News — Jan 28, 2015

Amsterdam, January 28, 2015 - On February 1, 2015, Bart van der Heide (1974) joins the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam as Chief Curator. Together with the directors he will be responsible for developing and implementing the museum’s policy on exhibitions and collection presentations, the Public Program and Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam (SMBA). Van der Heide’s duties also include overseeing scholarly research and becoming a member of the museum’s Management Team.

Van der Heide was appointed the director of the prestigious Kunstverein München in 2010, which underwent an ambitious growth under his directorate. Prior to this he was curator at Cubitt Gallery in London and Witte de With in Rotterdam. Van der Heide is internationally renowned for curating numerous debut solo exhibitions and for his consistent embedding of young generations of artists within historic and multidisciplinary frameworks. He has curated exhibitions with artists including Trisha Baga, Bernadette Corporation, Keren Cytter, Ger van Elk, Harun Farocki, Ian Kiaer, Tobias Madison, Richard Tuttle, Tris Vonna-Michell, Rebecca Warren, Cathy Wilkes and Haegue Yang. Articles by Van der Heide regularly appear in international journals and publications.

Bart van der Heide on his appointment: "The Stedelijk is at an interesting stage of its development: a moment when the relationship between the institution and society is being defined more broadly both in terms of its relevance and value to the community, and in relation to local and global perspectives. I am deeply impressed by the team’s enthusiasm and creativity and look forward to playing a part in shaping this inspiring dynamic."

Beatrix Ruf, director Stedelijk Museum: "We are extremely proud that Bart van der Heide is coming to Amsterdam to join and fortify the Stedelijk team. His incredible knowlegde about contemporary art and the historic collection of the Stedelijk will be of great value. We are also very excited about his inspiring ideas to connect our programs to a wide range of audiences."

About the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam

The Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam is the largest museum of modern and contemporary art and design in the Netherlands. The collection has around 90,000 objects dating from the 1870s to the present day. Since the Stedelijk reopened in September 2012, it has staged major retrospectives of artists and designers such as Mike Kelley, Marcel Wanders, Kazimir Malevich, Jeff Wall, and Marlene Dumas. In 2014, the museum welcomed 810,000 visits, making it the most successful year in the Stedelijk’s history. In 2015, the Stedelijk Museum’s exhibition program features Tino Sehgal, Ed Atkins, The Stedelijk Museum and the Second World War, The Oasis of Matisse, Liam Gillick, ZERO and Seth Siegelaub, in addition to many changing presentations in the permanent collection.

Note to editors:
For more information and images, please contact the Press Office of the Stedelijk Museum, +31 (0)20 573 26 660 / 656 or pressoffice@stedelijk.nl