ROTTERDAM.- On 13 February 2016 Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen began a celebration of the city in the group manifestation Project Rotterdam. The museum is showcasing the artistic quality of a new generation of makers. Work by more than twenty artists and designers living and working in Rotterdam will appear in a growing number of museum galleries.

Project Rotterdam is providing this new generation with the opportunity to increase their exposure with new installations and interventions in the museum. Daisy Kroon, for example, has designed the ideal pair of trousers for Rotterdam man. Wouter Venema’s work is like a map with multiple perspectives, and Johannes Langkamp uses his installation to focus on the difference between the human eye and the camera lens. Bertjan Pot’s contribution to the exhibition is a colourful installation centred on his latest design discovery. By presenting the multifaceted output of these makers together, the museum is reflecting artistic trends in today’s Rotterdam. At the same time the project gives these artists and designers an opportunity to show their work to a national and international public.

Evolving Exhibition
Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen starts the first phase of Project Rotterdam in Art Rotterdam Week, and then works and projects will be added for the next few months. The public will be able to experience the scope and power of these makers as the number of galleries grows. Project Rotterdam culminates in the summer of 2016.

Rich Tradition
Project Rotterdam dovetails with the cultural event Rotterdam Celebrates the City!, looking back at seventy-five years of post-war reconstruction. After a period of commemoration, it is time to draw up the balance and celebrate how far we have come. Project Rotterdam is not unique in the museum’s history. Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen staged an overview of Rotterdam artists as long ago as 1946, and Wim Beeren put on his group exhibition Art from Rotterdam in 1984. Project Rotterdam followed in 2005, as a response to museum director Sjarel Ex’s challenge to show him Rotterdam’s creative force.

Artists and Designers
There are works and projects by more than twenty artists and designers, including Kevin Gallagher, Simon Kentgens, Koehorst in ‘t Veld, Daisy Kroon, Johannes Langkamp, Minale Maeda, Bertjan Pot, Rory Pilgrim, Emma van der Put, Melle Smets, Jay Tan, Koen Taselaar, Reinaart Vanhoe, Wouter Venema, Lorelinde Verhees, Weronika Zielinska and Timmy van Zoelen.

Contemporary Art at the Heart of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen
Contemporary art will be the focus in Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in the spring of 2016, with Ugo Rondinone’s one-man show in the Bodon Galleries, the group manifestation Project Rotterdam, an exhibition by Diederik Klomberg, two exhibitions about James Lee Byars and the eighth edition of Sensory Spaces with Mike Nelson.