Museum van Bommel van Dam

Current exhibitions

About the museum

The museum's core collection comes from a 1969 donation: the Amsterdam collectors Maarten and Reina van Bommel-van Dam gave the municipality of Venlo some 1,100 works of modern art they had assembled after World War II. Their condition was a dedicated museum, next to which the couple would live and from which they could access their collection at any time.

In 1971 the museum opened in a new building by the architect Jos van Hest on Deken van Oppensingel – the first museum of modern art in the province of Limburg. The couple moved into a bungalow with a direct passage to the exhibition and the storerooms. A second private collection assembled later, comprising over 400 works, was added in 1984 as a long-term loan from a foundation. In the following decades the collection was expanded in a targeted way, initially with a focus on Limburg artists and, since the turn of the millennium, increasingly with younger artists and socially engaged art.

Because the old building no longer met climate-control requirements, the city decided in 2017 to move the museum to the former main post office at the Keulsepoort, a national monument (Rijksmonument) opened in 1941, designed by Hayo Hoekstra with architectural sculpture by Charles Vos. The firm BiermanHenket converted it into a museum; in 2019 the museum also became an independent foundation. It has been open at its new location in Venlo's Museumskwartier since September 1, 2021, right next to the Limburgs Museum.

In addition to special exhibitions on art after 1945, the museum presents its collection, has awarded a prize for young artists since 1977 and offers an artist-designed garden on the roof.

Highlights

• Founding collection of Maarten and Reina van Bommel-van Dam with postwar modern art
• Changing collection presentations in the series "DWARS door de collectie"
• Listed former post office from 1941 with facade sculpture by Charles Vos
• Roof garden "De Steriele Tuin" by Stefan Cools and Sandra van den Beuken
• Van Bommel Van Dam Prijs: prize for young artists since 1977
• Free studio "De Bovenkamer" under the roof for children and families

Permanent exhibitions

• DWARS door de collectie – Changing presentations from the museum's own collection that place works from different generations side by side in surprising ways.

Founded

1971

Operated by

Stichting Museum van Bommel van Dam

Director

Rieke Righolt

Admission & discounts

Free with the Museumkaart; likewise with the VriendenLoterij VIP card, an ICOM card, for members of Club VBVD/friends of the museum, Zonnebloem volunteers and members of Bonnefanten Kunstuitleen. The Van Bommel Van Dam Prijs presentation in the stairwell is free to visit.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

Fully accessible for wheelchairs and small mobility scooters (max. 120 × 70 × 109 cm); access with large scooters is limited – please use a loaner wheelchair instead. Two loaner wheelchairs and a walker, reservation possible. Accessible parking spaces on Deken van Oppensingel and in Q-Park Arsenaal. Registered assistance dogs are welcome in the museum and café.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Hands-on stations

Explore the museum with the free "VBVD Doeboek" full of creative activities; in the freely accessible rooftop studio "De Bovenkamer," children make their own idea book. Occasional open hands-on workshops for young and old. Free admission up to age 17.

Getting there & parking

The museum is located in the Museumskwartier opposite the station, next to the Limburgs Museum.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Restaurant: not available
• Museum shop
• Coat check
• Lockers

Museum café Reina on the first floor (lunch, coffee and cake; reservations by phone). Free cloakroom with lockers in the basement (level -1); coats, large bags and backpacks are not allowed in the exhibition.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Corporate events

Auditorium and other spaces for presentations, staff parties, seminars and other events; catering by museum café Reina. Details on request.

Plan your visit