There was a competition, a winner was chosen, but implementation never happened. We know this scenario all too well. The matter gets more complicated when an institution that has been waiting for the construction of a new headquarters and planning for development - loses not only this opportunity, but also its resources. Such a fate most likely awaits the Museum of Contemporary Art in Antwerp.
The Museum of Contemporary Art in Antwerp(M HKA) was established at the initiative of the Flemish Community in the 1980s. A former grain silo on Leuvenstraat, near the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, was chosen as its headquarters. A local architect, Michel Grandsard, was responsible for adapting the unusual building for exhibition purposes. Five years after its opening, in 1992, he was entrusted with expanding the edifice, which had become too cramped for the museum's growing needs. That's when the distinctive cylindrical building and several additional rooms were added, bringing the total to an additional 2,500 square meters of exhibition space.
Over the years, this architectural patchwork required further renovations and remodeling to accommodate a collection of nearly 8,000 objects, until finally, in June 2023, the Flemish Community announced its second competition (the first was unsuccessful) to select a design team to create a new museum building on the grounds of the Court of Appeal in Antwerp's Zuid district. Six design teams were selected from more than fifty submissions, and the commission was eventually awarded to the Belgian studio Bovenbouw Architectuur and a team from the Swiss office Christ & Gantenbein. The initial design of the new building's master plan was approved by the City in 2024. The museum headquarters was to become an open, accessible building, as well as a spatial dominant in the city's skyline. The project was the fruit of negotiations, during which the quality of the concept and sustainability were of particular importance.
Design of the new Museum of Contemporary Art in Antwerp (M HKA).
© Bovenbouw Architectuur, Christ & Gantenbein | M HKA press materials.
The government allocated a budget of 130 million euros for the investment, and after the elections last year, Caroline Gennez, the new Minister of Culture, was expected to uphold this decision.
The current M HKA exudes the atmosphere of an unconquered fortress. The new museum must become an open house, where a variety of activities bring the museum to life every week. A welcoming space that one simply walks into, like the Turbine Hall at the Tate or the forum at the Pompidou Center. This is how this museum is reimagined: as a shared space, a meeting place for diverse people, communities and artistic worlds. What's more, this new landmark in the city will not only help realize the international ambitions of our Flemish contemporary visual arts policy, but also aims to strengthen cooperation with other Flemish contemporary heritage institutions,
- Gennez said.
The design of the new Museum of Contemporary Art in Antwerp (M HKA).
© Bovenbouw Architectuur, Christ & Gantenbein | M HKA press materials
A few days ago, however, the Minister of Culture announced a reform of Flemish m useology aimed at reorganizing the public collection and centralizing the region's contemporary art resources - with the result that not only will there be no new M HKA building, the museum will also lose its status and be transformed into a visual arts center by 2028. The country's flagship art institution will become S.M.A.K, which is the Ghent-based Municipal Museum of Contemporary Art, with nearly 3,000 works, and the M HKA's much larger collections will be moved there. Will they fit in the new premises? This could be quite a challenge, especially since the Antwerp collection includes, among other things.... house.
What is the reason for this change in the government's decision?
M HKA has been struggling with its own identity for a long time, Gennez says. - The evaluation committee gave it a negative opinion. The museum is seen as a closed fortress in the southern part of Antwerp, with little connection to the rest of the visual arts community. On top of that, there was no certainty that the cost of building the new facility would fit within the planned 130 million euros. That's why the project was put on hold.
Project for the new Museum of Contemporary Art in Antwerp (M HKA).
© Bovenbouw Architectuur, Christ & Gantenbein | M HKA press materials.
Although the institution's employees are to be guaranteed jobs, and upgrades are to be made to the existing building, this is a major step backward and a wasted effort (as well as funds) of the architectural competition that was conducted.
A petition in defense of the institution has already been signed by more than a thousand people.
We question the ministry's claim that having two contemporary art museums in one region is an "inconsistent policy." M HKA and its collections are both locally rooted and internationally connected, built up over four decades. Relocating the collections means destroying them
- write the appeal's creators.
The design of the new Museum of Contemporary Art in Antwerp (M HKA).
© Bovenbouw Architectuur, Christ & Gantenbein | M HKA press materials.
Budget savings are often sought precisely in culture, and we recently saw a similar case with the 2023 competition for the redevelopment of the former Cracovia Hotel into the Museum of Design and Architecture in Krakow (design: Lewicki Łatak Design Office). A few months after it was settled and politically changed, the decision was made to withhold funding for this project from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. There are many more similar cases, consuming huge sums of money and the time and effort of those involved in carrying them out and participating in them. Culture, which often occupies the last place on spreadsheets, has an extremely important role in society - so it is worthwhile to rely on sound analysis and transparent dialogue of all parties involved when making decisions related to it.
