2023: A new balance

The Stedelijk looks back at 2023—the first lockdown-free year since the pandemic—as a year in which we found a new balance. A new balance in visitor figures, in how we engage with the collection, and in the themes we explore. 

VISITORS FIGURES 

We are delighted to report that a recovery is clearly underway in attendance numbers. We expect to welcome just over 600,000 visitors by the close of 2023, which not only puts us above our own forecast for this year but also at 90% of the numbers in 2019, the last pre-corona year. This is an encouraging sign.  

EXHIBITIONS IN 2023 

In 2023, the Stedelijk hosted major surveys by the Canadian artist collective General Idea and by Nan Goldin (until 28 January). The visitor flow to the latter was so great that after the opening in early October the museum introduced time slots. There were also solo shows by Yto Barrada, Martin Wong (until 1 April), Felix de Rooy, and Ellen Gallagher (until 10 March). There were group exhibitions, including those of the Municipal Art Acquisitions, Best Dutch Book Designs (until 7 January), and the Prix de Rome (until 3 March). Artists like Sophie Douala and Kristyan Sarkis (until 31 December) revitalized the building in the ongoing series Post No Bills. And we let our collection shine, with the 125-foot drawing Keith Haring produced especially for the museum in 1986, and with the exhibition MODERN – Van Gogh, Rietveld, Léger and others, which traced the evolution of the idea of modernity through the work of artists and designers. 

SIGNIFICANT ACQUISITIONS WOMEN ARTISTS 

Thanks to the support of many benefactors and funds, like the Mondrian Fund and the Vereniging Rembrandt, and the donors of the Stedelijk Museum Fonds, amongst  them the Van Berckel-Boehmer Fonds and Tijl Aankoop Fonds, dedicated to purchasing work by women makers, we were able to bring greater balance to our collection by acquiring key works by female artists, like Hanna Höch, Natasja Kensmil, Ana Mendieta, Lily van der Stokker, Anne Imhof, Yto Barrada, and Sandra Mujinga, with whom we are planning a future exhibition. Furthermore, we were recently able to install a newly acquired monumental work by Igshaan Adams, and the museum received large groups of donations from gallery owner Fons Welters, and from Maurice van Valen & Evi Vingerling. 

RESTORATIONS 

The support of the VriendenLoterij gave the Stedelijk the opportunity to restore a series of drawings by Nola Hatterman, as well as the Winfield rocking chair, one of the highlights in the MODERN exhibition. Moreover, thanks to a contribution from the VriendenLoterij we were also able to conduct further research into the challenges presented by an important work by Robert Ryman, and restore the painting’s intricately built-up surface.  

BURO STEDELIJK 

Last year saw the launch of Buro Stedelijk, an independent initiative housed at the Stedelijk, in close collaboration with de Rijksakademie and De Ateliers, and supported by Ammodo and Fonds 21. With experimental, contemporary programming, and successful presentations inside the Stedelijk and beyond, Buro Stedelijk instantly found its audience. 

 
UPCOMING IN 2024: MARINA ABRAMOVIĆ AND A SCULPTURE GARDEN

Mid March, following Nan Goldin’s retrospective, the Stedelijk will present the first major solo of Marina Abramović, the acclaimed pioneer of performance art. We are also looking forward to the transformation of the entrance area, with a sculpture garden, open to everyone free of charge, on the site of the original, much-loved sculpture garden. Thanks to the Don Quixote Foundation, this will be a gift to the city, which begins its 750th birthday celebrations next year. 

Please find an overview of exhibitions in 2024 here.