The Princessehof consolidates its position as a cultural meeting place in 2022

With 36,000 visitors, the Princessehof National Museum of Ceramics in Leeuwarden can look back with satisfaction on 2022, which nevertheless had a difficult start due to Corona. The museum is particularly pleased with the role it played as a cultural meeting place. The medium of ceramics as the perfect carriers of history and stories from all over the world drew many new visitors to the museum. For example, KOREA was well attended and highly rated by people of Korean descent, and our new exhibition Celebrate!, is yet another fusion of different cultures. With its extensive programme of activities, the museum explicitly focuses on encounters such as celebrating Ketikoti and Divali with others.

"A feast of recognition, but also an introduction to other cultures"

This autumn, Janny van der Heijden (from the television series Heel Holland Bakt) opened the exhibition Celebrate!, which demonstrates how celebrations ranging from Pesach and Ketikoti to Carnival and Divali are held across the Netherlands. The exhibition is rated 8.2 and will run until 20 August next year. ‘A feast of recognition, but also an introduction to other cultures. A wonderful combination,’ wrote one visitor. The exhibition KOREA. Gateway to a rich past, featuring masterpieces from the National Museum of Korea in Seoul which travelled to the Netherlands for the first time, ran until the middle of the year. KOREA resonated with a broad target group. Intermediate and higher vocational students participated in the educational programmes, the design competition attracted a record number of entries, and the Korean community considered the Princessehof to be well worth visiting: no fewer than one in five visitors said they visited the exhibition because of their Korean descent. They rated the exhibition with an 8.5. Four contemporary exhibitions also opened in 2022. Alexandra Engelfriet (1959) was awarded the 2022 Van Achterbergh Prize. Three of her ground-breaking films can be seen until 9 April next year. In Sea Silt: Linking Elements, designer duo Humade fosters awareness for a circular economy in a playful and sustainable way. Sustainability will continue to be an important theme in contemporary exhibitions in the years ahead. With the appointment of a sustainability project leader, the museum is also ensuring that sustainability is always prioritised in everything it does. The Princessehof dedicated an exhibition to the Royal Tichelaar Makkum pottery factory in honour of its 450th anniversary, showcasing its wide palette of colours, products and techniques. Last but not least was the opening of Handle with Care, which revolves around the hand and gestures.

Inspirational encounters during the educational programmes and activities
Twice a year, the Princessehof inspires a new generation of makers with a design competition. The competition this spring was dedicated to KOREA. Secondary school students could submit a visual response to the exhibition and the winning designs were displayed at the museum. The second design competition revolved around Celebrate!. All the pupils received a return ticket after their visit, allowing them to return for another free visit with two adults. The Princessehof is a real hit among the youngest primary school children. Not only did thousands of them visit Princess Marijke and Korean Princess Kim (in traditional hanbok costume) as part of their curriculum, but the annual Princes’ and Princesses’ Day also sold out again. In addition, we hosted trial groups from primary schools for a programme that is part of the national project Weet wat je viert (‘Know What You Celebrate’). Schools are offered free transport, which is much appreciated. To lower the threshold to the museum, we organised a festive programme on the opening day of Celebrate!, which everyone could attend free of charge. The Korean BBQ at the closing party of KOREA was very popular, and everyone enjoyed Annejil Suk’s kimchi. The programme included workshops, a talk show hosted by Jörgen Tjon a Fong, and a podcast by Mischa Blok about Juree Kim’s work. Humade presented a number of sold-out kintsugi workshops, where participants learned to repair broken ceramics with gold glue. The activities revolving around Celebrate! introduce visitors to other cultures or customs. For instance, they can join a Ketikoti dialogue table or participate in a workshop on Indonesian spices. Held on Boxing Day, MuseumMetgezel is a special event for people who are interested in a surprising encounter, or people without a museum partner. Participants meet someone they don’t know, perhaps from another generation, or with a different background or lifestyle.

Collection
Thanks to the Ottema-Kingma Foundation (OKS), the Princessehof was able to add a unique dish dating from around 1530 to its collection as a loan. It is a dish from Iznik, in present-day Turkey, with blue and turquoise decorations of grapevines and flowers. The OKS purchased this splendid object from Sotheby’s in London. It is currently included in the Celebrate! exhibition, after which it will be moved to the permanent exhibition From East and West. The museum’s contemporary collection has expanded to include works by Neha Kudchadkar and Sharon van Overmeiren, among others, which are displayed in Handle with Care. The Princessehof was also the first museum in the Netherlands to acquire work by Yoon Seok-hyeon (South Korea, 1992). Glazed ceramics are typically non-recyclable and usually end up in landfills. In his search for a sustainable alternative to toxic glaze, Yoon stumbled upon an ancient technique from his native country known as ‘Ott’.

Art and cooking
This year, the PH celebrated the publishing of its first ever cookbook with special recipes that (inter)nationally renowned chefs, culinary writers, pastry chefs and other enthusiastic foodies created especially to be served on ceramic objects from the museum’s collection. The more than 400-page book Art and Cooking has proven to be incredibly popular, including at PAN Amsterdam. Daily newspaper Trouw wrote that it was ‘heart-warming to see the plates and dishes usually photographed as passive museum objects being used to serve a carefully choreographed dish’. The book is available in the museum shop and on the Princessehof’s website. The exhibition From East and West includes a route with mini-documentaries about some of the objects. The documentaries can also be viewed online at https://www.princessehof.nl/kookboek/minidocu-s-bij-gerechten-kunst-en-koken.

Dish with grapes, flowering branches and waves, c.1530

Focus on the city
In autumn, the museum and the Municipality of Leeuwarden presented an audiovisual spectacle about the life of Marie Louise. For eight weeks, visitors could lounge in the palace garden for an immersive and poetic Son et lumière. As in previous years, the event was completely sold out. The reputation of the Princessehof and the city was boosted by the 600 articles written about the museum, with an advertising value of €1.2 million. Of the total 36,000 visitors, 30,000 came to Leeuwarden especially for the museum. They spent €3.2 million on food, drinks, accommodation and other activities.

Friends of the Princessehof
Membership of the Society of Friends of the Princessehof increased substantially this year, thanks in part to a special campaign that welcomed new friends with a copy of the book Art and Cooking. The Society was always a separate foundation, but was officially taken over by the Princessehof this year, with the board remaining in place.

2023
Porcelain Fever (autumn 2023) immerses visitors in the sensational rivalry between two royal houses. The protagonists are Augustus the Strong from Dresden and the French courtier Madame de Pompadour. In their struggle beset with espionage, intrigue, daggers, gossip and backbiting – and at the same time brimming with unbridled ambition, innovativeness and a love for the material – they elevated European porcelain to unprecedented heights.

Partners of the Princessehof: Ottema-Kingma Foundation, Association of Friends of the Princessehof Ceramics Museum and Club Céramique

Princessehof Ceramics Museum is co-funded by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science and the Municipality of Leeuwarden