In 2023, the Van Gogh Museum celebrated 50 years of inspiration. Read on for the complete anniversary programme.
50 Years of Inspiration
For over 50 years, the Van Gogh Museum has been inspiring people all over the world with the artworks of Vincent van Gogh (and his contemporaries). In 2023, the museum celebrated its 50th anniversary.
Sunflower Art Festival
On Friday 2 June 2023, it was exactly 50 years since the Van Gogh Museum first opened its doors. That is why there was a grand celebration on Museumplein that day: the Sunflower Art Festival with a surprising programme for young and old and an abundance of sunflowers.
To see at the museum
During this special year, the museum presented three extraordinary exhibitions that brought you closer to Van Gogh as an artist and a person.
- 10 February - 10 April 2023: the exhibition Choosing Vincent was a tribute to the Van Gogh family. Without the unconditional support that they offered Vincent, the museum simply would not have existed.
- 12 May - 3 September 2023: the exhibition Van Gogh in Auvers revolved around the masterpieces that Vincent painted in the final months of his life.
- 13 October 2023 - 14 January 2024: gaze across the water in the paintings that Van Gogh, Seurat, Signac, Bernard and Angrand made on banks of the Seine in Van Gogh along the Seine.
To do at the museum
If you’d like to let your inner artist loose, join one of our painting workshops. Do you have the courage to choose your own destiny, like Vincent? What makes the colours in Vincent’s paintings so special? Besides workshops for adults, there are also dedicated workshops for children.
If a laid-back evening with DJs, talks and live performances is more your thing, check out Vincent on Friday. As always, there are also several guided tours to get to know the highlights of the collection. There is a Family Guided Tour available too.
Competition: the 50 most inspirational people
Vincent’s paintings colour your life. His art and take on life are an inspiration to many. There are still plenty of Vincents among us: people who inspire others around them with their talent or passion. Or people who support others through thick and thin.
Many great nominations have been submitted, and the jury has selected the fifty winners. In May, all winners received a Van Gogh Museum Edition, a high-end reproduction of a Van Gogh painting.