MUSEUM AT RISK
Save the M HKA

Artists speak out

24 October 2025 – Press release

Artists and cultural workers oppose the cancellation of the museum function of the M HKA.

‘The brutal manner in which the M HKA is being dismantled should be a cause for great concern.’
— Ann Demeester, director of the Kunsthaus Zürich, Switzerland, in De Standaard on 15 October 2025.

During the weekend of October 25 and 26, 2025, a 24-hour manifestation will take place in the entrance hall of M HKA, featuring more than 120 performances, lectures, concerts, and other contributions from people across the cultural field. With this action, we aim to bring together the art community from all over the country and make our voices heard.

Earlier this month, the Flemish Minister of Culture announced that the Antwerp museum of contemporary art M HKA would be stripped of its status. To protest against this decision, we are organising a 24-hour marathon event at the M HKA, which will feature contributions from over 120 artists, performers, curators, musicians and actors.

The artists and art workers of Belgium and beyond are resisting the Concept Note 'Redrawing the landscape of the Flemish museum institutions and the visual arts', proposed by the Flemish Minister of Culture, Caroline Gennez.

A museum of contemporary art is an indispensable part of the vibrant artistic ecosystem of a city home to a large community of artists and artists in training. We therefore oppose the proposed transformation of the M HKA into an arts centre and demand that its museum function be retained. We call on the authorities to take responsibility for years of mismanagement and structural difficulties. We are committed to providing an ambitious, renewed vision for Antwerp's museum of contemporary art and to strengthening museum policy.

  1. We want a museum of contemporary art in Antwerp.
  2. A museum of contemporary art has a collection.
  3. An internationally renowned contemporary art museum requires appropriate infrastructure and funding.
  4. We want a say in, and the right to co-decide on, the reform of Flemish museums.

This event is a spontaneous initiative by artists and arts workers, supported in practice by the museum staff. It is organised by the action group Museum at Risk, not the museum itself.

Information MUSEUM AT RISK :
www.museumatrisk.be

Information programme Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 october via:
www.museumatrisk.be or www.instagram.com/museumatrisk_mhka

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