The prestigious Nottebohmzaal or Nottebohm Hall in Antwerp has been the setting for the much-appreciated Nottebohm lectures for years. This autumn, climate is the main topic, with speakers such as Nic Balthazar and Geert Buelens. A new feature is that the historic library space is now also open to individual visitors. 

From November 17, everyone can admire the impressive hall, which seems to come straight from the world of Harry Potter.

The historical library space of the Antwerp Heritage Library Hendrik Conscience will open its doors this autumn for a new series of Nottebohm lectures and for individual visitors.

Climate is central to Nottebohm lectures

Traditionally, the Nottebohm lectures on Sunday mornings address a current theme. In 2022, the lectures will be about the climate in the context of the group exhibition ‘Finis Terrae‘. Jos Geysels talks about climate justice and the broad social support that is required for this. Marie Becuwe talks about the flight to nature and the crucial role the artists’ hostels played in the development of realistic and impressionist painting. Nic Balthazar explains why he has been concerned for so many years, what the true danger is of climate change and why the solutions are still hopeful and achievable. Finally, Geert Buelens dives into history fifty years after the Club of Rome sounded the alarm with ‘Limits to Growth‘.

An undeniable wow feeling

The Nottebohmzaal is the hidden gem of the Hendrik Conscience Heritage Library. As soon as they step into the hall, visitors can smell the scent of the 120,000 old books and hear the city sounds hushed. Strolling over the creaky parquet floor, they discover Blaeu‘s iconic globes and all the other masterpieces that are kept there.

From this autumn, the curious can discover the Nottebohmzaal on their own. From November 17, individual visitors are exceptionally welcome from Wednesday to Sunday. Tickets cost 8 euros and can be purchased online.

Practical

Nottebohm lectures, Nottebohmzaal, Hendrik Conscienceplein 4, 2000 Antwerp, www.erfgoedbibliotheek.be.

Sundays October 16, October 23, November 20 and December 11, 2022, each time at 11AM. Standard ticket 5 euros per lecture via http://www.erfgoedbibliotheek.be. Subscription 16 euros for 4 lectures via http://www.erfgoedbibliotheek.be.

Individual visit

Nottebohmzaal, Hendrik Conscienceplein 4, 2000 Antwerp.

From November 17, 2022 to February 26, 2023 and from April 20, 2023 to September 9, 2023. From Wednesday to Sunday, from 1 to 5PM. Last admission at 4.30PM. Standard ticket 8 euros via http://www.erfgoedbibliotheek.be. 

Art and museums in Antwerp

• Inside the KMSKA or Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp.
• VIDEO | Inside the Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Antwerp.
• Museum Mayer van den Bergh.
• ANTWERP | ‘Stories of Refuge’ exhibition at Red Star Line Museum.
• 2022 in the museums of Antwerp.
• ANTWERP | ‘Stories of refuge’ exhibition at Red Star Line Museum.
• ANTWERP | Inside Rubens House.
• ANTWERP | Garden of renovated Rubens House to be open air exhibition space.
• ModeMuseum MoMu – Fashion Museum Antwerp 2021.
• ‘Freight’ and ‘Listen’ exhibitions at MAS in Antwerp.
• ‘Masculinities: Liberation through Photography’ exhibition at FOMU, Antwerp’s photography museum.
• ANTWERP | Goshka Macuga’s ‘Figures of Absence’ honours underrepresented women in public domain art.
• Museum Plantin-Moretus in Antwerp.
• ‘Eurasia – A Landscape of Mutability’ exhibition at Antwerp’s M HKA modern arts museum.
• ANTWERP | Geert De Weyer Gallery, a space for illustrators’ and comic strip authors’ art.
• ‘Congoville’: contemporary artists walk colonial paths at Middelheim Museum in Antwerp.
• Antwerp’s Letterenhuis ft. Paul van Ostaijen exhibition.
• ModeMuseum MoMu – Fashion Museum Antwerp reopens on 4 and 5 September 2021 with ‘Fashion 2.021 Antwerp – Fashion/Conscious’.
• Museum Plantin-Moretus will exhibit long-lost illustration by Rubens: ‘Opticorum Libri Sex’.
• ‘100 X Congo’ exhibition at Museum Aan de Stroom (MAS) in Antwerp.
• ‘Cool Japan’ exhibition, Museum Aan de Stroom (MAS), Antwerp, 18 October 2019 to 19 April 2020. 
• ANTWERP | Museum Vleeshuis up for restoration.
• REVIEW | ‘Cool Japan’ exhibition at Museum Aan de Stroom (MAS) in Antwerp from 18 October 2019 to 19 April 2020. 
• BOOK | ‘Antwerp. An Archaeological View on the Origin of the City’ by Tim Bellens.
• ‘On the road’ at Museum Plantin-Moretus.
• Red Star Line Museum.
• Paleis op de Meir. 
• DIVA, Antwerp Home of Diamonds.
• ANTWERP | Red Star Line Museum of (e)migration.
• ANTWERP | Museum Mayer van den Bergh is expanding into former District Hall.
• Antwerp’s Middelheim Museum rearranges sculpture park by the end of 2023.