdam Late Night. And an anniversary edition of Art4Kids, a kids-only exhibition in which children can buy editioned artworks by well-known artists without their parents’ advice. 

Four special components

Dozens of works are displayed throughout the museum. Some are from the collection. Others are brand new. Here we highlight four newsworthy components of the programme. The full programme and a press kit are available on the museum’s website.


melanie bonajo – When the body says Yes 

In the majestic Bodon gallery, melanie bonajo (note: small letters!) is showing a new version of their video installation When the body says Yes, made in collaboration with Théo Demans, which was the Dutch entry at the Venice Biennale in 2022. This new version is being shown for first time in the Netherlands. It explores the search for human connection and equality, and refers to Peter Greenaway’s exhibition The Physical Self, which focused on the human body and was installed in the Bodon gallery in 1991-92.   


Adrianus Kundert – Labyrinth 

Welcoming visitors in the museum’s courtyard – freely accessible to all – is Adrianus Kundert’s Labyrinth, a maze of brightly coloured, inflatable elements in which you have to find your own way. Labyrinth echoes other playful artworks that have been installed in the courtyard or the museum’s entrance area, such as the football cage by Olaf Nicolai and the carousel cloakroom by Studio Wieki Somers.


Chinese porcelain from the collection of Elie van Rijckevorsel 

When the museum opened in 1935, it showed Chinese porcelain from the collection of Elie van Rijckevorsel (1845-1928). In 2001, as part of the exhibition Unpacking Europe, the artist Ni Haifeng commented on the relationship between Europe and China by covering his skin with motifs and texts. During Craving for Boijmans, we are showing Van Rijckevorsel’s porcelain collection and Haifeng’s work again in this gallery. 


Berndnaut Smilde – 10 sec. ether 

Berndnaut Smilde can only create his clouds in cold and humid spaces, conditions that are normally unacceptable in a museum. But Boijmans isn’t currently a normal museum, allowing us a unique opportunity to show them during Craving for Boijmans. Smilde’s clouds are as unpredictable and magical as those in the sky and their fleeting presence underlines the ephemeral energy of Craving for Boijmans. 

Museum's garden and Henket pavilion

Museum's garden and Henket pavilion

The museum’s garden will also be open to the public. It will be accessible free of charge during the day. There will be an extra programme of activities in the Henket pavilion, which was granted monument status in 2023. With a few exceptions, this programme will be free of charge,. More information about this programme will follow later. Craving for Boijmans is being organised in partnership with AIR and Rotterdam City Council. It is part of Rotterdam Architecture Month 2024, for which the Museumpark forms the epicentre this year.

Craving for Boijmans has been realised in partnership with AIR and the Municipality of Rotterdam and is part of Rotterdam Architecture Month 2024.

Craving for Boijmans has been made possible by:  

Sponsors: Stichting Bevordering van Volkskracht, VriendenLoterij, Mondriaan Fund, Fonds 21, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen Foundation, Erasmusstichting, G.Ph. Verhagen-Stichting, Van Cappellen Stichting, Dura Charity Foundation, Stichting Elise Mathilde Fonds, Stichting de Leeuwenberg, Maatschappij tot Nut van 't Algemeen departement Rotterdam, Clubs: Boijmans Business Club, Van Eyck Circle, Boijmans Corporate Members, Partners: Municipality of Rotterdam, Rotterdam Architecture Month, Stichting Jarige Job, Rotterdam Partners and Rotterdam Festivals.