fenix museum rotterdam

Wednesday 21st of January - Rotterdam

Fenix is the new art museum about migration in Rotterdam.

Fenix is housed in a historic harbour warehouse dating back to 1923. Once the world’s largest transshipment warehouse, it was designed by architect Cornelis van Goor and built for the Holland-America Line. Back then, it was known as the San Francisco Warehouse, stretching 360 metres along the quay. We know the building from the Fenix Food Factory and visited it regularly. I once did a photoshoot* for a new design of the Julia Sweater, in this photogenic industrial building. Over the past years, the warehouse has been restored and transformed into a museum, with the most striking and spectacular adjustment the Tornado on the roof, visible from far away.

The Tornado - a spiral staircase made of stainless steel and wood, leading up to a panoramic deck with a 360-degree view of Rotterdam. Designed by Ma Yansong of MAD Architects, the Tornado is both an artwork and an observation point. You can visit it with a valid ticket.

In the Fenix museum, you will find migration stories from around the world, told by artists, global citizens, and Rotterdammers. Whether you prefer reading or watching, there is always story that appeals to you.

We spent hours today wandering around the immense building and were impressed by so much art, stories, views over Rotterdam and the place itself.

* Fenix - November 2019

xl cigale paintings - sale

XL cigale schilderijen S A L E

Acryl op canvas
Afmetingen 90 x 120 cm

Prijs € 125 per stuk. (het schilderij rechts is inmiddels verkocht)

Voor meer informatie kunt u een e-mail sturen naar info@woodwoolstool.com

jacob lawrence | african american modernist

Amersfoort - Kunsthal Kade - 13 december 2025

Jacob Lawrence | African American Modernist | 1917-2000

Kunsthal KAdE shows the first retrospective exhibition in Europe of the African-American artist Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000). Lawrence made his breakthrough in 1941 with his iconic series of paintings entitled 'The Great Migration', a series consisting of 60 panels, half of which are on display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and half at the Phillips Collection in Washington. In this series, he tells the story of the mass migration of the Black population from the south of the United States to the north. Throughout his oeuvre, Jacob Lawrence focused on African-American history. Jacob Lawrence developed his own autonomous painting style in the twilight years of the Harlem Renaissance and is considered one of the most important African-American painters of the 20th century.

In Europe he unjustly less known, reason for Kunsthal KAdE in Amersfoort to come up with Jacob Lawrence. African American Modernist, a major retrospective of this overwhelming artist. The exhibition can be seen until January 4, 2026.