Youth Insights: International
Feb 22, 2011

This past fall, Youth Insights was invited to Amsterdam for the International Symposium on Connecting Young People and Cultural Institutions at the Stedelijk Museum. The invitation was extended by Marlous van Gastel, a former intern in the Whitney’s education department who now works with youth programs at the Stedelijk. After her time at the Whitney, she returned to Amsterdam to develop Blikopeners, the teen program at the Stedelijk inspired by our very own Youth Insights. Blikopeners learn how to lead tours for audiences of all ages, hearkening back to YI’s earlier focus on intergenerational conversation. We were fortunate enough to meet a few past and current Blikopeners, a word that translates to “can opener” or “eye opener,” reflecting their mission of offering open dialogue from unique points of view.

Danielle and I joined an international panel that included representatives from the Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles, Tate, Centre Pompidou, the National Gallery of Denmark, and more. We convened at the Stedelijk, along with other conference guests from all over Europe, to talk about the role of young people in museums and other cultural institutions. The audience was filled with professionals and educators who were interested in learning more about the subject. Please visit the Stedelijk's symposium website, which the museum recently launched, for more information on the conference, including presentations and links to participating institutions.

We also had an opportunity to tour the newly expanded Stedelijk Museum, which is still under construction. Thinking about the Whitney's upcoming building project, it was interesting to see how staff at the Stedelijk are dealing with issues of space, time, and everything else that comes along with new construction. Their solution has been the Temporary Stedelijk, a space that is connected to the original museum building and hosts current exhibitions.

When we were all conferenced out, Danielle and I had a chance to explore Amsterdam, visiting the Anne Frank Museum, FOAM (the photography museum), and taking a canal tour which included a view of NEMO, Amsterdam's science museum designed by Renzo Piano, the architect of the Whitney's new downtown buiilding project. We also stopped by the famous flower market, ate giant pancakes, and I watched in disapproval as Danielle tried herring from a street cart. It's like Amsterdam's version of a NYC hot dog!

Special thanks to Marlous van Gastel and everyone at the Stedelijk for hosting us! And thanks to Tomek Whitfield, a Blikopeners alum, who took some amazing photographs! Check out more photos from our adventures in Amsterdam below.

By Diane Exavier, Assistant to Youth Programs