The Boijmans van Beuningen museum drive-thru for electric cars brings out your inner explorer. You can watch art from the safety of your electric car at Ahoy Rotterdam.
A private experience
Nowadays, visiting a museum is becoming a more private experience than ever before. With museums limiting the number of visitors per hour or giving out time-slots to comply with the corona measures, you no longer have to stick your head out to obtain an unobscured view of artworks. The museum drive-thru, a collaboration between Boijmans van Beuningen and Ahoy Rotterdam, takes this to the next level. This temporary exhibition is their answer to the 1.5-meter social-distancing rule in the Netherlands.
Electric car
For three weeks, starting 1 August 2020, you can see a special exhibition consisting of more than fifty artworks from the safety of your own car (very corona proof!). You and your party will experience a semi-private museum tour. Don’t worry if you don’t own an electric or hybrid car or have a driver’s license: you can either borrow an electric car at the location or watch the exhibition from a promenade.
The venue
Hall 1 of the Ahoy Rotterdam has been turned into one big museum. Visitors drive by the artworks on display at a walking pace. Art is all around you, at eye level and also high above. The hall itself is dark, with the headlights of the cars illuminating the area. It feels like you’re exploring unknown territory, with beautiful objects wherever you look. If you want to take a longer look at one of the artworks, you can temporarily park wherever you like.
As Museum Boijmans van Beuningen will be closed for many more years because of a major renovation, the museum is showing its collection at other locations in the area. This one is a keeper!
The art
Inside the museum, you can see a mix of paintings, sculptures, videos, and installations. The exhibition contains both world-famous works from the collection of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen and installations by contemporary artists. These works highlight the unpredictable and fickle nature of human existence. When inside, you can read more about the artworks by looking at the floorplan online.
Trees are very prominent in many of the works on display. You, the visitor, are part of the exhibition as you drive through the ‘forest’ of art, watching both the artworks and the other visitors that drive around in their own cars. The biggest work of art is perhaps the swarm of electric cars driving around like a crib mobile.
My experience
This is the first time I visited a museum drive-thru and I really liked it. While the pieces on display didn’t interest me overly much – I guess I like different art – I enjoyed exploring the hall. Often I simply parked my car somewhere to watch other people drive around and watch art. It’s fascinating.
When you enter the hall through the dark tunnel with arrows, you get the feeling you’re in an amusement park. For a second I felt disoriented when I suddenly saw a work of art and then the brake lights of the car in front of me, blocking me halfway my turn in the dark. But then you enter the big hallway and take your first look at this whole new world that is yours to explore.
At first, I followed the cars in front of me, driving at a walking pace along the wall on the right. This is like being in a traffic jam: something you need to escape quickly. You can always come back to this spot later. Soon after I took the ‘left lane’ and just drove to the artworks that caught my eye, sometimes parking right in front of an object so I could watch the work of art through my windscreen and at other times favoring the right or left window to optimize the view for either my passenger or myself. This was also when I started watching the videos as if I was at a drive-in cinema.
The fact that you’re able to choose your own path gives such a feeling of freedom. While there are many other cars – not too many, the number of cars is just right – they don’t hinder your experience because there are many nooks inside the venue. Sometimes you have to wait a little bit when another car is blocking your view, but when that car moves you get to experience the artwork in private.
I also like the environmentally-friendly concept of allowing electric cars only (I happen to have one so I brought my own!). With the unease the coronavirus causes in many people, this feels like a very safe way to still go out and watch art. If you’re in the Netherlands, I can recommend a visit!
Practical information
When
1 August 2020 – 23 August 2020
The drive-thru is open daily from 10:00 until 21:00. You can reserve a 30-minute time slot online.
Tickets
You can buy tickets on the website of Boijmans van Beuningen.
For the drive-thru
Adults: 14.50 EUR (with Rotterdampas: 7 EUR)
Children (3-12): 7.25 EUR (with Rotterdampas: 2 EUR)
There are two options for the drive-thru: with your own electric or hybrid car or with a borrowed BMW Mini Cooper.
Promenade
If you only want to watch from the promenade, without driving through the hall, you can buy a promenade ticket for 7.50 EUR. From the promenade, you can watch the cars and artworks from the side. You also have access to the food truck and the test area for electric cars.
I wouldn’t advise watching from the promenade, as the exhibition is all about the drive-thru.
Location
Ahoy Rotterdam: Ahoyweg 10, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
By car
You can park your car for free at P1 at the venue. You can exchange your parking ticket for a pre-paid one at the white tent near the food truck. This is also where you can get your BMW Mini Cooper.
If you want to explore the exhibition with your own car, you also have to go to the white tent to sign a liability waiver. When it is time to enter the exhibition, you pick up your car at the P1 parking lot and drive towards the entrance of the hall.
By public transport
Take subway line D or E from Rotterdam Centraal to the Zuidplein stop. From there, it is a six minutes’ walk to the entrance of the Ahoy Rotterdam.
