In 2027, the Museum of Fine Arts Ghent or MSK Gent will open the first exhibition centered on queer readings of the art of the Southern Low Countries (ca. 1400 to ca. 1950) also known as present-day Belgium. To prepare this exhibition, the museum is launching a broad call for queer histories and artworks with a ‘queer sensibility’ that may lie hidden in museum collections.

MSK Gent is already compiling a longlist of artworks with a queer story. These are “artworks grouped around themes such as iconic narratives, queer networks, visual language and intimacies”, Codart.nl says.

Difficulties

Not only is s it difficult to ‘queerify’ with certainty visible and hidden codes in old art, often the private homo- or bisexual lives of artists are not recorded. The further one goes in the past, the less homosexuality (in the broad sense of the word) is an identity and the more it’s just behaviour. People having sex with their own gender. 

Also, art with a certain ‘queer sensibility’ can not easily be traced in collection databases.

Personal insights

The solution? Building on the personal insights of researchers, museum staff and collectors in order to bring these more hidden materials to light. 

Queer tour

MSK Gent was the first museum in Belgium to have a queer tour of its museum. That was launched in 2022 and we haven’t done that yet. The Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Antwerp (KMSKA) now also has a queer tour. 

Open call

MSK has launched an open call to find (potential) queer art. 

Do you know of work from the Southern Low Countries that could be interesting to approach from a queer lens, or of individuals/networks that might benefit from new research leading up to 2027? Or are you interested in sharing your thoughts on this project and possibly helping to address these gaps in art history? Then please contact curators Bart Ooghe (bart.ooghe@stad.gent) or Johan De Smet (johan.desmet@stad.gent). 

Queerness and art

• ANTWERP | Discovering queer(ed) art with the Queer Tour at the KMSKA fine arts museum.
• EXPO | Florian Hetz, ‘Unusual experiences’, Everyday Gallery, Antwerp.
• PARIS 2022 | ‘Oh! Charley, Charley, Charley…’ by Charles Ray pushes male sexuality from the bottom to the top.
• MSK Gent – Museum of Fine Arts Ghent introduces LGBTQ+ tour.
• British National LGBTQ+ Museum at London’s Granary Square, King’s Cross.
• REVIEW | David Hockney double exhibition at Bozar Brussels’ arts museum.
• ANTWERP | Geert De Weyer Gallery, a space for illustrators’ and comic strip authors’ art.
• City chronicle ‘De kleur van de stad maakt mijn ziel amoureus’ recounts Queer Antwerp history.
• ‘Masculinities: Liberation through Photography’ exhibition at FOMU, Antwerp’s photography museum.
• ANTWERP | LGBTQIA+ bookshop Kartonnen Dozen stops.
• BRUSSELS | Exploring gay intimacy and sexuality at ‘In The Mood For Love’ exhibition.
• Bums out in Saint Petersburg.
• Exposing nudity at the British Museum.