For Museum The Ship, Anneke Groen (student Master of Museology), conceived the story project My Amsterdam School about life in the remarkable building known as 'the ship' – one of the foremost examples of the Amsterdam School style of architecture. The museum board was immediately captivated by Anneke’s ideas, and offered her an internship.

An economist whose previous career involved working in the world of stocks and shares, Anneke volunteers as a tour guide in Artis, Amsterdam’s city zoo. Anneke: “Being a tour guide is something I’ve always enjoyed, and I still love it. My ambition was to work in an area that I felt a personal affinity with, and that’s the cultural sector.” Anneke decided to enrol in the Master of Museology.

With other students on the programme, Anneke visited a great many museums including Het Schip, the flagship of the Amsterdam School of architecture in the Spaarndammerbuurt. Anneke is currently working at the museum as an intern, and will soon join the museum’s staff on a long-term basis. The small museum in Amsterdam West is on the verge of enormous change because the elementary school De Catamaran that currently occupies the building is about to move. This not only means that the museum will gain an additional 1200m² of floor space, but also presents the challenge of giving visitors (some 17,000 a year) a way to connect with and experience this extraordinary example of early twentieth-century architecture.
 
Story project My Amsterdam School
Anneke came up with the project My Amsterdam School for the museum; the project focuses on gathering together the stories of the children who attended the school that is about to relocate. What did the children think about going to school in a building designed in the style of the Amsterdam School? Anneke: “We want to keep these memories after the school has gone. They are part of the story the museum wants to tell visitors about the social history of the local community.” Anneke began by making a feasibility study: “I’m discussing working with a community organization that organizes educational and creative activities for schools. The museum and the school agreed and now the project needs to be fleshed out.”

Before the school leaves the building, the museum will mount an exhibition of the children’s stories which will also be open to local residents of the Spaarndammerbuurt. The next step is to ask local people for their stories about living in and with the architecture of the Amsterdam School, which largely defines the unique character of the neighbourhood. The stories will give added depth to the museum’s collection, and strengthen social cohesion in the community. The project aims to affirm a sense of connection, solidarity and involvement.

Trip to Rio de Janeiro
Anneke was invited to present her idea in Brazil during the conference of the ICOM, the international council of museums. Anneke: “As part of our study programme, we were given the assignment of writing a proposal for a presentation. Although it was intended as an exercise, the conference in Rio centred on the social role of museums, a theme that perfectly matched my project. So I submitted my proposal and was invited to present it at the DEMHIST sub-conference, the international committee for historical house museums.

Anneke: “My presentation generated a lot of questions, and people were interested in Het Schip. The conference was an opportunity to raise the visibility of the museum in the international museum world. It’s a way of connecting with international professionals and exchanging ideas.”

Plans
What are her plans for the near future? Anneke: “Museum Het Schip has asked me to stay on as project manager after my internship. I’m also going to work on my thesis and with any luck I’ll graduate in the summer. And I’ll soon be visiting Sweden together with other students on the programme to work on a collaborative project. Students from Sweden, Norway, Germany and Hungary will all work on preparing an exhibition for the world museum in Goteborg. It’s all very instructive and hugely exciting.”