Over the years I have visited a lot of exhibitions at the Hermitage in Amsterdam. The museum was opened on 19 June 2009 by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and the Russian president Dmitri Medvedev. Also Medvedevs wife was present, as well as Prince Willem-Alexander and Princess Máxima, which shows how important the opening was. Since it has been a very popular destiny, also for royalty watchers who were able to see treasures of the Hermitage St. Petersburg, Russia, the Hermitage Amsterdam being a partner of that museum.
The corona crisis has affected the museum enormously. Over the past 16 years the museum has been open without any structural government subsidy. However after a year with lengthy lockdowns and months without visitors, the museum has decided to ask for help. A donation, small or big, could guarantee the future of this unique museum, its great exhibitions, concerts and the art education program Hermitage for Children.
I don’t donate easily, but I didn’t hesitate to give a small donation, as over the years I have really enjoyed the exhibitions and have been invited also as a journalist. Among the ambassadors of the campaign of the museum “Keep the Hermitage open” are jewelry-expert Martijn Akkerman and author Thera Coppens, who has written several books about royals. I know many of my Dutch and foreign friends have visited the museum, so all I ask: give it a thought.
For more information in English, see https://hermitage.nl/en/keep-hermitage-open/
