Fenix in Rotterdam

Fenix Rotterdam is the art museum about migration on Katendrecht. It is housed in a huge harbour warehouse on the quay, on the very spot where ships carrying emigrants once set sail. In the middle of the building the Tornado spirals upwards, a gleaming double staircase of steel and wood. You walk through a maze of two thousand suitcases, each with its own story. Photographs and artworks tell of farewells, journeys and arrivals. Anyone can walk into the covered square on the ground floor. From above the roof you look out over the Maas and the skyline.

What you see at Fenix Rotterdam

Everything here is about movement: people who leave, travel and start a new life somewhere else. In the exhibition Alle Richtingen (All Directions), emerging and established artists show what that does to you, from love and farewell to homesickness and happiness. The Family of Migrants brings together almost two hundred photographs of people on the move. In the Suitcase Labyrinth you find your way between two thousand suitcases full of memories, and an audio tour tells the stories of their owners. Large works such as Red Grooms' bus catch the eye straight away. This makes Fenix Rotterdam not a classic history museum, but a place where art tells the story of migration.

The Tornado and Fenixloods II

The museum occupies a harbour warehouse from 1923, designed by Cornelis van Goor for the Holland America Line. At the time it was called the San Francisco Warehouse and, at 360 metres long, it was one of the largest storage and transhipment warehouses in the world. It was badly damaged in the Second World War, and in 1948 a fire destroyed part of it. It was then rebuilt as two buildings: Fenixloods I and II. Ma Yansong of MAD Architects designed the Tornado at the centre of the museum, a double spiral staircase clad in stainless steel panels. You choose between two routes up to a viewing platform above the roof.

Tips for visiting Fenix Rotterdam

Buy your ticket online in advance, as the museum asks you to. Children and young people up to and including 18 get in free, which makes Fenix Rotterdam a good choice for a day out with teenagers. The building is fully accessible by wheelchair or rollator. If the theme appeals to you, also take a look at the Wereldmuseum Rotterdam, which is about cultures from all over the world. Katendrecht itself is a lively peninsula with restaurants along the quay. Our museum map shows what else is nearby.

Frequently asked questions about Fenix

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