Nearly 580,000 people visited De Nieuwe Kolk in Assen last year. This means that the Asser Cultural Palace attracted more visitors than in 2019, the year before corona. “2023 was a very good year with many visitors, rentals, performances and activities. We are happy and proud of that,” director Hanneke Bruggeman looks back.
The library in particular attracted more visitors. Last year there were almost 280,000, a doubling compared to the year before and 40,000 more than in 2019. On the other hand, fewer people went to the movies and the theater than in the last year before corona.
With more than 143,000 cinema visitors, there were almost 30,000 more than a year earlier, but also more than 30,000 fewer than in 2019. “But 2019 was a very good film year,” Bruggeman looks back. “Then there were many good films. Last year we actually only had three real blockbusters; Barbie, Oppenheimer and Super Mario. That will be no different this year. The strike in Hollywood means that few major film productions will be released again this year.”
While 2022 was a bad theater year with more than 40,000 visitors, that number increased by a third last year. “After corona, theater visits started very slowly. The question was whether people dared to sit in the theater again. But visitors have found their way back to the theater. We only see that many people only decide at the last minute whether to go Fewer tickets are sold in advance. But the competition is also fierce with restaurants, weekend trips and amusement parks.”
The big profit for De Nieuwe Kolk is in the number of visitors to the library and visitors to DNK-NXT. According to the director, the increase in library visitors is due to a renovation in 2022. “At that time we created a visitors’ square. People work and study here and at the same time it is a place to meet. Various social organizations are active there and there are exhibitions .” High gas prices also caused more people to come to the library. Bruggeman is also happy with this. “We are one of the last public facilities. Then it is nice to have a place where people can sit safely and warmly.”
New in De Nieuwe Kolk since the beginning of last year is DNK-NXT. The library focuses on a young audience, the visitors of the future, with various activities. “We hoped for 75,000 visitors per year, only started counting in June and attracted more than 63,000. These are all potential visitors who will visit the library, theater and cinema in the future.”