The Nederlands Fotomuseum, with one of the world’s largest museum photography collections, now has a new home to match its scale
The collection, with over 6.5 million objects, opened Saturday in its new 9-story home, originally built as a coffee warehouse on Rotterdam’s waterfront. The building itself is noted as a notable 20th century example of its type.
The building has advanced climate and light control, including cold storage facilities that are essential for the long-term preservation of fragile photographic material. At the heart of the building, on the second and third floors, the museum showcases the collection and conservation work, which were not open to visitors in the past.
The museum collection consists of more than 175 archives of Dutch photographers, with millions of negatives, slides, prints and other photographic objects. Unique items include exceptional photographs from the former Dutch colonies.
A first-floor ‘Gallery of Honor” shows 99 photographs from 1839 to the present, selected by an expert panel, based on their artistic and social impact. Visitors are invited to contribute ideas for an eventual 100th photograph.
Photo: Iwam Baan
