Groninger Museum pulls out the stops in 2021 with Children’s Biennale and work by French artist JR

Groninger Museum pulls out the stops in 2021 with Children’s Biennale and work by French artist JR

In 2021 the Groninger Museum will host the Netherlands’ first Children’s Bienniale, an exhibition of contemporary interactive art that actively involves kids. A major survey of work by the French artist JR will follow in the autumn. Also on the way: the surprising Stranger Things and work by the De Ploeg artist Alida Pott. The current blockbuster The Rolling Stones – Unzipped will remain open through 28 February 2021.

Children’s Bienniale
Coming in summer 2021
The Children’s Bienniale is a major interactive exhibition of art made by kids for everybody. Every work on display will invite interaction, participation and creation. Through doing, discovering, making and marvelling, visitors will engage with art in a variety of ways. They might help to build a continually changing work, contribute to a digital presentation, or physically move around in an installation. Follow our young ambassadors at kinderbiennalegroningen.nl (in Dutch).

Alida Pott
Coming in summer 2021
Alida Pott (1888–1931) was the first “lady member” of the Groningen artists’ society De Ploeg. Her premature death put an end to her sensitive, promising work. She left a relatively small oeuvre of oil paintings, watercolours, drawings and collages. The 30 works comprising Alida Pott showcase the expressiveness and individuality that characterise her style.

Stranger Things – Fashion and Design
Coming in summer 2021
Odd, bizarrely clad figures appear in peculiar situations. Some, equipped with cleaning supplies, flock around a bright yellow, life-size toy vehicle. Others appear to be preparing for a mysterious battle against an army of giant black chess pieces. Stranger Things brings together fashion and design from the Groninger Museum’s collection in unexpected ways. The exhibition features work by designers including Iris van Herpen, Azzedine Alaïa, Studio Job, Viktor&Rolf, Joris Laarman, Jólan van der Wiel and Marc Newson.

JR: Chronicles
Coming in autumn/winter 2021/22
JR: Chronicles, the first major museum exhibition of the French artist’s work, encompasses murals, films and countless photographs. It surveys his career so far, from early documentation of graffiti artists he produced as a teenager in Paris to his large-scale interventions in cities worldwide to his recent digitally collaged murals that create collective portraits of diverse publics. The show is curated by the Brooklyn Museum in New York. The Groninger Museum is taking the opportunity to mount a series of portraits of local residents inside and outside the building, working with graffiti and street artists. Part of the museum’s substantial graffiti collection will also be on display.

The Rolling Stones – Unzipped
Through 28 February 2021
The Rolling Stones – Unzipped is the first international exhibition devoted to the world-famous rock band. Following stints in London, the United States, Australia and Asia, the show is touring Europe in revamped form, with its premiere in Groningen. More than 400 original objects from the band’s personal archive provide an impressive look behind the scenes. Along with instruments and audiovisual footage, diaries, posters and album covers, there are stage designs, iconic costumes and even a reconstruction of the band’s first flat and recording studio.

Alongside these exhibitions, the collection of the Groninger Museum and Pronkjewails – Design from Past and Present will also be on view next year. The program is subject to change in light of the coronavirus situation.