Alright, let’s talk STRAAT Museum — Amsterdam’s gritty, glorious temple to street art and graffiti, tucked away in the post-industrial cool of NDSM wharf. Now I've shown you the NDSM neighbourhood and all of the pieces on the street, but this is where it becomes official and sanctioned, and you have to pay to see it - but it's worth it, here are some facts:
Quick hits Opened: October 9, 2020, after some delays (leaky roof, pandemic vibes) Housed in a colossal 8,000 m² (about 86,000 sq ft) former shipbuilding warehouse, Remeber how NDSM is a further shipyard this is one of the main buildings.
Why: The museum’s whole mission is to preserve the spirit of the unregulared NDSM vibe while pushing the culture forward — no white walls, no hushed tones, just bold, unfiltered expression on a monumental scale. Hopefully you can see that through the intro photo as well as this one, I mean these are way more than lifesize pieces...
Art count: More than 180 artworks by 170+ artists from around the globe — most created onsite, no briefs, no rules. I love this as a concept, that these are all done on site, which mean the artist was here, they saw all the other artworks that I saw - that is cool.
The vibe: Think towering murals, wild styles, and the raw energy of the streets — but indoors, climate-controlled, and with a mezzanine gallery for temporary shows by up-and-comers. It’s part museum, part living studio; if you time it right, you might catch artists painting live.
This was probably one of my favourite artworks....
and finally at the end of first gallery we have this cheeky little piece and the big yellow crane to remind you what this building once was.
