Museums Talk: From the Netherlands

For the first event of the “Museums Talk: From the Netherlands” program, on Wednesday, May 14, Istanbul Modern hosts Sjarel Ex, who served as the Director of the Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum in Rotterdam from 2004 to 2022. The conference series is organized in collaboration with the Consulate General of the Netherlands in Istanbul.

In the second event of the program, Rein Wolfs, the Director of the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, will give a talk at Istanbul Modern on Tuesday, May 27.

Sjarel Ex
Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum

Wednesday, May 14, 2025

17.30 Film screening: DEPOT – Reflecting Boijmans, 86' 
19.00 Talk: A New Typology for Museums and Storage

Venue: Istanbul Modern Auditorium

In his talk, Sjarel Ex focuses on the responsibility of museums to develop independently, while connecting art and artists with society. In this context, he discusses how museums can reach out to society in transparency, introducing new methods, and exploring the museum medium as a platform for improving and developing the human mind and life. Ex advocates a dynamic role and an open mind to change, to make an art institute of importance and to let it flourish. One of the issues to elaborate on is how collections in storage can become more accessible, known, and of importance to the public. In addition, Ex emphasizes how the history of the 175-year-old art museum connects to the urban identity of Rotterdam, with its history of a port city that was and still is welcoming the influences of different cultures.

Before the talk, the documentary DEPOT – Reflecting Boijmans, directed by Sonia Herman Dolz, will be screened. The film focuses on the founding story of the Depot Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen (Depot), known as the world’s first publicly accessible art storage. The documentary reveals the construction process of the Depot through the narratives of Sjarel Ex—he initiated and surveyed the development of the new Depot—together with Winy Maas, one of the founders of MVRDV, the architectural office behind the building. The film, which includes archival material of the first museum building built in the 1930s, also highlights the fundamental objective behind the Depot’s establishment: to better inform the public about the preservation and restoration of art, and how to work in public/private conditions.

Founded in 1849, the Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum houses an international collection of more than 150,000 classical, modern, and contemporary artworks and design objects. The museum takes its name from its two major donors, Frans Jacob Otto Boijmans and Daniël George Van Beuningen. Located in the Museumpark district, where the city's leading museums are located, the museum operates in the Van der Steur Building, inaugurated in 1935 and expanded over time with additions in the seventies by architect Bodon and in the 90s by architects Robbrecht & Daem. The museum, which recently closed its doors temporarily due to renovations, continues to exhibit its collection in traveling exhibitions and at the Depot, which opened in 2021.

Sjarel Ex, who studied art history, specializes in Dutch avant-garde art, particularly the Dutch De Stijl movement, and how De Stijl was influencing the German Bauhaus in its formative years. He was director of the Municipal Museum of Utrecht from 1988 to 2004 and director in Rotterdam from 2004 to 2022. As an independent researcher, he has published articles internationally and, in addition to curating exhibitions—like “LaLaLa Human Steps” for the Istanbul Modern in 2014—has carried out site-specific projects in public spaces in Rotterdam, Amsterdam, and Utrecht. Since leaving the Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum in 2022, Ex continues his career as an independent curator, writer, and advisor.

The event is free of charge.

The film will be screened with Turkish and English subtitles.

The talk will be held in English. Simultaneous translation to Turkish will be provided.

Attendance is limited due to capacity.                                                                                                                                                                                         

Images:

Depot Boijmans van Beuningen, photo: Ossip van Duivenbode

Depot - Reflecting Boijmans, courtesy of Sonia Herman Dolz

Sjarel Ex, photo: Aad Hoogendoorn