De Appel is moving

02/02/2012

De Zeemanshoop, Prins Hendrikkade 142, gelegen aan het IJ.

PRESS RELEASE

De Appel arts centre is moving to the Prins Hendrikkade 142 on 24th May 2012.

De Appel arts centre has moved. Following its temporary accommodation in de Appel Boys School in de Pijp district of Amsterdam, de Appel arts centre is opening its new, and permanent home base to the public on Thurday evening, 24 May 2012. This is in the splendid historical premises of De Zeemanshoop on the Prins Hendrikkade 142, in the heart of Amsterdam. The festive and critical exhibition “Topsy Turvy” will be organized on the occasion of this inauguration, from 25 May to 23 Septem- ber 2012. It comes from the carnival folk festival. The opening of the Moes Restaurant in the basement, the library and the archive, will also be accompanied by a week of festivities.

Renovation
The far-reaching and successful renovation of the premises was completed within the set time limit and budget. The office of architects Denieuwegeneratie and ADP architects were commissioned to convert this listed building into a modern and public space by the Council of Amsterdam just before the Stedelijk Museum, devoting attention to the characteristic architecture. The new location will be opened to the public with the Public Opening on 24 May 2012. In future a visit to de Appel arts centre can be followed by lunch or dinner in the new Moes restaurant, in the basement of the building. The library, which has more than 10,000 volumes, and the archive will also be accessible to the public again. In addition, de Appel arts centre is offering its visitors a new service and will start with extended opening times: Tuesday to Saturday, from 12 to 8 p.m., Sundays and holidays from 12 to 6 p.m. A new, innovative and playful house style created by the Thonik design team was chosen to present the visual character of this next episode in the history of de Appel arts centre.

Colourful and turbulent history of the premises
The new accommodation has a colourful history of residents. It was built in about 1728 as a stately mansion for the wealthy VOC tobacco merchant Agges Scholten. A century later it became an association for seamen, De Zeemanshoop. It then became a school and was the youth centre for the Socialist Workers until the premises became the underground youth centre for Amsterdam as the Fantasio pop music club in the late 1960s. In the autumn of 1969 the notorious club turned into the Kosmos meditation centre, which developed to become the most important spiritual and new age centre in the Netherlands. The most recent use of the premises was made by the National Pop Institute. Since the 19th century De Zeemanshoop has been a public meeting place where many people with different interests, from socialists and seamen to hippies, civil servants and yoga students have come together. De Appel hopes to continue this magnetic tradition in the future.

www.deappel.nl