The reform of Flemish museums, announced earlier this week, is drawing international criticism. In an open letter published on Thursday, Museum Watch underscored the changes to Antwerp’s Museum of Contemporary Art (M HKA) as “a significant loss” for Europe, reports 24brussels.
This week, Flemish Culture Minister Caroline Gennez disclosed that the M HKA will not receive a new building. Instead, the museum will be transformed into an arts centre, with its collection relocated to S.M.A.K in Ghent. These measures are part of a broader overhaul of the Flemish museum landscape.
The proposed changes have sparked controversy. Museum Watch, an initiative by the International Committee for Museums and Collections of Modern Art (CIMAM), voiced “profound concern” in its open letter, labeling the decision as “a significant loss for the city of Antwerp and for the European system of museums.”
A “regressive” decision
Museum Watch expressed its astonishment at what it deemed a “regressive” decision occurring in Belgium, particularly in Antwerp. “Over the past 40 years, M HKA has accrued a well-deserved reputation as a European museum of international standing,” the letter notes, commending its support for emerging artists and its “multipolar and diverse approach.”
The letter further questions the proposed move of the collection to S.M.A.K, noting that the Ghent institution “is ailing and in dire need of a building in which to display its own collection,” a situation complicated by the city’s significant budget deficit.
Museum Watch is urging Gennez to develop a “new vision” for M HKA “in which it is not emptied out and turned into a shell.” The letter concludes with an appeal for the exceptional and devastating decision to be reconsidered.
#FlandersNewsService | A protest action by M HKA employees. © BELGA PHOTO TIJS VANDERSTAPPEN
