On the Katendrecht peninsula in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, the newly built Fenix Museum stands by the harbor, overlooking the history of this area. The area is the site of the first Chinatown in continental Europe. After the Dutch shipyard strike in 1911, Chinese workers arrived here via the British-German route and transformed Katendrecht into a vibrant immigrant community.
"Fenix is therefore located at an intersection. It is a place of arrival and departure, and also the starting point of countless personal stories, farewells and reunions, nostalgia and rebirth. We hope that Fenix can tell a story about the unremitting migration of human beings in a changing world." In an exclusive interview with "The Paper Art Review", the museum director Anne Kramers said.
Recently, the Fenix Museum in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, was officially opened to the public. The building where the museum is located was built in 1923, with an area of 16,000 square meters. It was originally one of the largest warehouses in the world for Holland America Line and an important logistics hub. Between the 19th and 20th centuries, millions of immigrants took the routes of Holland America Line and arrived or departed at the docks around the building. This was also the oldest Chinatown in continental Europe, and it also experienced a red-light district, with a rich and diverse cultural history.
Fenix Museum in Rotterdam, Netherlands
Old photo of the warehouse, courtesy of the Rotterdam City Archives
Today, with the renewal of urban communities, the Fenix Museum came into being, trying to explore the theme of immigration from an artistic perspective and become a new cultural symbol of the local area. The museum building has become another example of the transformation of industrial heritage into art. The renovation of this warehouse building was designed by Ma Yansong, the founder of Beijing MAD Architects, presenting an architectural structure called "Tornado". This double spiral staircase spirals from the ground to the rooftop observation deck, resembling a rising air flow, leading visitors to a view suspended above the city, with a panoramic view of the Maas River and the old headquarters of Holland America Line and the current "New York Hotel". It is reported that this is also the first cultural project of MAD Architects in Europe.
The Paper learned that the Fenix Museum is funded by the Droom en Daad Foundation, which was established in 2016 and is headed by Wim Pijbes, the former director of the Rijksmuseum. The foundation is committed to redefining the urban cultural landscape of Rotterdam in the 21st century, including promoting the development of innovative cultural institutions and cultivating creative talents that reflect the city's diversity, historical depth and pioneering spirit.
At the “Universal Flow” exhibition, artist Kim Soo-ja created the installation “Bag Truck – Migrants”
The museum's opening exhibitions include: "All Directions", "The Family of Migrants" and "The Suitcase Labyrinth". Among them, "All Directions" tells the migration memories and life trajectories behind the objects with 150 collections spanning ancient and modern times and immigrant souvenirs from Rotterdam citizens. For example, Chinese artist Benjamin Lee presents 40 meal photography in the form of light boxes to explore how the dining space becomes a bridge between culture and community; Korean artist Cai Enli created the installation "We: Eye of the Storm" to explore the intertwined propositions of immigration and time and space; and artist Kim Soo-ja created the installation "Bag Truck-Migrants", which not only echoes the "bag cloth" culture in Korean tradition, but also expresses the story of migration; Mumbai artist Shilpa Gupta's installation "Untitled" questions the nature of borders through the metaphor of "door". These works are juxtaposed with several important historical testimonies: fragments of the Berlin Wall, a Lampedusa immigrant ship that once crossed the Mediterranean, and a refugee passport issued in 1923.
A man who just immigrated to New York eats noodles on a fire escape. Photo by Zhang Ganqi
In 1996, on a train from Guangzhou to Chengdu, a couple covered with a blanket, Wang Fuchun
The exhibition "Immigrant Family" is inspired by the classic of photography history - Edward Steichen's "Family of Man" exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York in 1955. The exhibition brings together 194 works from 136 photographers from 55 countries since 1905, covering documentary images, portraits and news photography selected from international archives, museum collections, photo libraries and newspapers. Among them, Zhang Qianqi, who was born in Taiwan, China and now lives in the United States, explores the discrete narratives of Chinese Americans in his photography. His tense images directly hit the living conditions of Chinatown in New York. The "Suitcase Maze" exhibition is a large-scale interactive installation work composed of 2,000 donated suitcases, carrying personal immigrant memories from different countries, cultures and communities around the world.
Passengers on a long-distance journey from the United States to Europe, 1907. First-class passengers sat on the upper deck, second-class passengers on the lower deck, photo by Alfred Stieglitz
Anne Kremers, director of the Fenix Museum, said: “The stories of immigrants are at the heart of Fenix. We incorporate them into every detail. We hope that everyone who walks in here will feel truly welcomed and belong.”
It is reported that the Rotterdam port area will undergo a cultural transformation in the next decade to reshape its position as a cultural core city in Europe. This transformation plan covers a variety of cultural and community development projects, including the construction of new museums, dance centers, music and reading promotion spaces, park upgrades, and a series of high-profile public art commissions. In addition to Fenix, this fall, the Netherlands National Photography Museum (Nederlands Fotomuseum) will move into the historic Santos building next to Fenix. This landmark building was built in 1903 and was originally a Brazilian coffee warehouse.
On the occasion of the opening, The Paper｜Art Review interviewed Anne Kremers, director of the Fenix Museum, via email, talking about Fenix’s collections, the museum’s positioning and its interactions with the surrounding areas.
Anne Kramers
Conversation｜Annie Kramers
The Paper: Fenix’s transformation from a century-old warehouse to a contemporary art museum is a remarkable one. In your opinion, what cultural or social value can the reuse of industrial heritage bring to a community?
Anne Kramers: We chose this heritage building as the new site not only for sustainable reasons. The abandoned warehouse was acquired by the charitable foundation Droom en Daad in 2017. In recent years, it has been used as a venue for pop-up food events and even an art biennial. We knew it had great potential to become a public cultural space and a place of community belonging.
We also realized that the value of preserving and revitalizing the warehouse lies in its ability to preserve the memory and identity of this historic port area - once Rotterdam's red-light district and the site of the first Chinatown on the European continent. It is this history that inspired us to conceive a museum that expresses the shared experience of "immigration" through art, photography, history, culture and even architecture.
A ship moored at a warehouse, circa 1925. Image courtesy of the Rotterdam City Archives
Chinese men and boys at the port of Katendrecht. Image courtesy of the Rotterdam City Archives
The Paper: Fenix places the focus of the narrative on human mobility and memory. How do you view the significance and resonance of the theme of “immigration” in the city of Rotterdam?
Anne Kramers: Rotterdam has always been a city of trade and shipping – a port city open to the world, a gathering place for merchants, sailors and travelers. Fenix overlooks the historic docks, where millions of migrants departed or arrived. In the 19th and 20th centuries, many people set out from here to build new lives in America, including scientist Albert Einstein, actor Johnny Weismuller, and artists Willem de Kooning and Max Beckmann. The dock opposite was once called the Pier of Tears. Many people also settled here, shaping Rotterdam, which is now home to more than 170 nationalities.
Fenix is therefore located at a crossroads, a place of arrival and departure, the starting point of countless personal stories, farewells and reunions, nostalgia and rebirth. Inspired by these journeys, we hope that Fenix can tell a story about the relentless migration of humans in a changing world.
Hugo MacLeod, The Origins of Dislocation (detail), 2023-2024
The Paper: Can MAD’s modern, flowing, linear renovation design bring new appeal to the local neighborhood?
Anne Kramers: MAD architects knew that they needed to establish a dialogue with the existing building, the surrounding environment and history. When designing the new structure, Ma Yansong expressed his desire to show this dialogue through architecture, to tell a narrative about the relationship between the future and the past, and to continue the story of this building. This is the origin of the design of the "tornado": the historical warehouse is a horizontal, heavy structure, while the tornado rises from the middle, and the modern stainless steel structure spirals up and reaches the sky.
The Tornado has become a new landmark in Rotterdam. We hope it will attract more people to the museum – from locals to international visitors, and inspire younger generations to understand their own migration stories.
We have also created a new museum concept at Fenix: an indoor public space called the Plein, a “civic center” that will be open every day with free admission. It will become a public curatorial space, encouraging Rotterdam’s community to tell their own stories and come together in many ways. Over time, we hope it will become part of the city’s public life.
Fenix Museum by MAD
Inside the Fenix Museum
The Paper: Can you introduce Fenix’s collection and curatorial features?
Anne Kramers: Our collection is centered around the theme of “human migration” and includes modern and contemporary art, historical and personal objects, and photography. They show the permanence of migration and reveal its connection to emotions such as love, farewell, home and happiness. These works tell stories that transcend borders and include memories of migration yesterday, today and tomorrow.
Our opening exhibition, All Directions, is mainly drawn from these collections. We present works by artists from all over the world in a space of over 6,000 square meters on the first floor. These works range from old masters to modern and contemporary artists, as well as commissioned works that are being exhibited for the first time. In addition, the exhibition also borrows collections from many Dutch and international museums. The exhibition is divided into six major themes: Migration, Identity, Happiness, Borders, Escape and Home. Within these themes, artworks are exhibited side by side with historical objects or personal memories, providing viewers with a rich context for understanding the experience of migration.
Adrian Patch, Temporary Detention Center, 2007
The Paper: How was Fenix’s collection system established?
Anne Kramers: Over the past six years, we have built up the collection through acquisitions and donations. This includes personal items in the exhibition "Universal Flow" and more than 2,000 suitcases in the "Luggage Maze". We launched an open call for donated suitcases across the Netherlands, and also collected many luggage from travelers from Rotterdam to the United States, Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Some are testimonies passed down from generation to generation in families, carrying stories of changing destiny; and the "newest" suitcase was even used just last year.
The Paper: Since its opening, what have been the highlights or memorable moments of Fenix’s themed exhibitions? What curatorial narratives or audience experiences have been particularly influential?
Anne Kramers: We are deeply moved by the reactions that Fenix has elicited. From the tears that people shed in front of some of the most powerful images of migration in the exhibition “A Migrant Family”, to the joy and pride that Rotterdam residents showed when they saw items from their city in the “Suitcase Maze”, to the amazement on people’s faces when they climbed the fantastic “Tornado” structure, to the emotional moments when they exchanged migration stories with our team and with each other. Every family has their own migration story, and Fenix has made some of these stories come to light.
“Universal Flow” exhibition site
The Paper: The neighborhood where Fenix is located is rapidly developing into a cultural gathering place, adjacent to the Netherlands Photography Museum and the soon-to-open dance hall (Danshuis). How do you view the role of Fenix in this cultural landscape, and how will the museum cooperate and communicate with surrounding institutions and the public?
Anne Kramers: We are very excited to be part of the renaissance of this neighborhood and to be part of the cultural fabric of this vibrant city. We have established close partnerships with several local cultural institutions, including loans to the Netherlands Museum of Photography, which will be relocating to Fenix, and a collaboration with the Nieuwe Instituut on the exhibition “Ma Yansong: Architecture and Emotion”, which coincides with the opening of Fenix. We are also looking forward to future interactions and collaborations with the Dance Pavilion.
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