Tom van der Molen is a curator at the Amsterdam Museum. His work at the museum concerns Amsterdam in the broadest sense. The subjects he deals with range from his own specialty in seventeenth-century painting to Ajax. He has made exhibitions on old drawings, beer and twentieth-century women.

We asked him 5 questions based on the Amsterdam Museum's 5 key words: Amsterdam, Openness, Connecting, Narrative and Relevant.

"Amsterdam means all kinds of things to me. First, it is where I have lived for many years and a place I love to be. Amsterdam is also part of my job, which is why it is perhaps more complex for me than for many others. I see Amsterdam from every nook and cranny, so I see what a complicated city it is."

"For me, open especially means keeping an open mind and being open to each other. Keep listening, looking around, not taking things for granted. I always hope that this city is open, and often it is, but I see it mainly as a responsibility for yourself to want to be like that in life."

Continue reading the full interview below. Interview by Jasmin Hoek.