Onze Kunst van Heden

Onze Kunst van Heden

Date	1939 (1939) to 1940 (1940)
Location	Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Onze Kunst van Heden (Contemporary Artists/Our Art of Today) was an exhibition held in the winter of 1939 through 1940 at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.^[1][2][3] Due to the threat of invasion in the years leading up to World War II, the Netherlands' government stored many items from the Rijksmuseum's permanent collection.^[4] The resulting empty gallery space was utilized by contemporary Dutch artists to exhibit and sell their art. It was organized by the director of the Rijksmuseum Frederik Schmidt Degener [nl]. The show was open to all artists, with each artist allowed to enter four pieces.^[5] 902 artists exhibited 3,200 works of art in 74 rooms and cabinets of the Rijksmuseum.^[6]

„De kunstenaar kan in tijden van maatschappelijke benauwenis weinig positiefs doen om rampen af te wenden, maar wel kan hij door mede te helpen nationale uitingen op het eigenaardigst naar voren te brengen het gemeenschapsbesef versterken. Wanneer de belangstelling van het publiek uitgaat naar deze manifestatie, die in zulk een omvang in Holland nog niet gezien is, dan zal menige kunstenaar zich op zijn beurt gesterkt voelen".

— Frederik Schmidt Degener, 1939, from the catalog of Onze Kunst van Heden^[6]

"The artist can do little positive in times of social distress to avert disasters, but he can, by helping to bring out national expressions in the most idiosyncratic way, strengthen the sense of community. When the public is interested in this event, which has not yet been seen to such an extent in Holland, many artists will feel strengthened in turn."

— translation