From 25 April 2026 to 14 February 2027, Kunstmuseum Den Haag presents Base Line – Music Meets Art, a large-scale exhibition exploring the relationship between visual art and music. The exhibition is organised in celebration of the 200th anniversary of Royal Conservatoire The Hague and brings together historical instruments, contemporary art, sound installations and live performances.
For the first time in decades, part of the museum’s remarkable collection of musical instruments will be on display again. Visitors can discover instruments from different cultures and time periods, including elements of an Indonesian gamelan orchestra, the Persian tar, the Iranian kamanche, harps, synthesisers and the theremin. Several instruments can also be heard throughout the exhibition.
Base Line – Music Meets Art creates connections between sound, image and sensory experience. Works by artists including Germaine Kruip, Derrick Ofosu Boateng, Tara Fallaux and Dina Lebbar are presented alongside historical prints, paintings and portraits of composers and performers. The exhibition also highlights lesser-known figures such as composer Majoie Hajary, inventor and pianist Mary Hallock-Greenewalt and composer Henriëtte Bosmans.
Music plays an active role throughout the exhibition. Students from Royal Conservatoire The Hague will perform in and around the galleries as part of the public programme celebrating the conservatoire’s bicentenary.
The exhibition invites visitors to experience music through multiple senses: hearing, sight, movement and even smell. Themes such as synaesthesia and the influence of music on abstract art run throughout the presentation.
Base Line – Music Meets Art is on view at Kunstmuseum Den Haag from 25 April 2026 until 14 February 2027.
