Artwork by Herman Kuijer illuminates CC NL

The Netherlands Collection Centre (CC NL) switched on the light art installation that Herman Kuijer has made especially for this new building. The installation comprises a large number of light beams that create slowly evolving, ever-changing patterns on the building in Amersfoort, next to the A28. The CC NL is where the Holland Open Air Museum, Paleis Het Loo Museum, the Cultural Heritage Agency of The Netherlands, and the Rijksmuseum manage a large proportion of their collections.

Herman Kuijer, light installation artist: The light casts a soft shroud over a hard building. Inside, cultural institutions are freezing time by carefully conserving their collections; outside, intangible time slips by.

Herman Kuijer’s artwork comprises 28 movable light sources placed around the upper part of the building, producing beams of soft white light that move very slowly in completely random directions over the building’s exterior. Variations in the direction and intensity of the light, as well as the expanse of the beams and the speed of their motion, give rise to new and subtle, ever-changing compositions. The installation will be visible every morning and evening.

Herman Kuijer (b. 1953) has been making light installations around the Netherlands since the late 1970s, often for public or semi-public spaces. The locations of his best-known works include the Marstunnel in Zutphen, Westpoint in Tilburg, Parktheater in Eindhoven and the A2 underpass connecting Meern with Utrecht. Various private and corporate collections include work by Kuijer.

The Netherlands Collection Centre, or CC NL, is the result of a unique collaboration involving four cultural institutions. This building with a total floor area of 31,500 square metres offers optimal conditions for the management and conservation of the national collections. CC NL is a catalyst in the fields of expertise, research, and loan procedures. The four partners jointly manage a collection that could be characterised as the material memory of the Netherlands. The bringing together of these collections offers scholars the opportunity to study the Royal collection alongside everyday objects, and everything in between. The increase in scale leads to cost reductions for the four institutions, and makes it possible to offer facilities that are unique in the Netherlands and that benefit the entire cultural sector. The CC NL building in Amersfoort was completed in 2020, and the collections are currently being transferred there from their current depots. The official opening of CC NL will take place in June 2021.

Sustainability has been a key consideration throughout the development of CC NL. The design was assessed as ‘Outstanding, 5 stars’ according to the BREEAM-NL certification method, for features such as its creation of the ideal indoor climate without the need for powered climate control units, and the use of rainwater to flush toilets. An area of the building’s roof measuring 3,700 square metres is covered with solar panels, making the building completely energy self-sufficient – this energy source also powers the light art installation.

For more information, please visit www.collectiecentrumnederland.nl