Europe's newest museum, the spectacular Fenix Museum in Rotterdam, opened its doors in May as an innovative art museum dedicated to migration stories. However, less than a month after its opening, the Netherlands' ruling right-wing coalition government collapsed over immigration policy disputes, with new elections scheduled for October 29. This timing highlights the stark contrast between the museum's mission to celebrate migration through art and the political turmoil surrounding immigration issues across Europe.
The museum's opening comes at a time when immigration protests are spreading from Sydney to Paris and London, indicating that the Netherlands is not alone in grappling with these divisive issues. While Dutch society remains deeply divided over immigration policy, the country now hosts a remarkable cultural institution that tells migrants' stories with sympathy and understanding through artistic expression.
The Fenix Museum is strategically located in the heart of Rotterdam's historic port area, a place rich with migration history. This waterfront served as a departure point for waves of European emigrants who left for the New World during the 19th and 20th centuries, seeking better lives and opportunities. Simultaneously, it welcomed immigrants from former European colonies who came to start new lives in prosperous Europe. The location represents the bidirectional flow of people seeking political or religious freedom from oppression in their homelands.
Nearby along the banks of the Nieuwe Maas, a distributary of the Rhine River, stands a Holocaust memorial just past the soaring Erasmus Bridge. This memorial honors thousands of Jews, including many children, who were held at the Westerbork transit camp before being transported to concentration camps in Eastern Europe. This sobering reminder represents another chapter in the migration story – the forced displacement of oppressed populations.
Unlike traditional migration museums such as Ellis Island in New York, the Fenix Museum takes a unique approach to storytelling. While conventional migration museums typically present didactic historical narratives focused on specific locations and rely primarily on artifacts connected to migration, Fenix allows migrants themselves to tell their deeply personal stories through their artistic creations. This approach transforms the museum experience from a historical overview into an intimate, human connection.
Anne Kremers, the museum's founding director, brings a distinctive philosophy to the institution. She believes that migration is a deeply personal, human, and timeless experience that touches everyone's life. "Everyone's life is shaped by migration and every family has a migration story," Kremers explains. "It is not just about other people. It is also about you and your life." This philosophy guided her approach to conceiving, creating, and curating the Fenix Museum, making it relevant to all visitors regardless of their background.
Kremers is considered a rising star in the international museum world, with an impressive track record of leadership. At just 24 years old, she became the youngest museum director in the Netherlands when she was appointed to lead the prestigious Mondrian House, the Piet Mondrian museum in Amersfoort, in 2013. Her international experience includes managing the Chow Tai Fook art foundation from 2016 to 2020, where she oversaw operations in Hong Kong and five additional museums in mainland China. She returned to the Netherlands specifically to establish the Fenix Museum.
To create the museum, Kremers traveled extensively around the world, meeting with artists and listening to their personal stories and perspectives on migration. This hands-on approach to building the collection ensures that the artworks displayed represent authentic voices and experiences from diverse migration backgrounds, creating a truly global perspective on human movement and displacement.
The museum is housed in a historically significant former warehouse that once lined the Rotterdam quay. Built in 1923, the massive 360-meter-long building held the distinction of being the world's largest dock warehouse. The structure suffered damage during World War II and was later damaged again in a fire. Following these setbacks, the building was reconstructed as two separate warehouses, designated Fenix I and Fenix II. The museum's extensive exhibition space now occupies Fenix II, transforming this industrial heritage site into a contemporary cultural destination.
The architectural transformation was led by Ma Yansong, one of the three founders of the prestigious Beijing firm MAD Architects. Remarkably, Ma was selected to design the Fenix Museum without an international competition, demonstrating the confidence in his vision. This project represents MAD Architects' first European commission, marking a significant milestone for the firm, even though Ma Yansong is already an internationally recognized architectural figure.
