Louwman Museum

This museum is not just for car geeks

Cultural entrepreneurship is in the Louwman Museum's DNA. Its car collection - considered one of the finest in the world by connoisseurs - attracts day trippers and schoolchildren, as well as companies. "We highlight the automobile from all sides," he says.

Main photo By Article 1170

DATE

03 June 2020

TEXT

Jasper Gramsma

IMAGE

Frank Jansen

Louwman Museum

This museum is not just for car geeks

Cultural entrepreneurship is in the Louwman Museum's DNA. Its car collection - considered one of the finest in the world by connoisseurs - attracts day trippers and schoolchildren, as well as companies. "We highlight the automobile from all sides," he says.

"Hhe Louwman Museum is not just for car geeks," director Ronald Kooyman emphasises again during the conversation on the indoor Museum Square. This is where the museum café is located, a cosy terrace that breathes the atmosphere of the previous 1920s thanks to its historic facades.


'The car has changed our society enormously: our mobility, the landscape'

Pointing to one of the premises, the jovial Kooyman says: "That's an old drugstore with original interior. Car connoisseurs know this is a nod to the fuel you used to be able to buy there, but an old shop like that puts a smile on the face of others too."

It is precisely this stratification that makes the Louwman Museum interesting to a wide audience. "The car has changed our society enormously: our mobility, the landscape. And often the car is a reflection of the time, region and circumstances in which it was created.

Dwarf cars

Especially in our temporary exhibitions in the main hall, such as in 2019 on dwarf cars, those kinds of aspects come up. They attract a new audience that spreads our fame like an oil slick," Kooyman said.

The collection includes 265 cars from many countries and all eras, but it is never finished. "Although we have strict criteria for new ones," Kooyman notes. One purchase stands out in his memory: that of the only pre-war Toyota still known to exist, from 1936. Smiling: "For that, I went to Russia, an adventure.


'We offer context, which is more than some cars in a row'

Soon the provider turned out not to be the owner. He travelled with us to Vladivostok as an intermediary. In the end, it took seven months before we had the car in the Netherlands; a lot of red tape with export permits."

Five-year salary

Less well known are the museum's posters and art objects. "Unjustly so," argues the director. "It is precisely these that tell stories; we offer context, which is more than a few cars in a row." As an example, he mentions a poster of the French car brand Cottereau from the early 1900s. "Such a car cost roughly five annual salaries at the time.

So if you had one, you wanted to show it off. And who could do that better than a lady? That's why people often depicted women, in their Sunday dresses behind the wheel. Further on, you can see some people fumbling with lame horses, then still the big competitors."

TripAdvisor

With a spot in TripAdvisor's top ten, the museum has no shortage of attention. "The 165,000 visitors per year are mainly private individuals; fortunately, more and more Museum Card holders also know how to find us," Kooyman notes with satisfaction. "In addition, we receive hundreds of students every year because we are on the schools' 'culture menu'.

For them, there is an audio tour, an interactive game and a multiple-choice questionnaire, which is also widely used by grandparents and their grandchildren. That social role is part of what is asked of museums these days."

Louwman Museum
An unsuspected function of the independent Louwman Museum is that of host for business meetings. "That's 300 a year now, from a meeting to a three-day conference, and we want to grow to 450," Kooyman says. "


'The building has the theatre, library, meeting rooms and café to facilitate all kinds of events'

Cultural entrepreneurship suits us perfectly, for ten years now. The building has the theatre, the library, meeting rooms and this café to facilitate all kinds of events for dozens or a few hundred people. The 'great hall' even allows receptions for up to a thousand guests."

Cars

In all these activities, the cars have a crucial place: "Sometimes it includes a tour of the museum, with an introduction from me or one of the guides. But cars from the collection can also be brought into the halls. After all, they are there for learning and entertainment." And the benefit for the host or hostess? "A high turnout, because people are always curious."

www.louwmanmuseum.nl

date 03 June 2020
text Jasper Gramsma image Frank Jansen

"Hhe Louwman Museum is not just for car geeks," director Ronald Kooyman emphasises again during the conversation on the indoor Museum Square. This is where the museum café is located, a cosy terrace that breathes the atmosphere of the previous 1920s thanks to its historic facades.


'The car has changed our society enormously: our mobility, the landscape'

Pointing to one of the premises, the jovial Kooyman says: "That's an old drugstore with original interior. Car connoisseurs know this is a nod to the fuel you used to be able to buy there, but an old shop like that puts a smile on the face of others too."

It is precisely this stratification that makes the Louwman Museum interesting to a wide audience. "The car has changed our society enormously: our mobility, the landscape. And often the car is a reflection of the time, region and circumstances in which it was created.

Dwarf cars

Especially in our temporary exhibitions in the main hall, such as in 2019 on dwarf cars, those kinds of aspects come up. They attract a new audience that spreads our fame like an oil slick," Kooyman said.

The collection includes 265 cars from many countries and all eras, but it is never finished. "Although we have strict criteria for new ones," Kooyman notes. One purchase stands out in his memory: that of the only pre-war Toyota still known to exist, from 1936. Smiling: "For that, I went to Russia, an adventure.


'We offer context, which is more than some cars in a row'

Soon the provider turned out not to be the owner. He travelled with us to Vladivostok as an intermediary. In the end, it took seven months before we had the car in the Netherlands; a lot of red tape with export permits."

Five-year salary

Less well known are the museum's posters and art objects. "Unjustly so," argues the director. "It is precisely these that tell stories; we offer context, which is more than a few cars in a row." As an example, he mentions a poster of the French car brand Cottereau from the early 1900s. "Such a car cost roughly five annual salaries at the time.

So if you had one, you wanted to show it off. And who could do that better than a lady? That's why people often depicted women, in their Sunday dresses behind the wheel. Further on, you can see some people fumbling with lame horses, then still the big competitors."

TripAdvisor

With a spot in TripAdvisor's top ten, the museum has no shortage of attention. "The 165,000 visitors per year are mainly private individuals; fortunately, more and more Museum Card holders also know how to find us," Kooyman notes with satisfaction. "In addition, we receive hundreds of students every year because we are on the schools' 'culture menu'.

For them, there is an audio tour, an interactive game and a multiple-choice questionnaire, which is also widely used by grandparents and their grandchildren. That social role is part of what is asked of museums these days."

Louwman Museum
An unsuspected function of the independent Louwman Museum is that of host for business meetings. "That's 300 a year now, from a meeting to a three-day conference, and we want to grow to 450," Kooyman says. "


'The building has the theatre, library, meeting rooms and café to facilitate all kinds of events'

Cultural entrepreneurship suits us perfectly, for ten years now. The building has the theatre, the library, meeting rooms and this café to facilitate all kinds of events for dozens or a few hundred people. The 'great hall' even allows receptions for up to a thousand guests."

Cars

In all these activities, the cars have a crucial place: "Sometimes it includes a tour of the museum, with an introduction from me or one of the guides. But cars from the collection can also be brought into the halls. After all, they are there for learning and entertainment." And the benefit for the host or hostess? "A high turnout, because people are always curious."

www.louwmanmuseum.nl