The traditional role of national museums for cultural history (particularly within the recently formed EU) is of question as these institutions operate increasingly within a blurred cultural landscape. The future success and potential of the 'new national museum' will depend on how the institution reinvents itself. This thesis considers the role of the national museum today by proposing renewal strategies (exhibition, organizational, and spatial) to reinvent and reorganize the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. The project considers the way in which its collection is curated as well as the way in which its curation and organization communicates identity.