The Dutch cultural sector has been conducting some unique acts of civil disobedience this week in protest against the country’s COVID-19 lockdown measures. This saw customers getting their nails done at Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum, getting a haircut accompanied by the city’s Concertgebouw Orchestra, or taking part in gym classes at the Frans Hals Museum in Haarlem.
This follows the reopening of businesses such as salons and gyms in an easing of restrictions, while the cultural sector, including museums, cinemas, bars and restaurants remain subject to the Netherland’s strict lockdown, which has been ongoing since mid-December.
In protest, several Dutch bars and restaurants opened their doors last week, and this week venues such as museums and theatres added their voice to the dissent, temporarily transforming themselves into hairdressers and nail salons to make their point.
Salons and self-portraits
On Wednesday, 10 visitors had their hair trimmed by a barber at the Van Gogh Museum, while 10 other guests enjoyed getting their nails done.
“It’s definitely a first for us at the Van Gogh Museum,” Emilie Gordenker, museum director, told The Associated Press.
“I understand that the government has opened gyms but … you need a mental gym, too, and a museum is a place where people are increasingly coming to find a little depth or reason for their life. And the theme of mental health is particularly relevant to our museum, obviously, because of Vincent van Gogh’s own mental situation.”
Elsewhere, the Mauritshuis organised a boot camp for workouts and the Panorama Mesdag museum hosted a “boost your mind” afternoon, both in The Hague, while The Limburgs Museum in Venlo transformed itself into a gym for the day.
Floriade 2022, the international horticultural exhibition, will also be taking place in the Netherlands later this year and began a 100-day countdown on 4 January 2022. During the 6-month-long exhibition, the Dutch horticultural sector and its national and global partners will showcase solutions for sustainable, livable cities, under an overall theme of ‘Growing Green Cities’.
Top image: screenshot from AFP Twitter feed
