JOINT PROJECT DEVELOPMENT
The support is set out in a memorandum of understanding. This describes the way in which the Municipality of Ede and the museum work together and the goals on which the collaboration focuses. The collaboration contributes to the mission and key objectives of both organizations and should lead to growth in the brand momentum and the (physical and digital) reach of both. The projects that the Municipality of Ede, Ede-Marketing and the Kröller-Müller Museum jointly undertake focus on:
- Increasing knowledge and encouraging the active experience of art and culture for all ages. This translates into concrete goals, such as ensuring that all primary school pupils visit the museum at least once during their school time, and bringing the elderly and special target groups into contact with art and culture.
- Strengthening the international attractiveness of Ede with the main themes ‘Food and Veluwe’ and the Kröller-Müller Museum. The ambition of Ede and its partners from the Foodvalley region is to be the top innovative region in the field of Agro-Food worldwide. The Kröller-Müller Museum actively contributes to this with the development of ARTBASE Ede. This is the cultural utilization of the left part of the Frisokazerne, where the extraordinary life story of Helene Kröller-Müller and her motives form the basis for a high-tech multi-sensory journey. Read more about ARTBASE Ede below.
- Where possible, the Municipality of Ede contributes to the accessibility of the museum with local, regional and national public transport.
PROJECTS ARISING FROM THE PARTNERSHIP
Free bus transport
Since 2013, the Municipality of Ede has financially supported the free bus transport project for schools. The aim of the project is to introduce every child from Ede to the Kröller-Müller Museum during their time at primary school. Since the bus transport project was initiated, 47 of the 61 schools in Ede have already visited the museum. This means that no less than 77% of the schools have used the bus transport project once or more!
My sculpture garden
My sculpture garden is a teaching programme in which 7 schools and 1232 pupils have already participated. In collaboration with Cultura Ede, local artists take inspiration from works of art in the sculpture garden. In 2017, this resulted in the successful project My sculpture garden. The artists provide lessons for primary school groups 1 to 8. Among other things, pupils made gilded self-portraits, based on Jan Fabre’s Chapters. The results were shown at various locations in and around the school, which were visited by (grand) parents and other interested parties. Groups 7 and 8 visited the museum to see ‘their works’ in real life, to create an art song and to philosophize over other masterpieces.
Painting game
The painting game Painting with the masters, I can do that too! is on location in Cultura Ede, where it is used daily by (young) visitors.
Digital block calendar Every day art
This calendar was developed in collaboration with the Municipality, schools in Ede and the local archive. In 2015, the museum received the first ever Museum Education Award for the calendar from the Minister of Education, Culture and Science. The prize money of 50,000 euro was used entirely to build an online platform on which museums and heritage institutions can compile their own calendars and where schools can view them. The Ede calendar ‘Every day art’ was the first calendar to be accessible on the online platform. Shortly after came the calendar ‘Greetings from Ede’, with the focus on heritage institutions in Ede, such as the Kijk en Luister museum (Audio-visual museum) and Museum Lunteren. There are currently 22 national and international calendars online. In 2019, the platform received international recognition with the ICOM Best Practice Award.
Project International transition classes/language buddies
In 2018, the museum launched a pilot project with ISK Het Streek from Ede to investigate how young people who are new to the Netherlands can get to know the Dutch language and culture in an accessible way. To this end, the museum, together with the target group, developed a teaching programme for the school in combination with a trip to the museum. Thanks to a generous contribution from the Municipality of Ede, the pilot was extended for several years. As a result, the calendar was expanded in the spring of 2020 and shared with all the ISKs in the Netherlands and already has more than 700 users throughout the Netherlands. The museum also developed a calendar for Taalmaatjes. The digital block calendar ‘Woordenschat’ (Vocabulary) was developed especially for language volunteers and their adult students with a migrant background.
A real Van Gogh?!
All the successful projects involving a museum visit came to a standstill in 2020. The free bus transport project could not continue due to the COVID-19 measures and the closure of the museum. With the approval of the Municipality of Ede, the museum developed a new ‘corona-proof’ project: A real Van Gogh?!.
This project takes place in the classroom with a museum teacher and a theatre maker. The museum has high-quality reproductions made of paintings by Vincent van Gogh. Because the museum can offer the project free of charge, pupils can still come into contact with the collection of the Kröller-Müller Museum, despite the closure. The project has been a great success and will continue after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Helene’s dream
In 2021, a new project began development under the title Helene’s dream. Together with Ede-Marketing and Cultura, work is underway on compiling a route that includes a variety of places that surprise people and encourage active participation. Along the route, residents and visitors to Ede become acquainted with Ede and the surrounding area, based on the dreams and vision of Helene Kröller-Müller.
Military commemorations in 2019 and 2020
The museum and Ede-Marketing worked together on the military commemorations in 2019 and 2020 (#Gelderlandherdenkt, #VeluweRemembers), where the 75th anniversary of Operation Market Garden and 75 years of freedom were commemorated and celebrated.
For the first time in its history, the Kröller-Müller Museum opened the bomb shelter to the public. A large part of Helene Kröller-Müller’s art collection was stored in this bomb shelter during the Second World War. The aim of the project was to structurally generate more visibility for the military history and/or heritage of the Kröller-Müller Museum and to develop new (digital) products.
ARTBASE Ede
Under the name ARTBASE Ede, the municipality presents a cultural utilization of the former Frisokazerne: a concept with a permanent exhibition based on the life story of Helene Kröller-Müller, and temporary exhibitions. From October 2020 to April 2021, the Municipality, Ede-Marketing and the Kröller-Müller worked together with interactive design agency Northern Light on a creative concept and master plan. The core of the concept is to harness the museum’s brand strength to not only attract outside visitors, but also to tell the story of Ede’s heritage and culture. The master plan describes ARTBASE Ede as ‘a unique multimedia experience that stimulates and touches your senses… a multi-sensory journey in which you experience the extraordinary life story of Helene Kröller-Müller, all around you’.
More about ARTBASE Ede (in Dutch)
