The CoBrA Art Movement was founded after World War II by artists from Denmark, Belgium, and the Netherlands in order to develop and encourage avant-garde and modern art. The name CoBrA is derived from the capital cities of the countries from which the artists came – Copenhagen, Brussels, and Amsterdam.

The museum contains some permanent exhibits from its collection – including works by Karel Appel whose fountain sculpture stands outside the entrance - and also organises exhibitions by other artists in keeping with the avant-garde ethos of CoBrA.

When we visited there was a very striking exhibition examining how African Folk Art has influenced Primitivism in Western art. Being able to see the exhibits side-by-side, for instance African carved masks and totems next to modern paintings and sculptures, allowed you to see how influences had been transferred and compare and contrast the different exhibits.

The art in the museum will not be to everyone’s liking – indeed not everything was to my liking – however what I did enjoy was that each piece provoked a reaction and, for me, that is what I feel art should so. It should make you think. It might simply make you think "I really like this" or "I really don’t like this" or it may make you reflect on some deeper meaning or emotion - there is no right or wrong reaction. The way you feel about a piece of art is individual to you, a personal reaction, and what I really liked about the CoBrA Museum was that it provoked responses in me, it challenged me and it made me think. I was very glad we visited.

Open: Tue-Sun 11am-5pm.

The museum is situated in Amstelveen - a pleasant town on the outskirts of Amsterdam - take Tram No. 5 from Amsterdam Central Station to Amstelveen Binnenhof.