The board of museum Beelden aan Zee is pleased to announce that Brigitte Bloksma has been appointed as general director. Starting May 1st 2022, she will succeed the current director Jan Teeuwisse, who will retire after 20 years with the museum.

Anthony Ruys, chairman of the board of the Beelden aan Zee museum: “We are greatly indebted to Jan Teeuwisse, under whose leadership the museum has grown over the past 20 years from a relatively unknown private collection into an internationally leading museum in the field of sculpture, the only one in the Netherlands of its kind. His knowledge, enthusiasm and experience, also as professor by special appointment at Leiden University, have played a crucial role in this growth. We wish Jan good luck in this new phase of his life, and we are pleased that he will remain involved as an advisor with museum Beelden aan Zee.”

Brigitte Bloksma (1980) has been managing director of Kasteel Wijlre estate since 2015. Here she led the transition from the private initiative (the founders of which were the art collectors Eyck) to a public museum, including the transfer of ownership of the estate to the Elisabeth Strouven Fund, including structural government subsidy. Under her leadership, the regional and international visibility of the institution was increased, and various regional, national and international collaborations were initiated. She has curated solo and group exhibitions with work by Peter Struycken, Guido Geelen and Giuseppe Penone, among others. Additionally, Brigitte Bloksma serves as vice-chairman of the Netherlands Collection Committee and is Crown member of the Council for Culture. She studied Art Policy and Management at Utrecht University.

Brigitte Bloksma: “After almost seven fantastic years at Kasteel Wijlre estate, it is time for a new challenge. I am looking forward to working at museum Beelden aan Zee. It is an honor to lead such a special museum and I would like to thank the board for the trust they have placed in me. It will not be easy to follow in the footsteps of Jan Teeuwisse, who has led this beautiful museum in a very impressive way.”

Anthony Ruys, chairman of the board of museum Beelden aan Zee, congratulates Brigitte Bloksma on her appointment as director: “The board is very pleased with the arrival of Brigitte Bloksma as the new director of museum Beelden aan Zee. Brigitte is an enthusiastic museum director and administrator with an interesting national and international network, who is very capable of leading our museum and further developing an inspiring long-term vision for the museum together with the existing, highly experienced, team.”

Brigitte Bloksma is starting in a good year for museum Beelden aan Zee, which once again will offer fascinating exhibitions, including the ‘Garden of Earthly Delights’ by Elmar Trenkwalder in the autumn of 2022, and a retrospective exhibition by Henry Moore in the spring of 2023.