Autumn exhibitions
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Antwerp is looking forward to the autumn exhibitions. Visitors can visit Museum DIVA for a jewels pageant and a silver competition. The MAS is commemorating WWII with the poignant new permanent exhibition. The Red Star Line Museum is celebrating its tenth anniversary with a large family weekend and Museum Vleeshuis is also celebrating with the parade of a city drummer. MoMu is exploring the intimate bond between clothing and recollection and FOMU is showing some work by James Barnor. The MAS and Museum Plantin-Moretus are together showing more than 100 masterpieces from Flemish collections, while the Museum Mayer van den Bergh is entering into conversation with contemporary artists.
Overview of exhibitions in chronological order:
The Jewels Pageant
3 August – 26 November 2023 DIVA | Museum for diamonds, jewellery and silver
The Jewels Pageant took place in Antwerp a hundred years ago. The pageant was organised by the diamond sector to emphasise the important role of Antwerp as the world's diamond city. It was a major spectacle with 15 floats, 2,000 extras, a whole host of exotic animal and a treasure trove of expensive jewels. More than 1 million people journeyed to the city to observe the pageant. Even the royal family came to see it.
From 3 August to 26 November, come and soak up the atmosphere of this 3-day-long jewels pageant from 1923. From the (large) depictions of floats, videos from the crowd at the Grote Markt, original programme booklets, commemorative booklets and newspaper articles, visitors will discover why this pageant is unforgettable in the history of Antwerp.
Silver Triennial: a contemporary design exhibition
26 August – 8 October 2023 DIVA | Museum for diamonds, jewellery and silver
From 26 August onwards, DIVA will be presenting the 20th edition of the Silver Triennial, the foremost international competition for contemporary silver. The travelling exhibition will showcase the best entries from this triennial competition and is organised by the Gesellschaft für Goldschmiedekunst (Association for Goldsmiths' Art) in Hanau. Though the exhibition itself will be transferred from the Goldschmiedehaus in Hanau, it will have a distinctive look and presentation in DIVA. The exhibition is aimed at design, art and contemporary (silver) work enthusiasts, as well as at makers of contemporary silver.
City at war. Antwerp 1940-1945
From 8 September 2023 MAS
On 8 September 2023, 'City at war. Antwerp, 1940-1945' will open at the MAS. This new permanent exhibition shows the impact of the Second World War on Antwerp and its residents. The city was particularly badly hit: through the Nazi terror, the persecution of Jews and the military violence, at least 25,000 people died. The exhibition brings the society of the time to life with symbolic places such as a cinema, a school, a house, the cathedral and the Town Hall. There, personal stories and objects from Antwerp residents make the war and the dictatorship tangible. These are stories of division, powerlessness, betrayal, violence, as well as of courage, resistance and help. They are stories that should not be forgotten
Red Star Line Museum – 10 years young
30 September – 1 October 2023 Red Star Line Museum
The Red Star Line Museum will be celebrating its tenth anniversary over the weekend of 30 September. The museum will be welcoming the general public for an extravagant dance party in 1920s style, where Lindy Hop and swing will dominate the dance floor. But that's not all! The festive weekend will offer a varied programme for everyone, including for the most vulnerable households.
The festive weekend will offer a rich programme for families, with a boat race, family walks, tours for families without language barriers, toddler tours, buggy tours and many creative workshops. A world brunch, food vans and drinks are, of course, not to be missed during the party. An exhibition with portraits by photographer Koen Broos will put one donor for every ten years of the museum's existence in the spotlight.
PARADE, focus exhibition and soundscapes
28 September – 7 January 2024 Museum Vleeshuis
In Antwerp, things don't stop moving and they never have: fanfare music from kiosks, a piano sounding from open windows, accordion music from emigrants, dance organ tones from cafés, songs from street singers – all of this blended with everyday street sounds. In the autumn of 2023, visitors to Museum Vleeshuis will parade through the Antwerp of the past (and the present). Soundscapes – specially created by the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp and the Study Centre for Flemish Music (SVM) – will bring the sounds of the city to life. A small focus presentation will show a parade of historical brass instruments from the collection of city drummer Jean Bocklam – a recent donation to the museum. Along the way, you will also encounter Antwerp's music kiosks. And of course, all those city sounds will come to life during the Wednesday Sounds concert series, to which brass instruments are central.
ECHO. Shrouded in memory
14 October – 25 February 2024 MoMu – Fashion Museum Antwerp
'ECHO' explores the intimate bond between clothing and memory through the eyes of three artists who are connected by the tactile and emotional intensity of their work: artist Louise Bourgeois, designer Simone Rocha and choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker.
Baloji Augurism.
21 October – 14 April 2024 MoMu – Fashion Museum Antwerp
Coming this autumn, the MoMu gallery will be transformed into a place of magical realism: the intriguing world of Baloji.
The exhibition is inspired by his latest feature film 'Augure' and the related albums, and gives us a new perspective on his artistic practice.
James Barnor
26 October – 10 March 2024 FOMU
This autumn, FOMU is presenting the first major overview exhibition of the Ghanaian-British photographer James Barnor (°1929). This exhibition reveals both the multi-faceted nature of his practice and his mastery of the medium.
The James Barnor exhibition at FOMU not only highlights Barnor's rich career, but also the cultural connections between Accra, London and Belgium.
Her Voice (working title)
27 October – 10 March 2024 FOMU
The exhibition Her Voice (working title) brings together an international group of artists who have been inspired by the Belgian film-maker Chantal Akerman (1950-2015).
In 1975, Akerman became famous overnight with Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles – a key work in feminist avant-garde cinema. Almost fifty years later, her work is no less topical.
The exhibition shows how Akerman's personal approach, radical ideas and feminist critique live on in contemporary art. With work by trend-setting photographers like Frida Orupabo, Joanna Piotrowska, Collier Schorr, Manon de Boer, Gabby Laurent and Carmen Winant.
Rare and Indispensable | 100 masterpieces from Flemish collections
28 October – 25 February 2024 MAS | Museum aan de Stroom
Magritte, Bacon, Ensor, Moore, Jordaens and Rubens are just a few of the world-famous names on display at the MAS this autumn. The unmissable exhibition ‘Rare and Indispensable’ will display a unique selection of masterpieces that you would otherwise have to travel all over Flanders to see, or that are normally never accessible to the public at all. The exhibition itself is being held in honour of the 20th anniversary of the Flemish Outstanding Artefacts Decree.
Eyecatchers
From 31 October 2023 MAS | Museum aan de Stroom
In the new exhibition ‘Eyecatchers’ at the free Visible Storage, 16 Antwerp residents will give their view on the collection. In each display case, you will see what they find a masterpiece from the MAS collection. Because a masterpiece is different for everyone. This makes a visit to the Visible Storage a wonderful supplement to the 'Rare and indispensable' exhibition, which will be held on the third floor. There are almost 100 pieces to admire there that are recognised in Flanders as Masterpieces.
Conversations
10 November – 3 March 2024 Museum Mayer van den Bergh
For the 'Conversations' exhibition, contemporary artists will be in dialogue with Museum Mayer van den Bergh's collection. Among the centuries-old paintings, the modest sculptures and the extravagant altarpieces will enrich modern artworks during the museum presentation. Fifteen artists have been inspired by Mad Meg by Pieter Bruegel, the portraits by Cornelis De Vos and Alessandro Allori, still-lifes by Antwerp masters like Daniël Seghers, works by Jacob Jordaens, Joachim Patinir, Gerard de Lairesse, and other masterpieces. The result is a surprising dialogue between historical and contemporary masters, presented in the atmospheric interior of Museum Mayer van den Bergh – an intriguing blend of old and new.
The exhibition Conversations. 15 contemporary artists in dialogue with Museum Mayer van den Bergh's collection will show some new and existing work by Bram Demunter • Marcel Dzama • Adrian Ghenie • Kati Heck • Leiko Ikemura • Edward Lipski • Jonathan Meese • Ryan Mosley • Inès van den Kieboom • Muller Van Severen • Tobias Pils • Ben Sledsens • Dennis Tyfus • Rinus Van de Velde • Tal R. In collaboration with Tim Van Laere Gallery.
From scribble to cartoon | Drawings from Bruegel to Rubens
17 November 2023 – 18 February 2024 Museum Plantin-Moretus
In this exhibition, the Museum Plantin-Moretus will present the 80 finest old drawings from Flemish collections. As a whole, this will form a stunning and representative overview of how and why people drew in our region in the 16th and 17th centuries. While masterpieces from the museum's own collection form the basis of this exhibition, they will be supplemented by complementary masterpieces from other Flemish public and private collections. This will be a unique opportunity to see a number of resounding pieces side by side, such as the Rubens' sketchbook as a 12-year-old, Antoon van den Wijngaerde's 10-metre long Panorama of Zeeland and the extremely rare Italy sketchbooks of the sculptor Pieter Verbruggen. And besides big names such as Frans Floris, Pieter Bruegel, Anthony van Dyck or Jacob Jordaens, the beautiful and rarely shown sheets by lesser-known draughtsmen like Jan van Stinemolen, Hans Collaert, Pieter van Lint, Godfried Maes and Jan Erasmus Quellinus will also form a surprising discovery.
Photo header: Ladies on the Belgenland, illustration 'Red Star Line cruises from London', 1934
Nadia De Vree