Cheers to a new chapter in art history?
Salvador Dali once said, “A true artist is not one who is inspired, but one who inspires others.” – and it is the act of shared inspiration and open access which catalyses the process of creation. The much-anticipated, and quite honestly, jaw-dropping actualisation of the Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen sets out to do exactly this. Opening its doors earlier this November, the Depot is more than just a regular storage space, as the team behind the project have officially opened the first-ever publicly accessible art storage facility, changing the way we view, consume and create art in The Netherlands forever.
In celebration of the opening, Glamcult headed over to ROTTERDAM, took some snaps, and fell in love with not only the motivation behind the building – “a behind-the-scenes glimpse of how a museum works”, but also the energy it invigorated within the Dutch-art scene. It was an opening to remember, as all of The Netherland’s creative corners came together to cheer this historic moment. Free wine (can’t go wrong), laughter, and a whole lot of mingling as we explored the fourteen compartments of the Depot, catering to everything from paintings, to metal objects, to photography. Getting lost in the spherical nature of it all, it was straight out of a movie as we glided up the floors and a glass elevator, spectating the perfecting of the place, able to see the artworks from every angle.
The Depot is really whatever you make it to be: an inter-personal space in which you may seek inspiration, learn the history behind us, be immersed within the architecture (or grab a nice lunch and wine if that’s more your style ?). Designed by MVRDV, it’s hard not to get lost in the myriad of glass staircases, mirrored ceilings and vast open spaces ready to be filled.
This opening is a revolutionary reality, and given the history of the Museum (having been growing its collection for over 172 years), this unbounded access of the Depot makes the opening event even that more momentous. Where once only 8% of the works were on-show, now the entire collection is at your fingertips – not categorised into the canon, era, or movement – but together, envisioning the unity of art which is so vitally needed in today’s climate. It is at the Depot where creatives are welcomed and we begin to break down the hierarchies of the scene, re-building what it means to be a Dutch artist today.
