The Stedelijk modern art museum in Amsterdam needs to improve its links with the arts scene Dutch capital and stop focusing on trying to be a world leader, the Amsterdam Arts Council said on Monday.

The recommendations are contained in a report for the city council which was commissioned following the departure of former director Beatrix Ruf.

Since 2006, when the museum was made more independent, it has become more of an ‘exhibition machine’ and has lost sight of the city’s art community and neglected its own collection, the arts council said.

Ruf resigned last year after a string of articles in the NRC about her private commercial activities and possible conflicts of interest.