Open Letter from Frank Demaegd (Zeno X) to Minister Gennez Regarding M HKA – ‘I Hope This Is a Mistake’

11 October 2025 – Open letter

Frank Demaegd (Zeno X) supports M HKA in an open letter to Minister Gennez.

Source: metropolis m

Dear Minister Gennez,

After running Zeno X Gallery in Antwerp for 42 years—first on the Zuid and later in Borgerhout—I looked forward to a new M HKA led by a fresh, inspiring, and passionate director (m/f/x). A beacon on the Scheldt and next to the beautiful new Zuidpark, an "iconic landmark" in your own words. In Antwerp, a city with an international Fashion Academy, a fantastic Fashion Museum and Photo Museum, the KMSKA, a thriving gallery scene, and a home to countless Belgian and international artists. A city that has waited for years for the first newly built museum of contemporary art in Flanders. Finally.

A great deal of public money has been spent on site research, two architectural competitions, and ultimately plans for a magnificent museum with a thoughtful urban design. While I understand that economic conditions may delay these plans, I cannot accept that they—after ten years of preparation and ultimately supported by a shared vision—are simply discarded in an almost Trumpian manner. Especially not from a minister of a socialist party. I still hope this is a mistake and that you have somehow been misinformed.

After many years of collaborating internationally with top artists such as Anne-Mie Van Kerckhoven, Luc Tuymans, Raoul De Keyser, Mark Manders, Dirk Braeckman, Michaël Borremans, Marlene Dumas, Jack Whitten, and others, I had dreamed of placing some works from our private collection in a new museum. In Antwerp, the city to which I am deeply connected and where Zeno X Gallery has written its history. I would have been happy to contribute with a generous donation.

The M HKA collection, including the Panamarenko House and many of his works, deserves a beautiful home in Antwerp. And no, it cannot simply be relocated to Ghent. Ghent has its world wonder, the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, and Antwerp has Rubens, Van Dyck, Jordaens, Luc Tuymans, Panamarenko, Anne-Mie Van Kerckhoven, Fred Bervoets, Guillaume Bijl, Luc Deleu, Rinus Van De Velde, Dennis Tyfus, and so many more artists connected to the city.
I have always had great respect for Jan Hoet and S.M.A.K., but one museum is not the other. The M HKA originated from the ICC art center on the Meir, where Guillaume Bijl held his exhibition Chaussures Icécé in 1980. Later, Flor Bex fought to preserve Gordon Matta-Clark’s final work, Office Baroque. Donations from artists intended for this purpose formed the beginning of the M HKA collection. The M HKA collection has grown with the city and cannot be uprooted and moved to Ghent under the guise of efficiency.

I fully agree that a thorough evaluation of the museum’s operations was necessary in the run-up to the new M HKA. Here in Antwerp, Flanders, Belgium, and beyond, we are rich in people with knowledge and expertise in contemporary art. Let this not be the end, but the beginning of an open and constructive debate aimed at the future, with respect for the past.

Yours sincerely,

Frank Demaegd, Zeno X Gallery

This open letter originally appeared in Dutch on metropolis m