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Fast Company
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Fast Company
Ma Yansong's first museum in Europe is a ‘metaphor' for migration
BY Ma Yansong is gesturing at a spiraling staircase inside the atrium of a building. The founder of MAD Architects —the Chinese firm behind the soon-to-open Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles—is in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, to inaugurate the opening of his first museum in Europe, and he is talking about movement. Of forms, yes, but mostly of people. The museum, called Fenix, sits on the edge of Rotterdam's historic port, which was also the first Chinatown in continental Europe. It was here, from the banks of the River Maas, where millions of emigrants—Albert Einstein included—boarded ships toward North America in search of better opportunities. And it is here, in the building that once housed the world's largest harbor storage warehouse for the Holland America Line, that Yansong has come to reflect on the meaning of migration. Bureau Polderman. MAD's tangled staircase connects both floors, then swoops out through the roof into a panoramic platform that offers sprawling views of the city. 'I think it's an architectural element, but it's also a metaphor; it has a storytelling function,' Yansong says. 'It's not about numbers' Fenix is opening at a time in which migrants around the world are being vilified, humiliated, deported. The EU has been hardening its migration policy for years, and hard-right parties are fast gaining ground —in the Netherlands as well. Since President Donald Trump took office, he has shifted nearly every aspect of U.S immigration policy to constrict regular immigration pathways, deport primarily black and brown immigrants living in the U.S. regardless of their legal status or criminal history, and instill fear among those who remain. The final deadline for Fast Company's Brands That Matter Awards is Friday, May 30, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Apply today.
South China Morning Post
17-05-2025
- South China Morning Post
Rotterdam's Fenix Museum of art dedicated to migration opens amid migrant crackdowns
A gleaming spiral staircase protruding from the roof of a former Dutch warehouse overlooks a port where millions of Europeans, among them Albert Einstein, once boarded ships bound for a new life in the United States. The staircase, called The Tornado and intended to represent migrants' unexpected journeys, sweeps up from the ground floor of the Fenix Museum of Migration, with the city of Rotterdam, water and people reflected in its whirlwind of shiny metal surfaces. The newest attraction on Rotterdam's waterfront, the museum tells the story of migration in 16,000 square metres of exhibits including artworks, photos and personal items. Among the exhibits is a labyrinth of thousands of travellers' suitcases, portraits of refugees and a colourfully painted city bus from New York. Chinese architect Ma Yansong's gleaming spiral staircase is the centrepiece of the Fenix Museum of Migration in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Photo: AP
Canada Standard
17-05-2025
- Canada Standard
Fenix Museum in Rotterdam explores stories of migration
Housed in a restored historic warehouse along Rotterdam's waterfront, the museum is situated on a site once teeming with departure docks. ROTTERDAM, the Netherlands, May 16 (Xinhua) -- The Fenix Museum, a new cultural institution devoted entirely to the theme of migration, officially opened its doors to the public on Friday in Rotterdam. It claims to be the world's first museum solely focused on migration. Housed in a restored historic warehouse along Rotterdam's waterfront, the museum is situated on a site once teeming with departure docks. From here, more than 3 million people embarked on transatlantic journeys to destinations such as the United States and Canada in the late 19th and early 20th centuries - among them notable figures including Albert Einstein, according to museum archives. At the center of the museum stands the Tornado, a striking 30-meter-high spiraling structure designed by Chinese architect Ma Yansong and his firm, MAD Architects. "Movement is the key for this museum," Ma told Xinhua in an interview. "It's all about humans traveling to different places in different times." "I almost consider this (the Tornado) as a journey for everyone," he added. "You start to take this stair... at some point, you run into a stranger. It becomes a social space, a place to bring people together." Hanneke Mantel, head of exhibitions and collections at Fenix, described the Tornado as a dynamic architectural element that winds its way upward from the ground floor, threading through the museum's various levels before culminating in a panoramic platform with sweeping views of the Rotterdam skyline. "The Tornado is a metaphor for a journey... with unexpected twists and turns. You might see yourself in reflection. And at the top, you arrive at your destination and you see the city," Mantel explained. Inside, the museum presents a rich collection of historical artifacts, multimedia installations, and deeply personal stories shared by Rotterdam residents with migrant backgrounds, offering an intimate exploration of human movement across borders.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Yahoo
Rotterdam unveils a museum about migration while anti-foreigner sentiment rises in Europe
ROTTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) — A gleaming spiral staircase jutting from the roof of a former Dutch warehouse overlooks the waterway where millions of Europeans once boarded ships bound for a new life in the United States. The twisting path, intended to represent migrants' unexpected journeys, stands on the Fenix museum, the newest attraction on Rotterdam's waterfront. The museum tells the story of migration, with exhibits including thousands of suitcases from travelers, portraits of refugees and a life-sized city bus. Architect Ma Yansong of Chinese firm MAD Architects told The Associated Press he wanted the building to serve not only as a museum but also as 'a memory." The museum opens Friday as migration is on the rise, along with anti-immigrant sentiment in many parts of the world. The number of people living outside their country of birth — over 300 million — has nearly doubled since 1990, according to the United Nations. 'As long as we exist as human beings, we move and we migrate. And we will always keep on doing that. And that's what we show in Fenix,' said the museum's director, Anne Kremers. As the museum's construction continued last year, the hard-right Dutch government announced unprecedented measures aimed at reining in migration, including a reintroduction of border checks. It shattered a long-held image of the Netherlands as a nation that welcomed new arrivals. The museum's viewing platform looks out across Rotterdam, whose 650,000 inhabitants represent over 170 nationalities. The city is the largest port in Europe. Many of those departing Rotterdam in the early part of the 20th century made the trans-Atlantic journey on the Holland America Line, a shipping company founded by the Van der Vorm family in 1873. The family has been the primary financial backer for the Fenix project, via Dutch art foundation Droom en Daad (Dream and Action). Art can sometimes provide a better basis for discussion of politically loaded topics like migration, said Cathrine Bublatzky, an anthropologist who studies the intersection of art and migration. Kremers said she hopes visitors will take away 'what it feels like to leave your home, to find a new home, and to say farewell.'
15-05-2025
Rotterdam unveils a museum about migration while anti-foreigner sentiment rises in Europe
ROTTERDAM, Netherlands -- A gleaming spiral staircase jutting from the roof of a former Dutch warehouse overlooks the waterway where millions of Europeans once boarded ships bound for a new life in the United States. The twisting path, intended to represent migrants' unexpected journeys, stands on the Fenix museum, the newest attraction on Rotterdam's waterfront. The museum tells the story of migration, with exhibits including thousands of suitcases from travelers, portraits of refugees and a life-sized city bus. Architect Ma Yansong of Chinese firm MAD Architects told The Associated Press he wanted the building to serve not only as a museum but also as 'a memory." The museum opens Friday as migration is on the rise, along with anti-immigrant sentiment in many parts of the world. The number of people living outside their country of birth — over 300 million — has nearly doubled since 1990, according to the United Nations. 'As long as we exist as human beings, we move and we migrate. And we will always keep on doing that. And that's what we show in Fenix,' said the museum's director, Anne Kremers. As the museum's construction continued last year, the hard-right Dutch government announced unprecedented measures aimed at reining in migration, including a reintroduction of border checks. It shattered a long-held image of the Netherlands as a nation that welcomed new arrivals. The museum's viewing platform looks out across Rotterdam, whose 650,000 inhabitants represent over 170 nationalities. The city is the largest port in Europe. Many of those departing Rotterdam in the early part of the 20th century made the trans-Atlantic journey on the Holland America Line, a shipping company founded by the Van der Vorm family in 1873. The family has been the primary financial backer for the Fenix project, via Dutch art foundation Droom en Daad (Dream and Action). Art can sometimes provide a better basis for discussion of politically loaded topics like migration, said Cathrine Bublatzky, an anthropologist who studies the intersection of art and migration. Kremers said she hopes visitors will take away 'what it feels like to leave your home, to find a new home, and to say farewell.'
