Airport Museum in Amsterdam
The wheels of suitcases echo through the corridors. Loudspeakers announce flight schedules and delays, or inform passengers about checking in. In the midst of this hectic atmosphere at Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam, a museum has been created in a yellowish-gold box raised above the ground on the Holland Boulevard between gates E and F. “Rembrandt Is Here” posters advertise this new facility, and visitors are invited to enter free of charge over a bright red carpet in the entrance area. This small museum was officially opened in December 2002 by Prince Willem-Alexander and affords a glimpse of Dutch art to stopover passengers who may not be familiar with the Netherlands. Realized as a joint project sponsored by the airport and the Rijksmuseum, the gallery presents ten exhibits from the museum’s collection. In addition to 17th-century Dutch painting, modern art will be on display in small temporary exhibitions such as “Dutch Design Glass from the 1920s”. Computers inform visitors about the exhibits from the Rijksmuseum, and video screens in the outer facade function like posters to advertise the products available in the museum shop, which is meant to finance the cost of the exhibitions.
