Suitcase Maze

FENIX Suitcase Maze

Built with over 2,000 donated suitcases and stories, the FENIX Suitcase Maze is one of the largest installations in the museum.

With its corridors of suitcases, this giant metaphor will arrive at Rotterdam to share different stories of migration.

For many, moving to find a home is uncertain. By stepping into its intricate network with different paths, the maze shows what it can mean to begin an unknown journey without a clear or final destination.

Attention: Suitcase donations are now closed. We thank all donors for their meaningful contribution.

Donated Suitcases: 2,000

The bricks that build the walls of the FENIX Suitcase Maze are real suitcases.

The 2,000 suitcases in the maze were donated by people from all over the world. Before FENIX opens its doors in 2025, the team toured throughout the Netherlands, the United States of America and Canada to collect suitcases and meet the people behind their stories.

From all the suitcases that were donated, a selection of heart-warming stories will be highlighted inside the maze.

'Because of its history, the suitcase is like my great treasure. I would like others to see and hear the suitcase's story. That is why I am happy to donate it to FENIX.’
- Daisy

Why Suitcases?

Before departing home, one is supposed to pack an entire life in a suitcase.

Inevitably, whether the suitcase is big, small, broken, rectangular or circular, these companions of journeys have become gateways to connect with the past. This is because more than carrying personal possessions, a suitcase transports and protects stories and memories.

Anisa donated the suitcase that accompanied her from her birthplace, Pakistan to continue her adult life in the Netherlands.

Daisy donated the suitcase of her great-uncle, who came from Indonesia as a child after the country gained independance from the Netherlands (1945).

Isis donated the suitcase of her Croatian great-grandmother. This suitcase was inherited from mother to daughter for a lineage of four generations as a symbol of strength and independence before arriving at FENIX.

Ernst donated the suitcase of his grandmother, Willemine. After Willemine separated from her Dutch husband while living in China, she travelled with her four children and this suitcase on the Trans-Siberian Express from Irkutsk, Russia to Moscow. Her final destination was her old home, the Hague.