The European Museum of the Year Award 2015 goes to Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The museum received the EMYA trophy The Egg, by Henry Moore, which it will keep for one year.
This world-famous museum was closed for almost a decade to allow for a complete overhaul of the building, which enabled the creation of new concourse spaces, much better visitor services and circulation. The stunning restoration of original wall-paintings, the elegant rehang of its world-famous paintings, the Museum’s new historic galleries which integrate all the collections, a new Asian Art pavilion and a new medieval gallery: all celebrate the range and depth of the Museum’s collections vividly. The renewed Rijksmuseum offers impressive multilingual guidance to its visitors, witty and thought-provoking interventions in the galleries, and a state-of-the-art website for virtual visitors. Not immediately obvious to the visitor are the museum’s diverse educational and outreach programmes. The ambition to “reach every child in the Netherlands by the age of twelve” is notable, impressive and achievable. This is a great museum, at the height of its powers, providing a rich experience to the public, and a socially aware outreach programme for visitors of all ages.
