Stichting Onterfd Goed

Stichting Onterfd Goed: The adoption desk for Dutch Art and Heritage

On our city tour ‘Eindhoven in art’, our local host and artist Lex Grote shows us the lesser-known art hotspots in the Eindhoven region. For this edition, he takes us to “Stichting Onterfd Goed” (Foundation of Disinherited goods).

According to Lex: “On the Sectie-C design site in Tongelre, Eindhoven, Stichting Onterfd Goed is located, the only organization in the Netherlands that specializes in advising museums, governments and companies on improving their collections and subsequently repurposing the objects to be reconfigured. More than a thousand works of art by unknown and well-known artists such as Jeroen Krabbé, Rob Scholte, Jan Cremer and Corneille are for sale here at prices that are affordable for everyone.

Director of the foundation,Jolande Otten, explains: “For the visitor it is a true art Valhalla; shelves full of Dutch art in various styles and prices. Of the sixty million objects and art pieces in Dutch museum depots, only 5% is accessible for the public. A lot of objects have duplicates, some are damaged, or they don’t fit in the theme of the museum. That is not just a waste of art, but also money if you look at the costs for rent, climate control, staff and insurance.”

Deaccession in the museum world

Jolande continues: “For years, collecting art was the biggest social cultural job museums had. There isn’t anything wrong with that but look at it the same way you look at your bookcase at home. If it fills up you can buy a second bookcase, but you can also organise and decide what can stay and what should go. That is called deaccession in the museum world. With deaccession you can improve a collection. If it’s hard to find things in a drawer at your home, it’s time for deaccession.If you take out everything that is not supposed to be in that drawer, you can see the actual content of the drawer.”

“Another example. Municipalities used to buy a lot of art to decorate offices. Each civil servant got two paintings. When their offices were turned into an open plan there were barely any walls left to hang them. They put the art in the cellar and locked the door. Thirty years later they find hundreds of paintings from the eighties that will never be hung again.”

Of the 150.000 objects that were handed over to Onterfd Goed, over 120.000 were relocated and more than 5000 of them were used to make new products. To make that happen they collaborated with designers and small production companies in upcycle projects under the name “Fenix”. During the coming DDW in October upcycling is Onterfd Goed’s theme. Exclusive products who will only be for sale then.

At Sectie-C There are still thousands of objects waiting for a new owner. The racks are restocked weekly. The collections you can find at Onterfd Goed are very diverse, from small etchings to wall size paintings, Biblical engravings and antique school books. An exceptional collection and from every unique piece we can tell you which museum it came from. So they are all “limited edition”.

Jolande on Onterfd Goed: “We run an organisation with the cultural ANBI status. (Which means: an organisation that exists to benefit the general interest). All the revenue of the sales are used to pay for costs and what remains will be reinvested in Dutch museums in the shape of advice and consultation.

A beautiful painting of a Dutch artist instead of a poster with a red phone booth

Getting the highest possible price is not the most important thing. Finding the artpiece a new purpose is. We keep the prices low so there is something in each price range. What is better than watching a young couple leave completely happy with a beautiful painting of a Dutch artist. They only had the budget for a poster with a red phone booth and now they have a unique piece of art from a Dutch artist above their sofa.

You don’t even have to leave the house to buy a beautiful piece, from your own home you can see a part of Onterfd Goed’s collection. From as little as 25 euros including shipping you can have a beautiful present for yourself or a friend.”

Our hall is open Wednesday to Saturday from 10am to 5pm. Every first Sunday of the month from 12:00 to 17:00.

Creative site SECTION-C, HALL 10 Daalakkersweg 2 (main entrance site)