April 5, 2019:
It was about noon. At that time, Mr. Rob Boddeke and Mrs. Georgine Voogt from Heemstede (Netherlands) bought tickets for the Basquiat exhibition in the Heerlen museum. They were therefore the ten thousandth visitor. Mr. and Mrs. received flowers and congratulations from director Kor Bonnema, and a prize package from the exhibition partners Parkstad Limburg Theaters, VVV Zuid Limburg, municipality of Heerlen, 100% Heerlen and Heerlen Mijn Stad. The winners then entered the museum for a private guided tour of the exhibition. “We are incredibly surprised. The exhibition has been on our wish list for some time. What a great coincidence that we started our day trip in Limburg today in Heerlen”, says Mrs. Voogt.
With this milestone, the visitor numbers for the exhibition are well on track, says Kor Bonnema, general director of SCHUNCK: “Every week many visitors find their way to the exhibition in the SCHUNCK Glass Palace. Ten thousand so far. There is also an extensive public program with lectures, Buurtbattles [ed. : hip-hop competitions in community centers], films, workshops, school tours, performances, Basquiat Cafés, a graduation exhibition and more [ed. : see basquiat.schunck.nl/events]. In this way we aim to inspire people, who may not be a regular visitor of the museum, with the story of Basquiat and his New York scene. The total reach of the Basquiat project is therefore unprecedented. “
