Increasing visitor engagement at the Van Abbemuseum

Creating a multi-layered, accessible visit for this Dutch contemporary art museum

1 min read

30 Dec 2025

Content Production

Overview

The Van Abbemuseum is one of Europe's leading museums for modern and contemporary art. In its Delinking and Relinking exhibition, the Museum takes the visitor on a journey through a century of art, in which one discovers new links between artists, artwork, and society.

The brief

For its Delinking and Relinking exhibition, the Van Abbemuseum staff asked the following question: How can we create a layered museum visit that allows the public to research and dive deeper into the multiple perspectives and links within the presentation without overwhelming them? The Van Abbemuseum also wanted to share different links and perspectives on the artworks on show.

Photo by Boudewijn Bollmann

The solution

The Smartify team worked with the Van Abbemuseum on interpreting and creating five audio tours, including one with multi-sensory elements for all visitors, especially those who are blind or have low vision.

The results

With Smartify, the public can not only listen to these pieces in the museum but also listen to or read the multiple stories at home.

It’s great to see that our visitors are more engaged. The multi-perspective approach provides a conversation starter and creates meaningful encounters between our visitors, hosts, and guides

– Loes Janssen, Public Mediation, Van Abbemuseum

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Trusted by 1200+ amazing cultural organisations