“There is no longer room for the portraits in the new building,” a ministry spokesperson told De Telegraaf after reporting from GeenStijl. The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science is expected to move to a new building on Juliana van Stolberglaan in five years, because the building where the ministry is currently housed must be made more sustainable.
The costs of the move are sky-high and are estimated by the Central Government Real Estate Agency at around 100 to 250 million euros. “We cannot provide a more specific target amount, because we may unintentionally and undesirably influence market forces,” says a spokesperson.
“It is not true that portraits are disappearing. All portraits of old ministers remain visible in the old and new buildings,” Minister Moes responded to Although the portraits can be viewed in that photo, the physical portraits from 1918 to 1959 disappear into the depot. The portraits will be exhibited again in the new building, ‘but on a rotating basis, for example’, says the spokesperson, due to a lack of space.
New works of art are allowed
“What is the minister doing,” grumbles JA21 MP Annabel Nanninga. She wants to ask parliamentary questions about it. “Phasing out our history and replacing it with the desired woke image, under the name ‘inclusive’ art, is ridiculous.”
The new wall is being designed in collaboration with the Program against Discrimination and Racism, which wants to ‘better match the identity of the ministry’. It is striking that this is happening under the leadership of Moes, since the minister was discredited in 2024 for a tweet he wrote about a rainbow zebra crossing. After being daubed with swastikas, Moes wrote: “That’s how polarization works. Too bad, from both sides.” He apologized for this in September.
The OCW spokesperson said that Moes is not directly involved in selecting the art, but that this is the responsibility of the Secretary General. The operation also costs money. “50,000 euros have been budgeted from the existing budget,” says an OCW spokesperson. The new works of art may be moved to the new building. The historical portraits remain part of the National Collection and can be exhibited elsewhere.