H'ART Museum
H’ART Museum is a an art museum where famous works of art and stories from around the world are brought together in one-of-a-kind exhibitions. Our exhibitions are always temporarily on show but will stay with you forever. The museum is located in a historical landmark, at the heart of the Dutch capital. A cultural oasis – with a unique indoor garden and a bustling Grand Café – where constantly many interesting things are going on, from concerts, lectures and movie nights to art education for children and young adults.
Mission
From our historic location at the heart of Amsterdam, called the Amstelhof, we continually build on our unique connections in the art world. We now bring leading art together as never before, connecting up France, USA, UK and the Netherlands, in order to transform people and spark their hearts through art.
Vision
To spark people’s hearts with leading, powerful, relevant and heartfelt art.
The organisation
The Stichting Personeel De Nieuwe Kerk and H’ART Museum realises exhibitions in De Nieuwe Kerk Amsterdam and in H’ART Museum, commissioned by the Nationale Stichting De Nieuwe Kerk and Stichting H’ART Museum. De Nieuwe Kerk and H’ART Museum have acquired their own place in the national and international museum world.
We operate with 50 members of staff, divided across five departments: Exhibitions, Press, Marketing & Communications, Development, Facility & Security and Finance . We also have a pool of agency workers who staff the ticket desks, cloakrooms, and shops.
History
Historically the building began as a Diaconie Oude Vrouwen Huys in 1683, a sanctuary for displaced older city ladies. In 1817 places also were made available for men.
Until the 20th Century, the church hall in the home was the second largest in the city and regularly used for worship. Winston Churchill even set foot in the building alongside the Amstel River, renamed the ‘Amstelhof’ in 1953. A major renovation took place in the 1970s, and it was only in 2007 that the last residents were transferred to a more appropriate home. Ernst Veen, at the time director of De Nieuwe Kerk Amsterdam, came up with the idea of giving the Amstelhof a new purpose, that of a museum. Loans from the treasury of the St Petersburg Hermitage, a museum in Russia, made it possible to open as the Hermitage Amsterdam in a grand opening in 2009.
More than 5 million visitors have walked through our doors, visiting 30 varied and inspirational exhibitions. We always welcome a mixture of both international and local visitors.
Founders and Partners
H’ART Museum is an independent and autonomous legal entity with its own funding streams, through all our partners.
All our partners are important to us and make our museum, exhibitions and public programming possible. This ranges from our financial partners, funds to our museum partners.
We also host other museums: Amsterdam Museum and Museum of the Mind| Outsider Art. Sometimes smaller exhibitions are shown, such as the annual winner of the ABN AMRO Art Prize.