The upper floors of the Gemeentemuseum look like a traditional museum, but below stairs it will soon be a different story. Down in the basement, the Wonderkamers will present art in a completely new way. They will provide a host of interactive opportunities for visitors to test their imaginations and experiment to their hearts’ content, while at the same time genuinely learning about their cultural heritage and history. Wonderkamers are a unique venture – no other museum in the Netherlands has ever embarked on such a comprehensive project to expand the appreciation of art among young people.

The Display
The heart of the new area is The Display, a mixture of items drawn from every area of the museum’s collections – modern art, fashion, decorative arts and music. For once, they are not ordered according to their place in art history, but by association: from black to white, from animals to men and women. This creates unusual relationships between the works and places them in unexpected contexts. The core display is surrounded by thirteen other compartments, each of which is a world in itself. These are used to address a wide variety of topics.

Imitation and inspiration
Did you know, for example, that the famous blue Delft pottery began as a copy of Asian porcelain? And that the Chinese later began in turn to imitate Dutch earthenware? In Imitation and inspiration you will find yourself in a world of Makkum tiles, where history is literally fired into a blue Delft tile tableau made by comic-strip artist Peter van Dongen.

Value and valuation
The Value and valuation compartment looks like a high-class auction house. Here, the presentation addresses thorny issues like why one work of art is worth so much, while another – that looks far more attractive – is worth nothing at all? By playing an interactive game, you can try your hand at making your own valuations of objects.

Once upon a time…
Another compartment contains a mysterious, dimly lit and richly coloured Arabian nights world. Sitting on cushions, you see vases light up to show letters that suggest a story. Not for nothing is this compartment entitled Once upon a time...: objects here have a hidden meaning, revealed by actors. Further on, you enter a hall of mirrors where you can experience what it meant to wear a crinoline and a corset and in another compartment you can feel the difference between ready-to-wear and couture fashion.

Sample/Track/Perform
Many young visitors will head straight for the three music compartments entitled Sample/Track/Perform and developed by the museum jointly with VPRO’s 3VOOR12. These provide a studio environment in which you can make your own music, using sounds you record yourself and samples from musical instruments in the museum’s collection. These can then be manipulated and turned into a finished performance. And so the list goes on, with another eight compartments, in which modern art and architecture are presented in amazing new ways. Needless to say, the Wonderkamers will also have their own site, where visitors can save what they have created.

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