Dutch museums and concert halls open as hair salons to protest Covid-19 rules
Museums and concert halls temporarily turned into beauty salons and gyms in the Netherlands on Wednesday in protest of the Dutch government’s restrictions on the corona virus.
A hairdresser and two nail artists took care of the visitors among priceless works of art at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam and two barbers lined up their chairs on the stage of the Concertgebouw in the capital.
The cultural sector says it is unfair that they have to remain closed while Covid curbs were lifted last week in shops and so-called “contact professions” such as hairdressers, nail salons and even sex work.
Dutch authorities distributed enforcement notices to a number of the 70 or so sites that took part in the day-long protest.
“We wanted to point out that a museum is a safe visit and that we should be open,” Van Gogh Museum director Emilie Gordenker told AFP.
“The mayor called me last night and she said she does not allow this. We expect to get a warning sometime, after which we have to close, but we really wanted to do this as we are here.”
One of the hairdresser’s customers said he had come because he was “pro-culture”.
“Let’s open the business again, let’s open the culture again as soon as possible,” said Max Smit, 32.
“Obviously with a reasonable pandemic risk-taking, but I think large institutions like large open spaces like the Van Gogh Museum should be able to reopen.”
“Two years of patience” Near the event “Hair salon at the Concertgebouw” saw two masked barbers cut their hair on stage, while the orchestra played Symphony No. 2 by Charles Iver.
“After two years of patience and a constantly constructive attitude, it is high time for a fair perspective for the cultural sector,” said Concertgebouw director Simon Renink.
Fitness lessons took place at the Mauritshuis Gallery in The Hague, home to Vermeer’s famous “Girl with the Peal Earring”, while the Speelklok Museum in Utrecht set up a gym.
Police officers visited the Utrecht Museum and the protest continued outside, said public broadcaster NOS.
The protest follows similar civil disobedience measures by bars and restaurants in the Netherlands against some of Europe’s toughest Covid measures.
Cafes opened in several cities over the weekend despite a government announcement on Friday that they must stay closed until at least February 25.
The government said it had to be careful because new infections run by the Omicron variant broke record levels while hospital stays decreased.
Anger over the restrictions spread to violence in January last year and again in November when riots broke out in cities including Rotterdam and The Hague.
(AFP)
