Hermitage for Children

Developing creative talent for all Amsterdam children

Art and culture are important in the education of every child. The State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg has a long educational tradition. Each year hundreds of thousands of children aged between 4 and 18 enjoy an extensive programme there. Children will also get special attention at the Hermitage Amsterdam.

The Neerlandia building on the Nieuwe Herengracht, which housed the first phase of the Hermitage Amsterdam, will be the Hermitage for Children. It will be the largest space dedicated to educational programmes in a museum in the Netherlands. The building will have five workshops, two classrooms, a Children’s Canteen and a Children’s Gift Shop. From the 2009/2010 academic year Hermitage Amsterdam will welcome some 20,000 children from primary schools in greater Amsterdam annually. There will be three different programmes, each focused around the exhibitions in the Hermitage Amsterdam.

The guiding principle is social inclusion: each child has a right to discover his talent. Not all children in Amsterdam come into contact with art, museums or creativity. The Hermitage Amsterdam aims to reach as many children as possible from different backgrounds and works closely with various district authorities in Amsterdam.

Hermitage School

A creative education programme for years 4-5-6 of primary school, whereby pupils will follow a few web lessons at school before visiting the Hermitage for Children. Following a tour of the exhibition with a teacher, they return to the Hermitage for Children, where they carry out a creative assignment related to the theme of the exhibition.

Hermitage Workshop

During class visits to the Hermitage School the teacher will identify any specially talented or gifted children. These children, through their parents, are then invited to develop their gifts further through the programme Hermitage Workshop, comprising three blocks of five lessons held at weekends and on Wednesday afternoons.

Hermitage Academy

Following the Hermitage Workshop programme, talented children of 11 or 12 years old are encouraged to join the Hermitage Academy, which provides a 3-year programme of 12 sessions a year. This programme note only develops their creative talent, but also gives them a basic knowledge of art history. Other institutions are also visited, such as the State Academy of Fine Arts and the Rembrandt Huis

Made possible by

The VSBfonds is the partner of the Hermitage for Children and their contribution of two million euros has enabled this important educational resource to be established. This generous funding not only covers the costs of the conversion, the furnishing but also the programme for the period 2009-2012. The donation is one of the largest ever made by the VSBfonds to a single initiative. The Prince Bernhard Cultural Fund has contributed towards the costs of the educational material for children, young people and adults.