In Amsterdam, the “Catch me at the museum” campaign, devised by agency Monks in collaboration with amsterdam&partners, reimagined the role of art in public space. The idea: to take iconic artworks out of their museums and install them in the heart of the city, directly on JCDecaux Netherlands’ street furniture. Bus shelters, digital street furniture and display panels thus became open windows onto the collections of Amsterdam’s cultural institutions.
To amplify the impact of this art “beyond the museum walls”, two special activations, produced by O2H, were rolled out to offer passers-by a more immersive experience. Near Amsterdam Centraal station, a painted character literally “came to life” inside a piece of street furniture: a striking set-up blurring the boundaries between reality and fiction, which caught travellers’ attention and encouraged them to discover the original work at the museum.
A second activation featured an old-fashioned telephone, installed on the street furniture, enabling direct contact with the main character from the artwork. By picking up the telephone, passers-by could hear a message inviting them to continue the experience at the museum. This simple yet highly evocative device created a playful emotional connection with the public.
