Mission Masterpiece, the family exhibition where children and their families performed technical research on artworks from the Rijksmuseum collection, is transferring to the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp (KMSKA). Visitors to the exhibition at the Rijksmuseum, which closed last weekend, gave it exceptionally high ratings. Two other European museums have expressed interest in re-using the concept and materials for Mission Masterpiece.
Last Sunday was the last day of Mission Masterpiece at the Rijksmuseum. Especially for this exhibition we transformed six galleries into laboratories where mission participants got to examine art objects – using the same methods and techniques as those used by professionals at the museum. They worked with microscopes, UV light and X-ray scanners to study textile fibres, gemstones, paper, tree rings and paint pigments. Since opening in late July 2023, 40,000 children and family members have completed Mission Masterpiece. On average, they awarded it a rating of 9.1. Never before has a Rijksmuseum exhibition gained such a high rating. Interest in the exhibition from other museums means even more young researchers are going to discover what goes on behind the scenes at a museum, and to think about the qualities an object needs to have to be a true masterpiece.
Mission Masterpiece is the first exhibition that the Rijksmuseum has ever designed especially for children and families, in partnership with NEMO Science Museum in Amsterdam. The KMSKA will be re-using the concept, research tables, sets and other materials from the Rijksmuseum. Mission Masterpiece at the KMSKA will focus on the host museum’s own collection and research stories, and run throughout spring and summer 2025. This was allow as many schools and families as possible to visit the exhibition.
Image: Rijksmuseum/ Olivier Middendorp
Anna Melnykova, "Palace of Labor (palats praci), architector I. Pretro, 1916", shot with analog Canon camera, 35 mm Fuji film in March 2022.
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