Base Line - Music Meets Art

200th anniversary of the Royal Conservatoire

From spring 2026, the Kunstmuseum Den Haag will be making a sound. To mark the 200th anniversary of the Royal Conservatoire, the exhibition will bring together worlds of image and sound. After a long hiatus, the Kunstmuseum is once again displaying part of its exceptional collection of musical instruments – and bringing them to life. A few special objects, such as the crystal flute, will regain their voice.

Musical instruments come to life once more

After decades, part of the exceptional collection of musical instruments is once again on display at the Kunstmuseum Den Haag – forming the core of this exhibition. A selection from thousands of instruments from all over the world and from various periods can be admired. Connections between the instruments and their representation in modern art are highlighted. Also on display are works by contemporary artists Derrick Ofosu Boateng, Peter de Cupere, Tara Fallaux, Germaine Kruip and Dina Lebbar, who express their own connection to music and the multisensory experience.

New narratives

Image and sound alternate in a multisensory exhibition that gives space to new narratives. We see, for example, work by the previously unknown Eugenia MacFarlane: a pioneer in depicting movement, emotion and music through colour and form. Portraits of ‘forgotten’ female creators include the Surinamese composer Majoie Hajary, women’s rights activist, inventor and pianist Mary Hallock-Greenewalt, dance pioneer Lili Green and Henriëtte Bosmans: concert pianist and one of the most important Dutch composers of the first half of the twentieth century.

Synesthesia

In the exhibition, you can feel, smell, hear and see that music and (especially abstract) visual art are inextricably linked. Colours and lines represent the music and demonstrate the power of synesthesia: the phenomenon whereby the senses merge. For visitors who do not ‘suffer’ from synesthesia themselves, fear not: music, dance, scent and colour are all there to be experienced.