Right now in Holland things like arts, museums and the likes are considered a 'leftist hobby'. They cost too much money. And since we're in a recession there's very little money spent on this kind of 'hobbies'.
So the Almere Modern Art Museum, de Paviljoens - 'the Pavillions' - had to close.
The last day this museum was open we went to our newest province and had a look at the museum - not only a look but a wonderful, joyful, amazing experience.
Almere is a new built city in our last developed province: number 12, after centuries of 11 provinces that make (made) up the Netherlands. This last province is, as is our USP, reclaimed from the sea, the 'Zuiderzee' (Southern Sea): an inland sea, made in 1928 into a huge salty lake by means of a dyke (the 'Afsluitdijk', or 'enclosing dyke') between the northernmost west- and east provinces of the Netherlands.
In this inland sea we started to reclaim the land and thus our 12th province, 'Flevoland' emerged.
In this new province there are two major cities: Lelystad, its capital and named after the engineer responsible for the reclamation of the land (yes, mr. Lely) and Almere, the city nearest to Amsterdam.
So here we were, on the 'new' land, in a 'new' city - never forget most of the Dutch cities are centuries old! - in this strange museum. Strange because the buildings came from the 1992 Documenta in Kassel: think long containers standing on steel pillars and made of glass, some four or five that make up 'the Pavillions'. And on this special occasion, the last 'installation' before it closed - filled with..... balloons. Huge colourful balloons, half a metre in diameter, and they filled at least half of the space available, up to 2.5 metres high.
Just imagine.
You enter the 'museum' and you find yourself engulfed in these balloons. You have to work your way through them, pushing, kicking, shuffling, waving your arms and sending the balloons into the air, and it is sooo much fun. These balloons weigh nothing - you can just breathe and walk around as you wish. But below, above, around you are colourful bulbs of air to play with.
We were catapulted into happy childhood. And all the grown-ups we met while kicking these balloons around and up in the air had the same, wide and happy grin on their faces: everyone was enjoying themselves tremendously.
We were totally, unconditionally happy. We went everywhere. Even the toilets were full of balloons. People told us 'have you seen the little room with the water, you must see it!' and we fought our way to it. This small room btw. had mirrors all around, hence the suggestion of a vast space!
When we finally, completely out of breath, came out if this small museum we had spent an hour in it, an hour of frantically waving our arms, trying to walk, laughing, kicking the balloons, and taking as many pictures of us in this wealth of colour as possible. Enjoy!
So the Almere Modern Art Museum, de Paviljoens - 'the Pavillions' - had to close.
The last day this museum was open we went to our newest province and had a look at the museum - not only a look but a wonderful, joyful, amazing experience.
Almere is a new built city in our last developed province: number 12, after centuries of 11 provinces that make (made) up the Netherlands. This last province is, as is our USP, reclaimed from the sea, the 'Zuiderzee' (Southern Sea): an inland sea, made in 1928 into a huge salty lake by means of a dyke (the 'Afsluitdijk', or 'enclosing dyke') between the northernmost west- and east provinces of the Netherlands.
In this inland sea we started to reclaim the land and thus our 12th province, 'Flevoland' emerged.
In this new province there are two major cities: Lelystad, its capital and named after the engineer responsible for the reclamation of the land (yes, mr. Lely) and Almere, the city nearest to Amsterdam.
So here we were, on the 'new' land, in a 'new' city - never forget most of the Dutch cities are centuries old! - in this strange museum. Strange because the buildings came from the 1992 Documenta in Kassel: think long containers standing on steel pillars and made of glass, some four or five that make up 'the Pavillions'. And on this special occasion, the last 'installation' before it closed - filled with..... balloons. Huge colourful balloons, half a metre in diameter, and they filled at least half of the space available, up to 2.5 metres high.
Just imagine.
You enter the 'museum' and you find yourself engulfed in these balloons. You have to work your way through them, pushing, kicking, shuffling, waving your arms and sending the balloons into the air, and it is sooo much fun. These balloons weigh nothing - you can just breathe and walk around as you wish. But below, above, around you are colourful bulbs of air to play with.
We were catapulted into happy childhood. And all the grown-ups we met while kicking these balloons around and up in the air had the same, wide and happy grin on their faces: everyone was enjoying themselves tremendously.
We were totally, unconditionally happy. We went everywhere. Even the toilets were full of balloons. People told us 'have you seen the little room with the water, you must see it!' and we fought our way to it. This small room btw. had mirrors all around, hence the suggestion of a vast space!
When we finally, completely out of breath, came out if this small museum we had spent an hour in it, an hour of frantically waving our arms, trying to walk, laughing, kicking the balloons, and taking as many pictures of us in this wealth of colour as possible. Enjoy!
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