The new exhibition hopes to broaden the appeal of the museum
Translated by Thomas Ansell
As reported by the Omrop Fryslân, stronger Coronavirus regulations or not (visitors are requested to wear a face-mask), the Keramiekmuseum Princessehof in Leeuwarden will open its new ‘Human after all’ exhibition this Saturday.
One of the central piece of the exhibition is a piece by Klara Kristalova, a Swedish artist, who has made three green hills from natural (and living) materials. Across the hills, a series of dream-like ceramic figures are posed: “visitors take a tour through her fantasy world”, says Tanya Rumpff- who has curated the exhibition.
Other pieces at ‘Human after all’ come from across the world, however their artists couldn’t come and install the pieces themselves and so directed Museum staff from a distance.
The exhibition is inspired by the Coronavirus pandemic, with a piece by William Cobbing particularly relevant: “it’s a video where two people have their heads covered in clay. They sit attached to eachother by a long clay ‘trunk’, but cannot touch eachother”, says Rumpff. The idea is to demonstrate the social distance that everyone has been holding since the beginning of this year.
The museum has been thinking of new ways to bring in visitors that may not have come in the past: “it’s the only museum in the North with a collection of items from around the world”, says Director Chris Callens. Efforts are also being made to give visitors multiple experiences in one visit: “we’re doing that through things like the Escher-experience in our cellar, the water park in our garden, and through exhibitions like this. It’s great modern-day art, but also a sort of party to bring in all sorts of visitors”, adds Callens.
Last year the number of visitors at the Keramiekmuseum almost doubled, but naturally the numbers have fallen this year. Despite the circumstances, the museum wants as many people as possible to visit safely: “we’re a place where people are continually moving through our exhibition spaces, so we don’t have to keep to a maximum of 30 guests. We are asking people to reserve a time-slot, and wear a face mask, so that everyone can safely visit the museum. Even with the Coronavirus-related limits, people should still enjoy life.”
Image via Wikimedia user Bouwe Brouwer. License here.
