Private loan halts Cobra Museum closure as Amstelveen pulls plug

A wealthy philanthropist has stepped in to save Amstelveen’s Cobra Museum from closure after city officials said it would no longer be responsible to support the museum, given its financial situation and mounting losses.

Healthcare entrepreneur Marius Touwen has agreed to extend a line of credit to the museum to tide it over for the coming year, saying the museum’s finances are not as black as they have been painted.

Amstelveen council’s executive board said last week that they did not want to guarantee a loan to the museum, which they suggest could lose up to €700,000 this year. Officials also said they would no longer subside the museum to the tune of €1.2 million a year from 2024. 

The museum, which focuses on modern art and the Cobra movement, opened its doors in 1995 and 40% of its income comes from the council. 

News of the impending closure has led to a petition and an online appeal by artist and actor Jeroen Krabbé. The museum, he said, is the “heart of Amstelveen” and has hosted extremely important exhibitions such as that of Frida Kahlo and the current show celebrating 75 years of Cobra.

Councillors are due to vote on the plan to stop subsidising the museum at the end of September. The museum says it hopes Touwen’s intervention will give breathing space for talks with city officials about a structural solution to the museum’s problems.