Exhibitions, museums and heritage
With nearly three decades of experience in the cultural sector as a graphic and multidisciplinary designer, and a recent master’s degree (cum laude) in museum and heritage studies from the Reinwardt Academy, I aspire to pursue my long-standing desire to engage more in museum work. I am especially eager to contribute to highlighting societal themes for a broad audience. Engaging museum visitors with pressing topics such as biodiversity and climate change remains my particular focus.
Engaging museum visitors with the biodiversity crisis through a natural history collection
In my final master's research (2025), I investigate how natural history museums can enhance the public understanding of biodiversity and encourage care for nature through their exhibitions. I connect academic theory on the human-nature relationship and the green gap between dream and action to museum practice, through an analysis of ten museums. With a case study at Naturalis Biodiversity Center about an exhibition in development on Suriname, I examine the challenges Naturalis faces in realising its ambition to become a change agent in a biodiversity-positive society.
With this thesis, I won the Heritage Intervention Award 2025. This award recognises graduates whose theses demonstrate exceptional potential to contribute to societal transformation and adaptive change within the field of heritage.
“Josje's report challenges the heritage sector to re-examine its core mission and ask a fundamental question: do we give audiences what they want, or what they need?”
Edwin van der Veldt (Lecturer Cultural Heritage – Reinwardt Academy)
Frog slider for the Suriname exhibition at Naturalis
Development of an idea for an interactive exhibit to demonstrate the vulnerability of frogs due to human activity in the Surinamese forest, through sound. The original idea that frog populations have decreased over the past 30 years was found to lack scientific support. Therefore, I proposed to let the sounds represent habitats rather than time (rich forest versus mining area), and I developed this with suitable aerial photographs, drawings, and text, as well as collecting royalty-free frog sounds that match the appropriate habitats at a specific time of day. This provided a substantive basis for the designer and AV team. My texts have been fully incorporated. For Naturalis Biodiversity Center, during my research placement in 2025.
Focus on underrepresented groups at Huis Barnaart
For the monumental museum house Barnaart in Haarlem, I have developed a design that brings to life the underrepresented story of the family Barnaart's staff in a non-invasive manner. The design places several pre-film animation machines, such as zoetropes and phenakistoscopes, in the rooms of the museum house, featuring animations of shadow figures depicting the movements of the staff, accompanied by some thought-provoking questions. It adds a ‘high-touch’ experience for visitors. I carried out this study project (2024) together with four fellow students. It was awarded the maximum score and received enthusiastic praise from the client, Hendrick de Keyser Monuments.
Timeline for 300m construction site fence
For a ten-year construction fence for ProRail, I devised, compiled, and designed a 300-metre-long timeline that describes the very rich heritage of 400 years of work on the neighbouring former industrial site of Oostenburg in Amsterdam. The area of the VOC, Paul van Vlissingen, Werkspoor, and NSM is now transforming into a mixed part of the city. I conducted historical research, selected images, drew maps, and briefly and concisely described the history. Later, ProRail produced a folded (leporello-style) booklet of the timeline, designed by me, supplemented with some biographies of notable individuals from Oostenburg’s history.
Working on Panorama Schiedam inspired me to turn my passion for museums and their cultural or natural history collections into a career.
Panorama Schiedam
The Panorama Schiedam forms a theatrical representation of the history of Schiedam, featuring museum objects, props, lighting, sound, and more, created by Marloes & Wikke for Stedelijk Museum Schiedam. I designed the 32-metre-wide connecting background drawing and various illustrations between the objects. To achieve this, I researched the history of landscapes, vegetation, as well as types of mills and ships in a specific area at a particular time to ensure an accurate portrayal.
Research: Food-related exhibitions nurturing environmental awareness
In this research paper, based on primary data gathered from two exhibition analyses: the LAM Museum in Lisse and Spacefarming in Evoluon Eindhoven, I explore how food-related exhibitions may raise public awareness of the urgency to change our food traditions for planetary well-being and fair global distribution of food. The paper results from an assignment within the master’s programme Applied Museum and Heritage Studies at the Reinwardt Academy.
Game to collaboratively think about the implications of the distribution of exclusive and affordable housing
For Amsterdam-based housing association Stadgenoot, I created a game (including concept, game board, figures and rules) for an employee event. Employees, in mixed groups from cleaner to director, were invited to collaboratively design, in a game format, how the distribution of exclusive and affordable housing would be organised in a new neighbourhood. The game was deliberately designed to be accessible for all levels (B1) and aimed to engage staff across all organisational layers, promoting an understanding of the company's objectives and strengthening team bonds.
Proposal for a sustainable heritage intervention
A fictional project proposing to restore locally produced, bio-based wings to the decapitated windmill De Os at Zaanse Schans, aiming to supply green energy once more to the nearby community. It also seeks to enhance this unique heritage site with a new icon to catalyse the energy transition and raise awareness of the urgent need to contribute to a more sustainable world. Reinwardt Academy student project designed to learn how to write a funding concept note.
Podcast: 'Intercontinental Timeline of the Rijsttafel, served in 7 dishes'
My podcast tells the origin story of the ‘Indo Rice Table’ through a historical timeline. This podcast was created for an assignment at the Reinwardt Academy, in which a personal connection to national heritage is linked to a global perspective.
