New audiences and local stories, 2025 to be a banner year for Museum Gouda

Once again, Museum Gouda has broken its visitor record. In 2025, 82,717 people visited the Gouda city museum specifically for high-profile exhibitions and special events, generating a local economic impact of nearly €3 million. The museum also attracted more new visitors than ever before, from young people entering the job market to school classes and newcomers. The museum is fully committed to connection and encounter, while at the same time creating exhibitions that attract national attention. A blockbuster such as Jo Koster, artist and the cheerful family program House of Saint Nicholas go hand in hand.

"What I hope most of all is that visitors to our museum take something home with them: a spark of recognition, beauty, or inspiration. That we as a museum contribute to connection and resilience. I'd rather have one person go home with a warm memory than a hundred unmoved visitors," says museum director Femke Haijtema. "Of course, I am also very proud of the fact that so many people find their way to our museum and thus to Gouda. The average number of annual visitors has risen from 38,134 to 40,671. It was truly an exceptional year!"

Much-discussed exhibitions
The majority of visitors come to see the temporary exhibitions. 2025 began with the final sprint of the successful exhibition Susanna, From the Middle Ages to MeToo. The exhibition was one of ten nominees for the national Exhibition Prize 2025, alongside the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam and the Van Gogh Museum, among others. The exhibition about Susanna and the Elders, an ancient story about a young woman who was harassed by two powerful men, explored why artists have captured this MeToo story time and time again.

From mid-April 2025, the exhibition Jo Koster, Artist was on display, focusing on the life and work of the eponymous professional. Koster made bold choices, traveled throughout Europe in the early twentieth century, and continued to develop as an artist. She left behind an impressive but relatively unknown body of work. Museum Gouda changed that: the exhibition made the front page of NRC and attracted visitors from all over the country. For the exhibition, the museum collaborated with journalist Noraly Beyer and decision tree maker Katinka Polderman, among others. Visitors were very enthusiastic and gave the exhibition an average rating of 8.7.

The exhibition Unheard, Collected Women was also well received by the public. This exhibition tells the stories of more than 30 women from the Museum Gouda collection and will still be on display in 2026. For Unheard, curator Jorien Soepboer researched artworks and objects from the past six centuries, thanks to the Conservatory Stipendium from the Culture Fund.

Gouda stories with universal value
The museum also organized exhibitions specifically for and by Gouda residents. The exhibition Edith, een gewoon Gouds meisje (Edith, an ordinary girl from Gouda) told the story of Edith Roseij Beek, a Jewish girl from Gouda. Current Gouda schoolchildren read the letters Edith wrote from her hiding place, which could be listened to in the exhibition hall. The story of a girl from Gouda showed where exclusion and discrimination can lead. For municipal officials, the exhibition was an opportunity to discuss their own moral compass and following rules.

The exhibition De hand van de plateelschilder (The Hand of the Pottery Painter), which opened in early November, focuses on the work of craft artist Trudy Otterspeer. As the last Gouda pottery painter, Otterspeer is a local icon and continues to pass on her knowledge and experience on a daily basis. Pieces from the Zenith pottery factory, where she learned her craft, will be complemented by Otterspeer's own work until May 17, 2026.

At the last minute, on December 20, the photo exhibition Hairdressers of Gouda also opened, in which photographer Bram Tackenberg puts Gouda professionals in the spotlight. He portrayed 25 hairdressers and made video interviews with some of them, which visitors can watch from the hairdresser's chair.

Good conversations and new faces
Museum Gouda organized various activities to encourage encounters and conversation, and to remove any barriers to visiting the museum. Seven groups of new Gouda residents and language learners from the region followed the Sprekend Erfgoed (Speaking Heritage) program at the museum. These lessons focus on learning together, but personal experiences and moving stories are also shared naturally. This program has now become a long-term collaboration with Erfgoedhuis Zuid-Holland and NL-training.

In March, a Talks & Docu evening was organized in collaboration with, among others, the Sekszusjes, documentary makers Judith de Leeuw and Kees-Jan Mulder, and artist Susanna Inglada, focusing on the theme of transgressive behavior at the Susanna exhibition. Young and old engaged in conversation about this sensitive topic.

Inspired by Jo Koster's unconventional choices, the museum also organized the sold-out career event Baanbrekend (Groundbreaking). Local entrepreneurs—from architects to artists—took part in the panel discussion and led workshops. Both Gouda residents and interested parties from across the Randstad visited this surprising evening at the museum, with 60% of the participants, mostly young women, visiting the museum for the first time.

The museum developed guided tours with tactile panels and detailed image descriptions especially for blind and visually impaired art lovers for the exhibition Jo Koster, artist. A tactile painting was also a permanent feature of the exhibition.

Young visitors
In 2025, the museum once again organized many educational programs and family activities. Nearly 10,000 children and young people visited the museum, half of them with their school classes. More than 200 primary and secondary school classes took part in one of the many programs in which children reflected on the history of their city and engaged in conversation based on works of art. At the end of the year, Sinterklaas came to stay at the museum again. More than 2,700 children and parents/guardians from Gouda enjoyed a cheerful visit to the House of Saint Nicholas. The Toddler Tour, launched in 2025 especially for children aged 2.5 to 4, was also fully booked.

Economic impact
Museum Gouda contributes to the local economy, especially with its exhibitions of national significance. In 2025, the museum generated media value in national media of more than €6 million for Gouda. This press coverage attracts visitors from far and wide to our city. Extensive audience research has shown that 81% of exhibition visitors in 2025 came to the city from other parts of the Netherlands specifically to see an exhibition – that's almost 60,000 extra visitors to Gouda, of whom almost 18% were visiting Gouda for the first time. 84% of the extra visitors combine a museum visit with other activities in the city. On average, 23% of these visitors enjoy shopping. Visitors who came to Gouda specifically for an exhibition said they spent an average of €50.41 in the city. Museum Gouda thus generated €2.97 million in local economic impact last year.

Partners, friends, and volunteers
Museum Gouda acknowledges that the support of its partners in 2025 was indispensable. First and foremost, the support of the Municipality of Gouda, as a subsidy provider and owner of the collection and museum buildings. In addition, the support of major national funds such as the Mondriaan Fund, the Culture Fund, and Fonds 21, whose generous contributions made the national impact of major exhibitions possible. Thanks to the Rembrandt Association and its Friends Lottery Restoration Fund, an important altarpiece by Wouter Pietersz. (II) Crabeth could be restored. The Friends of Museum Gouda, who celebrated their 70th anniversary, the Catharina Gilde, the members of the Crabeth Club, and other partners also provide significant support to the museum. Director Haijtema also emphasizes the indispensable efforts of volunteers, from hosts and hostesses to museum educators and tour guides. More than 80 people, together with the 17 employees, are working selflessly to make 2025 a success.

buildingsWhile 2025 was an exceptionally good year for the museum, there are also concerns. In particular, the monumental buildings that the museum rents from the municipality of Gouda are a source of concern. The museum is located in a building complex of great historical value, right where our city originated. These monumental buildings are in urgent need of maintenance in order to safeguard the city collection and the museum's function for the future. Museum Gouda is grateful that the owner of the buildings and collection, the municipality of Gouda, is now taking up this challenge and eagerly awaits the city council meetings on the financing of the necessary renovation.

previewThe plans for 2026 are ambitious, and preparations are in full swing. On February 14, 2026, the major exhibition Faith will open its doors. Using treasures from the Rijksmuseum, Arnon Grunberg, Naema Tahir, and Stephan Sanders will share their personal visions of what gives us stability. Faith is made possible in part by main sponsor the VriendenLoterij and the Mondriaan Fund and is the first exhibition in the Faith, Hope, and Love series, which the museum is producing in collaboration with five fellow museums throughout the Netherlands. In the fall, impressive 17th-century tapestries—including the wall-filling tapestry from the wedding hall of Gouda City Hall—will tell the story of how migration transformed Gouda into a thriving center of weaving. Artist Mina Abouzahra provides a special contemporary addition, in collaboration with residents of Gouda and craftswomen in Taznakht, Morocco. It will be the first major textile exhibition at the Gouda City Museum.