Culture & Art

Here’s why you should visit The Stedelijk Museum

By Micaela Zaslabsky

Here’s why you should visit The Stedelijk Museum

1. It’s huge!

Alright, most museums are big, but we are talking about Amsterdam. There are dozens of museums to visit in this city, some of them only as big as a room. Among the biggest museums of this beautiful city, there is the Stedelijk Museum. The positive side of it is that you can’t get bored inside. There is so much to see and so many different areas within the museum, that you can even get some coffee and rest once you are done with the first floor, and then keep exploring the lower level gallery to the newest exhibition upstairs.

Keep in mind that it is not the most popular museum in this crowded city. Therefore, you will feel relaxed and free to focus on just the art and not the tourists!

2. Free Audio Tour

Yes! This is one of the few museums that I know that gives visitors a free audio tour. You can pick it up at the main hall and choose between English and Dutch. However, for some parts of the exhibition -and always for the Stedelijk Base-, you can also choose between Spanish, German, Italian or French. So, if you are not too confident in English or Dutch, or you are like me and you just like experiencing languages, you can always try one of these.


3. They have their own library

The Stedelijk has a proper library, a room with computers and all the tools that you may need to work on your art project, write your thesis or just quench your thirst for knowledge. If you want to buy one of the books that they have in their shop, you can first check out most of their own books inside the museum. There are some big tables by the entrance with their most popular publications and any visitor is welcome to sit and look through them.

 

4. Their gift shop

Are you into original gifting? This is your place. In the Stedelijk’s gift shop you will find not only amazing pieces inspired by their collections, as well as books, posters and postcards, but also many original products that will capture your attention. For adults and for children, their small selection of items will fit everybody. Are you into Kawaii or Scandinavian design? You will find something for you, I am pretty sure of that!

 
5. It is Art and it is Design

The Stedelijk is a very dynamic museum: everything is in constant change. Performances created several decades ago are still modern and very eclectic. If you not only like art, but feel passionate about design, this is definitely your museum. Paintings aren’t going to be your only source of inspiration, as is the case in many other museums. It is not about paintings, it is about a concept: sculptures, performances, furniture, colours, shapes, lights and sounds. Everything will try to catch your attention. Everything is a source of inspiration.
 

 
6. Irony

If you are into controversial topics, this is your place. Like most Modern or Contemporary art creations, they don’t follow the conventional beauty standards that most artists throughout history have tried to pursue. The artists exhibited in the Stedelijk are rebellious, smart and original. Most of the art pieces look like trash or like strange items placed in the middle of an empty room. If you take the time to read the explanation behind each and every single one of them, you will find in them a moral reflection on today’s reality, and ironic ways of facing it.


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