The Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp (KMSKA) is counting down to the reopening on 25 September 2022. The museum has been closed for almost eleven years for a major renovation.
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This morning’s launch event happened old skool: not with a digital countdown clock, but with a facade choreography and the unveiling of a banner showing the start date. Theater Stap, one of the artists in residence of the museum, had prepared an Ensor parade. A neighborhood party was also linked to the festive moment. The residents of the South had to exercise patience for a long time with the gigantic museum yard, without a concrete finish in mind.
– Photo: Sebastian Steveniers
Delivery was initially planned for 2017. But due to the complexity of the total project, unforeseen problems such as asbestos removal and course corrections halfway through, there was a delay. The last stretch is still firm. The renovation of the museum garden and the decency of the forecourt should be completed by March. The office area is still being renovated. And the restoration of the staircase, with murals by Nicaise de Keyser, is waiting for completion. In the meantime, the air-conditioning system and the underfloor heating are running in the museum section. According to the rules of the art, this takes one year before the paintings are allowed to enter the galleries.
After the renovation, the KMSKA will expand by 40 percent and have fifty rooms. The master plan, which dates from 2006, will then be fully implemented. The original museum trail has been reconstructed and restored, and a brand new museum has been added to the patios.
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Photo: Sebastian Steveniers
At the launch, Jan Jambon (N-VA) called himself ‘the fifth Minister of Culture involved in this project’. He prides himself on the accelerated release of resources, so that the finish could be completed in one movement. ‘This way the sleeping beauty in the South can finally come back to life,’ he said. The facelift is estimated at 100 million euros, 44 million euros had been released at the start of the works.
The KMSKA briefly considered a name change, but has now abandoned it. ‘Tradition has its rights and the name has become established’, says chairman Luk Lemmens (N-VA). Future campaigns will continue to vary on the theme: the museum wants to evoke the ‘cleanest feeling’ in the ‘cleanest museum in the country’.
Flemish masters
The website has been open since this weekend up to date, the first tickets will be available in six months. Next week, Jacqueline Grandjean will become the new artistic director. The KMSKA will reopen with a collection presentation. The route, with 650 paintings and 200 sculptures, is fixed. In recent years, 185 precious works have been restored, many others have been given a conservation treatment.
For the first exhibitions, the KMSKA will also use its great asset, that of the museum with the most important collection of Flemish masters. In 2023, Rubens’ ‘tronies’ or character heads will be highlighted. And 2024 will be an Ensor year, both in Ostend and Antwerp.
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