FENIX Museum of Migration
 | |
| Established | 2025 |
|---|---|
| Location | Rotterdam, the Netherlands |
| Type | Art museum, History museum |
The FENIX Museum of Migration is a museum dedicated to human migration, located within the former Fenix warehouse in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.[1] It was opened on 16 May 2025.[2]
The museum has two inaugural exhibitions. Firstly All Directions: Art That Moves You, featuring works drawn from the museum's permanent collection, including pieces by Francis Alÿs, Cornelia Parker and Do Ho Suh; and secondly The Family of Migrants, an exhibition inspired by Edward Steichen’s Family of Man at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, which presents 194 photographs on the subject of migration.[3]
FENIX is funded by the Droom en Daad Foundation, founded in 2016 and led by former Rijksmuseum director Wim Pijbes.[4] The director is Anne Kremers[5]
In July 2025, the museum welcomed its 100,000th visitor, marking over 100,000 visits in its first two months.[6] It reached the 500,000 mark within a year of its opening.[7]
Design
The museum is designed by Chinese architectural firm MAD Architects, and is MAD's first cultural project in Europe. The museum is situated in the former Fenix warehouse, located in the Katendrecht Peninsula. The warehouse spans over 16,000 square meters.[3] The warehouse, designed by Cornelis Nicolaas van Goor, was originally constructed in 1923, and was previously known as the San Francisco Warehouse. The warehouse was used extensively by the Holland-America Line for storage and shipping purposes.[8] The Holland-American Line facilitated the migration of millions of Europeans to the United States in the late 19th and early 20th century.[9][10]
Tornado
Along with the Fenix warehouse, the museum features a twisting structure known as the Tornado, symbolizing the travels taken by migrants across the world.[11] According to Ma Yansong, founder of MAD architects, Tornado "both signifies the Fenix’s witnessing of Europe’s history of migration from the port, and symbolizes the future of the city".[11] Tornado is 30 meters tall and is covered by 297 highly polished stainless-steel panels manufactured in the Dutch city of Groningen.[12] Open to visitors, the Tornado includes a 550-meter double helix wooden staircase that allows views of the Rotterdam skyline.
Danshuis
Adjacent to the Fenix museum, the former Provimi warehouse will be adapted into Danshuis, or the Rotterdam Central for Dance.[13]
References
- ↑ Petersen, Anne Ring (2018-02-01), "Mining the museum in an age of migration", Migration Into Art, Manchester University Press, ISBN 978-1-5261-2190-5, retrieved 2025-01-05
- ↑ Siegal, Nina (2025-05-16). "Fenix, a Museum of Migration, Opens in Rotterdam". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-05-17.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - 1 2 "Rotterdam gets new museum dedicated to art and migration". artreview.com. Retrieved 2025-01-05.
- ↑ "Home - Droom en Daad". 2023-10-23. Retrieved 2026-08-11.
- ↑ "Anne Kremers over het gloednieuwe museum Fenix". Uitagenda Rotterdam (in Dutch). Retrieved 2026-08-11.
- ↑ "In twee maanden tijd 100.000 bezoekers voor museum Fenix". AD (in Dutch). July 2025. Retrieved 2025-07-17.
- ↑ B.V, Museumtijdschrift (2026-05-22). "Kunstmuseum Fenix breidt uit na half miljoen bezoekers in eerste jaar". Museumtijdschrift (in Dutch). Retrieved 2026-08-11.
- ↑ "MAD's Fenix Museum tops out with its iconic "Tornado" structure in Rotterdam". worldarchitecture.org. Retrieved 2025-01-05.
- ↑ "MAD Architects' Museum of Migration in Rotterdam is Scheduled to Open in 2025". ArchDaily. 2023-11-17. Retrieved 2025-01-05.
- ↑ "Rotterdam's new museum of migration, Fenix, to open in May". The Art Newspaper - International art news and events. 2024-11-22. Retrieved 2025-01-05.
- 1 2 Lekka Angelopoulou, Sofia (2023-11-10). "MAD architects' spiraling fenix museum in rotterdam to open 2025". designboom | architecture & design magazine. Retrieved 2025-01-05.
- ↑ "MAD's huge steel Tornado installed on Fenix Museum in Rotterdam". Dezeen. 2024-09-09. Retrieved 2025-01-05.
- ↑ "MAD unveils design for Danshuis and images of gigantic spiral staircase in Rotterdam". Dezeen. 2023-03-09. Retrieved 2025-01-05.