News — Dec 17, 2003

On December 31, 2003, at precisely 4:00 p.m. the steel security gates at the Paulus Potterstraat entrance of the Stedelijk Museum will roll down for the last time. The building will no longer be open to the public. After January 1 the present exhibitions will be dismantled and the galleries cleared, in expectation of the renovation and expansion of the building. Although this will not begin for some time, this decision was prompted in part by the expiration of the occupancy permit for the building.

The Stedelijk therefore is moving to a temporary location: the former building of The Post Group at Oosterdokskade 3-5, near Central Station. It is opposite the Maritime Museum and the NEMO science museum, and close to the site where the new music centre will be opening in 2004. The Stedelijk will be located on the second, third and part of the eleventh (and top) floor of this striking high-rise dating from 1968. It will have a total of about 7000 m² of space, of which about 5500 m² is earmarked for exhibitions and presentation of the Stedelijk’s own collection. The auditorium and a cafe/restaurant with a beautiful view out over the river IJ and the heart of Amsterdam will be among the facilities on the eleventh floor.

Among the other tenants sharing the Post Group building are a design centre and the offices of the architects Zwarts & Jansma. This architectural agency will also be responsible for the structural alterations necessary in the spaces that the Museum will be using. 

The opening of the Stedelijk in this location is expected around May, 2004. Most of the present public activities, such as exhibitions and educational programmes for schools and others, will be continued or intensified there. The definitive programme is being worked out at present.