Flemish government to close Belgium’s oldest contemporary art museum

The Flemish government has announced that it will close the Museum of Contemporary Art in Antwerp (M HKA) and absorb its collection into a new contemporary art museum in Ghent. The move is part of a major reorganisation of Flemish museums, with S.M.A.K in Ghent– where the M HKA collection will be moved – becoming the new Flemish Museum of Contemporary and Current Art. The M HKA space is to be turned into a centre for exhibitions, studios, workshops and residences. The Art Newspaper reports that the decision has been criticised by the Belgian arts community: Dieter Roelstraete, a former curator at M HKA, called the move ‘ludicrous, short-sighted, and all too obviously politically motivated in ways we thought we had long outgrown’. Last week, Flemish culture minister Caroline Gennez announced the cancellation of M HKA’s planned new building – a €130m project that has been in the works for the past decade – but said that this would not affect employees. Director of the museum, Bart De Baere, said that M HKA was not made aware of the merger before the announcement.

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