Official Museums of Amsterdam

Museums of Amsterdam
Native name
Stichting Samenwerkende Amsterdamse Musea (SAM/OAM)
Industryarts and culture; heritage
Founded1994 in Amsterdam, Netherlands
FounderBjorn Stenvers
HeadquartersNieuwezijds Voorburgwal 359; Amsterdam Museum,
Amsterdam
,
Netherlands
Area served
Amsterdam, Amstelveen, Zaandam
Number of employees
1 (2012)
Websiteamsterdammusea.org/en

Official Museums of Amsterdam (OAM) is a consulting association of museums in Amsterdam. The organisation has existed since the eighties but it was formally founded in 1994. The organization contains both private and public museums, all of which are registered as members of De Museumvereniging, the Dutch Museum Association.

The OAM association has a limited jurisdiction and an elected chair and vice-chair. The present chair is Tonko Grever and the vice-chair is Judikje Kiers (director of Amsterdam Museum).

The 'official' museums of Amsterdam actually do not exist. The name is a misleading translation of the unofficial name of an unincorporated meeting club of mostly government subsidized museums who co-ordinate their marketing to monopolize further government subsidies for city marketing and government assistance. The website of the Jewish Historical Museum slightly more correctly calls them: 'organization' of Amsterdam Museums with an office in the Amsterdam Uitburo or the city's entertainment desk.[1] But the real Dutch name, as in the logo, is 'overleg' or 'meeting.'

The foundation Samenwerkende Amsterdamse Musea (SAM) represents the collective business interests of the OAM. Bjorn Stenvers was founding director of SAM from 2012 to 2017. In 2015 he founded the Amsterdam Museum Academy for museum staff trainings.[2][3][4][5][6]

The Marketing Overleg der Amsterdamse Musea (MOAM) represents the collective marketing interests of the OAM. All of the heads of marketing and communication of the forty-four partner museums are involved in MOAM. They each act as consultants, contractors, and advisers for the partner museums. The Museum Night (Dutch: Museumnacht, N8) was initiated by the MOAM, but has now become an independent organisation.

  1. ^ "Organization of Amsterdam Museums". Jewish Historical Museum.
  2. ^ Tessa Olsthoorn (5 October 2016) Eerste Amsterdam Museum Academie certificaten zijn uitgereikt in DoubleTree by Hilton Amsterdam Centraal Station. Verkeersbureaus.info. Retrieved on 24 December 2016.
  3. ^ Director Björn Stenvers launches Amsterdam Museum Academy, Parool. Parool.nl (5 April 2016). Retrieved on 24 December 2016.
  4. ^ Janene Pieters (5 April 2016) Amsterdam museum workers to better handle disabilities, tourists. nltimes.nl
  5. ^ Museumstaff gets training in hospitality, AD. Ad.nl (5 April 2016). Retrieved on 17 June 2017.
  6. ^ DoubleTree by Hilton Amsterdam Centraal Station verlengt partnership met de Amsterdam Museum Academie, Meeting Magazine. meetingmagazine.nl (9 Juni 2017). Retrieved on 19 June 2017.