From "Gnome Buttplug" to "Jan Gat": Rotterdam boasts more than a thousand sculptures. While they don't all have nicknames, each one is lovingly cared for. Jaap Zijlstra, technical asset manager at the City Management department of the Municipality of Rotterdam, is responsible for managing the city's collection of approximately five hundred sculptures. Three questions about his work.
Rotterdam boasts an extensive city collection of national and international artists. Not only is the installation of such a work of art a significant undertaking, but there's also a lot to do afterward. You collaborate with BKOR and SIR for this, who advise on public art in Rotterdam, among other things. How does the technical maintenance of the sculpture collection work?
The Rotterdam sculpture collection, whether it concerns Santa Claus . Razzia Monument, is inspected annually. This means an expert visits each sculpture in the collection for an inspection. At the end of the year, I receive a whole stack of inspection reports on my desk. They contain points of interest and photos. I review all these reports and develop a maintenance strategy for each artwork for the coming years. Sometimes only something simple is needed, like removing graffiti; other times a sculpture needs a complete restoration. And then there's the standard maintenance: bronze works are cleaned and waxed once or twice a year, but we also maintain the surroundings of the artworks. For example, we ensure that the area around the GJ de Jongh monument Cleaning more often, because homeless people stay there at night. We want to keep it clean and safe for other visitors. And recently we had to go to Moments Contained to remove the racist slogan that had been written there, even though the city was paralysed by heavy snow at the time.
Then there's the financial side of maintenance. Funding is always available for regular maintenance, but for major restorations, it can sometimes take a little longer for the municipality to secure the budget. We prepare the budgets for maintenance and restoration, but the municipal executive board ultimately has to approve them.
The Rotterdam sculpture collection also includes several monuments that play a major role in commemorations. For example, at the Monument for all fallen wreaths are laid on the Town Hall Square during the commemoration of the dead on May 4, and at clave. Monument to slavery On June 30th, the victims of the transatlantic slave trade are commemorated at Lloydkade. Is extra care given to monuments around these important days?
Certainly, I play a key role in the coordination. We're already starting preparations for May 14th, when we commemorate the bombing of Rotterdam, and for May 4th, when we commemorate the victims of World War II. There are now 38 memorials and monuments where a physical commemoration will take place on May 4th. Together with my colleagues from City Management and various contractors, we ensure that everything looks its best. This requires close coordination, because the streets have to be cleared, plants are planted, and the statues themselves are cleaned. We also ensure that at all these locations there are poles to fly the flag at half-mast and stakes to hang the wreaths. It's hard work, and such a commemoration is charged and sad, but it's still very satisfying because these are important moments for the city. The stories told during such a commemoration are truly moving.
Do you think that is also the importance of Rotterdam's sculpture collection?
I don't have a background in art, but I do appreciate the sheer volume of art in Rotterdam. Much of Rotterdam was bombed during World War II, but all the art and monuments in the city allow us to tell Rotterdam's stories. And I get to work with all those iconic objects. I'm responsible for maintaining not only the artworks but also historic buildings like the Laurenstoren (Laurens Tower), the tall lighthouse in Hoek van Holland, or De Vier Winden (The Four Winds), the windmill dating from 1776 on the Rotte River. I have the best job of all!