Stedelijk Museum Annual Report 2012

eopening. Communication was generated to announce the museum’s retail
partner, its hospitality partner, and the design of the restaurant interior. In May, the
Stedelijk announced the acquisition of a major light installation by American artist
Dan Flavin, who in 1986 created the piece especially for the upper hallway of the
historic building, surrounding the grand staircase. Reinstalled in 2011, it is now part
of the permanent collection. The Press Office publicized the extensive conservation
work carried out on paintings by Marc Chagall, The Beanery by Edward Kienholz,
and the Harrenstein Bedroom by Gerrit Rietveld. In September, the acquisition of
the work Osama by Marlene Dumas and the anonymous gift of Luc Tuymans’s
portrait of Her Majesty Queen Beatrix, H.M., garnered enormous media response.
The press closely followed the arrival of the first works of art to be reinstated in the
galleries, along with the reinstallation of the monumental Richard Serra sculpture on
Museumplein at what is now the entrance to the museum. Newspapers Volkskrant
and NRC and Tableau magazine published special supplements in the week prior to
the reopening.
More than 300 journalists were present at the large international press preview on
September 18. The event resulted in numerous interviews with the director and
curators. Amsterdam Marketing organized the attendance of more than 80 foreign
journalists.
The grand reopening by Her Majesty Queen Beatrix on Saturday, September 22,
was attended by a host of media representatives. The opening ceremony was
broadcasted live (in part) during prime time on Dutch national television, as was
footage of the festive opening evening. On the public opening day, September 23,
Dutch news programs also devoted extensive coverage to the reopening, indicating
that it was an event of national significance.
Dutch broadcasting channels AVRO and NOS jointly produced three live
programs from the Stedelijk: a special NOS/AVRO segment presented by Pieter
Jan Hagens and Winfried Baaijens; an episode of AVRO’s Opium TV, presented by
Cornald Maas; and a spot on Opium Radio. They were prefaced by two editions of
the Museumgasten series filmed at the Stedelijk Museum, with Prince Constantijn
van Oranje as special guest. Another notable moment in the media was an edition
of the opinion program De Wereld Draait Door on September 19, which was
devoted almost entirely to the Stedelijk.
On December 14, the press preview organized for MIKE KELLEY was attended by
countless members of the Dutch, European, and American press. A number of
prominent international art critics were present, invited in collaboration with EYE
and supported by the Mondriaan Fund.
Website and Social Media
Website Redesign
In September the museum launched a completely new website at stedelijk.nl in the
signature style designed by Mevis & Van Deursen. The website received 846,522
visitors in 2012.
An extraordinary new feature and enrichment of the site is the online collection.
Now visitors can view a selection of 8,000 works of art; the online collection will
expand in the years ahead, when other works will be added. The online collection is
linked to the library catalogue so that visitors can immediately see whether
documentation on a given work can be found in the Stedelijk Museum’s library.
The new website also includes a section for online ticket purchases, or e-tickets.
With an e-ticket, visitors can take advantage of “fast track” admission to the
museum.
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