In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic and the multiple-year closure of the museum, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen (@boijmans) in Rotterdam came up with a brilliant way to show their collection. Together with event venue Rotterdam Ahoy (@rotterdam.ahoy) the museum put together the Boijmans Ahoy drive-thru museum. For three weeks in August, the public is allowed to drive around the enormous venue filled with highlights of the Boijmans collection. You are allowed to take your own car as long as it is electric. For non-electric drivers there is a fleet of electric Mini’s and BMW’s i3 available on loan.
The experience is something else. A tangle of silent electric cars moves at a maximum speed of 5 km/h through the hall. Several video-installations, sculptures and paintings are strewn throughout the venue. On the car stereo you receive spoken information about the object or work you are near. Museum staff were quite honest and clear even before we set of: this didn’t work as expected. We heard the same piece of information 32 times while we were in the hall. A QR code on the leaflet you receive however leads you to a complete overview of the works and where they are situated. I didn’t look at this until I got home, so at the time I didn’t really have an idea of what I actually saw.
I highly recommend a visit to this unique experience. The inner nerd in me was happy enough to drive around in an electric Mini, so that alone made it worthwhile. Make sure you have a passenger to tell you where and what everything is. Or allow yourself to be surprised…
👨🎨 Anselm Kiefer (b. 1945)
🖼️ Wohin wir uns wenden im Gewitter der Rosen ist die Nacht mit Dornen erhellt (1998)
🏛️ Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen (@boijmans)
🎟️ Boijmans Ahoy drive-thru museum
📅 August 1 – 23
