Museum as Sundial

A Museum in Relation to the Sun

Ninety years ago, the Van Abbemuseum’s building was designed in relation to the sun. Its architecture responded to cycles of light and shadow. Over time, renovations and changing uses have hidden traces of this original design. Museum as Sundial returns to this relationship with the sun to ask a contemporary question: how might a museum help us find our way in a period of profound social, technological and ecological change?

Finding New Ways to Orient Ourselves

“A sundial represents both sky and ground. Museum as Sundial asks how our ancestors understood their place in relation to the sun, the ground and one another. The architecture of our building inspires us to ask what this might mean for a museum rooted in Eindhoven today. How can we find new ways to orient ourselves for the decade ahead? Working with a group of artists and designers, we return to one of humanity’s oldest ways of finding direction: the sun. The sun is not only a measure of time and direction. It is a force connecting the celestial and the earthly.” — Defne Ayas, Director, Van Abbemuseum

The Museum as a Sundial

From ancient sites such as Göbekli Tepe, Tiel and Stonehenge to contemporary architecture and urban planning, the sun has long helped societies understand their position in time and space. At the Van Abbemuseum, the building itself becomes a sundial. The central gallery acts as a point of orientation. From there, the surrounding galleries extend outward like vectors, connecting artworks and ideas to locations across Eindhoven and far beyond.

Artists, Designers and Contributors
Artists and designers include Ana María Millán, ADEZIV Network, EDHV, Kiki & Joost, Adele Dipasquale, Gala Porras-Kim, Michael Portnoy, Paul Panhuysen, Ayumi Paul, Ei Arakawa-Nash and John Körmeling. Archival and collection material includes works from the Rhoda Kellogg International Child Art Collection, ABC books by artists (how to honor the collection of German collectors), the National Archive of Brabant Folk Songs, and mandala drawings by Anne Frank on loan from Anne Frank House. Spatial design is by Studio Diogo Passarinho, with a graphic design intervention by Studio Remco van Bladel.