About Boijmans Van Beuningen depot
About the depot
Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen was opened on November 5, 2021 by King Willem-Alexander. The first publicly accessible art depot, designed by architectural firm MVRDV, is unique in the world and is located next to Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in the Museum Park in Rotterdam. Nowhere in the world does such a working building exist, which, in addition to making the museum collection public, provides a glimpse behind the scenes of museum work, which also houses private and corporate collections. The new depot is a Gesamtkunstwerk; the building and the design of the outdoor space make it a new Rotterdam icon.
The first accessible art depot in the world
Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen stores and cares for the entire art collection and offers visitors a look behind the scenes of the museum. The depot has fourteen climate-controlled compartments with racks, shelving and cabinets for all the different works of art. There are depots for paintings, metals, organic and non-organic materials, black and white and color photography. Humidity and temperature are kept stable in the depot areas. You can view the works of art from various points of view from the corridor, the stairs and the elevator. You can also visit a depot area accompanied by a guide.
More than 154,000 works of art
The collection of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen is world famous. This collection has been growing since 1849 and currently consists of more than 154,000 works of art, of which approximately 89,000 prints and drawings. Only about eight percent of this collection was displayed in the monumental museum building. The lion's share was stored, spread over many depots that are closed to the public. In Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen you see everything together, based on climatic requirements and not on art movement or time.
