On October 22, the Deputy Mayor of Culture, Diana van Loenen, Director of the Frans Hals Museum, Lidewij de Koekkoek, and Frans Kortmann signed the lease for the new storage and restoration facility for the Frans Hals Museum. This marks the end of the museum’s critical storage situation, ensuring that the world-renowned (municipal) collection is housed according to the latest museum standards.
Future-proof Storage With the new facility, the municipality and the museum are ensuring a sustainable and suitable location for the municipal art collection. The 4,200 m² facility will house more than 18,000 artworks, with room for future acquisitions. Currently, the collection is spread across multiple locations, including the attic of the museum and other sites. The existing overcrowded storage areas do not meet modern requirements for climate control and layout, complicating the preservation and management of the collection. Additionally, the current restoration studio, located in the attic of the museum at Groot Heiligland, no longer meets contemporary standards.
Deputy Mayor of Culture Diana van Loenen stated: “We are very pleased that, after thorough research, we have found a storage facility for our municipal art collection, which is managed by the Frans Hals Museum. This new facility meets all the 2024 standards expected of modern art storage.”
Lidewij de Koekkoek, Director of the Frans Hals Museum, also expressed her enthusiasm about the progress: “It is fantastic that we, together with the municipality and the Kortmann company, have found a sustainable solution to better house our storage and internationally renowned restoration studio, all in a location so close to the museum.”
Starting in 2025, the 18,000 artworks will gradually be transferred from the current storage locations to the new central facility in Hoofddorp.
Housing The relocation of the storage and restoration studio will free up space at the museum at Groot Heiligland. The municipality is currently developing various housing scenarios, which will be used to make cost estimates. The Frans Hals Museum has long been situated across two locations, at Grote Markt and Groot Heiligland. An investigation is also underway to determine whether the building at Groot Heiligland can be expanded so that the museum can operate from a single location. The municipal council will ultimately decide on this matter.
