Discover the story of Hoorn

Westfries Museum, Hoorn (NL), 2023

The Westfries Museum, temporarily closed for renovation, opens up Hoorn’s history with a pop-up experience.


Foto: Westfries Museum

Multimediashow

With the Westfries Museum, we designed a multimedia show that introduces visitors to the multifaceted past of the Dutch city of Hoorn. Visitors can experience the show in the Statenpoort in the centre of town. The film comes alive on the walls as well as on the 1664 painting “The Battle of the Zuider Zee” and the central art installation. The installation, by Todd van Hulzen, is an artistic variation on a scale model in which characteristic local buildings, such as the church, weighing house and Statencollege, burst out of a globe.

Water: the star of the show

Water features in all Hoorn’s main historical narratives, and it is a recurring theme in the immersive show. For centuries, people fished, traded and fought in the waters around the town. Thanks in part to the sea, Hoorn grew into a metropolis in the 17th century. But the show also recounts how slavery, murder and poverty have been part of Hoorn’s history on the water.

After viewing the immersive show, visitors are invited to experience the story of Hoorn in a podwalk featuring historical buildings in the city.

Video: Sander Wit, Westfries Museum

Credits

Client
Westfries Museum

Content Design
Studio Louter

Film Production
Studio Motoko

Design Art Installation
Todd van Hulzen

Building Art Installation
Surinamekade

Technology
VHS

Sound Design
Marcin Pawlukiewicz