Anne van Lienden, new director of the Verwey Museum in Haarlem
As of November 1, 2025, Anne van Lienden will take over as the new director of the Verwey Museum HaarlemShe succeeds Laura van der Wijden, who will be stepping down at the end of October after fourteen years. Van Lienden's appointment marks the beginning of a new chapter for the city museum of Haarlem, where her broad experience, local involvement and sharp vision form a solid foundation to further strengthen the museum.
Van Lienden: “I look forward to expanding the position of Verwey Museum Haarlem as the city museum of Haarlem to further develop, with its historical and artistic profile. For me, Verwey Museum Haarlem the indispensable place where the rich history and visual arts are presented Haarlem and the surrounding area remain vibrant and offer inspiration to a diverse audience. I am looking forward to organizing engaging exhibitions and activities, by and for all, together with the dedicated team of staff and volunteers. Haarlemmers and visitors to this beautiful city and the South Kennemerland region.”
Anne van Lienden (The Hague, 1978) has worked as a curator at Singer Laren since 2010, where she has curated numerous exhibitions of (inter)national modern and contemporary visual art. After studying Art History and Museology at the University of Amsterdam, she began her career in the museum world in 2005 as a curator at the Scheringa Museum for Realism in Spanbroek. A fascination with art and heritage runs like a thread through her life. Born in The Hague, but living in Haarlem and South Kennemerland, she feels a strong connection with the region.
The Supervisory Board is particularly pleased with her arrival as the new director: "As a curator at Singer Laren, she has gained extensive and broad museum experience. Her concrete ideas, both for exhibitions and regarding the organization and financial support, are very promising for the future. She has a great passion for art and heritage, the two pillars of the museum. In addition, she has been strongly involved in the cultural field for several years." Haarlem as a member of the advisory committee of the Cultural Incentive Fund Haarlem and has also built a network here. We are convinced that with her arrival, we will have someone who can consolidate the museum in the coming years and further advance it."
Farewell to Laura van der Wijden
When Van der Wijden took office in 2011, the museum was still called the Historical Museum Haarlem and was a small institution. In the meantime, the museum has grown into a fully-fledged cultural institution with a strong position in HaarlemWith the expansion to the first floor and the collaboration with the Kees Verwey Foundation, a new foundation for the future was laid. Under her leadership, the museum organized successful exhibitions, such as De Haarlemthe years of Anton Heyboer, Thé Tjong-Khing – 90 years young en Close to Mari AndriessenThe last two together attracted 2023 visitors in 28.000.
The exhibition Turkish women pioneers has not only reached new target groups, but also led to a mobile version that traveled through Turkey for over a year. With the historical setup All Haarlemmers Furthermore, a significant step towards professionalization was taken. Van der Wijden emphasizes that this success is partly due to her colleagues and the many volunteers. Read more here.
Her farewell exhibition 125 years of Kees Verwey: Tricks of a master, which consists of three sub-exhibitions on Verwey's life, work and sources of inspiration, can be seen until the end of 2025.