EYE Vondelpark closed

Now that the last screenings of EYE Moves – a Top 25 of the best hundred films ever shown at EYE – are finished, the Vondelpark Pavilion will be closing its doors to the public. EYE moves to Amsterdam-Noord this spring.

Since 1972 EYE, which was called the Stichting Netherlands Filmmuseum at that time, has been located in the 19th-century monument in the Vondelpark – a lovely place, but one that has been too small for too long.

After organising many much-discussed programmes and events over the last 40 years in the Vondelpark, the Institute – which was founded in 1946 – is spreading its wings and taking off to a brand-new location. The new building, designed for the Institute by Delugan Meissl Associated Architects, is located across from Amsterdam Central Station in Overhoeks, on the banks of the River IJ.

The renaming of the Institute, which will become ‘EYE, the new film museum on the IJ’, will take place in Amsterdam-Noord this spring. At that time, EYE will move into a shell-shaped building with a spectacular white roof, in which there is room for four state-of-the-art cinemas (640 seats) and an exhibition space measuring 1,200 square metres. At the bottom of the building will be The Basement, which will feature the interactive Filmlab, with digital presentations about film history, and installations for children. EYE will also have a well-furnished museum store and a café / restaurant with a south-facing terrace.

The city is currently putting the finishing touches on the area around the new building, including installing pavement and bicycle racks. EYE’s new address is IJ-promenade 1, 1031 KT Amsterdam.

With this move, EYE has the opportunity to expand and develop into the Netherlands’ centre for film culture, an internationally oriented place for debate, reflection, and inspiring projects and exhibitions that will appeal to a broad audience.