The Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Antwerp or KMSKA – short for Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten van Antwerpen – has had a very successful year in 2023. The museum presents a 2024 filled with exhibitions and activities. The renovation KMSKA is a prestige project of the Flemish Government. 

With 534,000 visitors in 2023, the counter has reached 807,000 visitors since the reopening of KMSKA on 24 September  2022. The successful ‘Turning Heads‘ (‘Krasse Koppen‘) exhibition attracted a large crowd during the end-of-year period.

“The KMSKA celebrated a number of great milestones in 2023. In May, the 500,000th visitor since the reopening was festively welcomed. The first anniversary of the museum was celebrated on September 24 with a real popular festival inside and outside the museum walls. And in October there was the opening of Krasse Koppen. This first major exhibition since the reopening is an immediate hit”, Luk Lemmens, chairman of KMSKA vzw, says in a press release.

Carmen Willems, general director of KMSKA vzw.: “With 534,000 visitors in 2023, the KMSKA continues to score on the strong momentum of the opening months in 2022. The museum then received 267,000 visitors in three months. These numbers exceed our wildest expectations. But it is especially the high satisfaction scores that give us great pleasure. Every day we make every effort to give all our visitors ‘the Most Beautiful Feeling’. The countless positive reactions show that we are succeeding in this.”

In addition to the individual visits, the group visits, school visits, tours and events were also very successful. More than 45,000 interested people visited the museum with a guide. Nearly 13,000 people visited the museum in groups without a guide. Through a school visit, 29,000 children had the opportunity to discover the new KMSKA. And events attracted another 20,000 visitors.

“The new DNA of the KMSKA is appealing to the general public. Focusing on Inclusion and participation are not empty words in the new museum. Due to the targeted efforts in this regard, the KMSKA has become an art experience with high accessibility for everyone. Young and old, art connoisseurs, enthusiasts and laymen, they all found their way to the museum.”

“An ambition that is also reflected in the 2024 programming. With major exhibitions around Jef Verheyen and James Ensor, surprising new installations in the collection presentation, smaller exhibitions in the print room, the launch of new Artists in Residence, the fascinating ‘KMSKA LAAT‘ programming, new tours and experiences, it promises to be another vibrant year in the KMSKA.”

2024

In 2024, the KMSKA is coming up with a fascinating mix of exhibitions, events and activities. The agenda includes exhibitions on the prints of Peter Paul Rubens and Jules Schmalzigaug, the first solo exhibition by Antwerp artist Jef Verheyen in his own city and one of the largest Belgian Ensor exhibitions since 1999.

Furthermore, KMSKA amazes with a finissage that turns heads, a monumental restoration in a museum gallery, two new Artists in Residence and artistic interventions on Thursday evening.

‘Turning Heads’ finissage on 18 January 2024

On 18 January, KMSKA will conclude its first major exhibition since the reopening. ‘Turning Heads’ will close with a festive finissage during ‘KMSKA LATE‘. On the programme: music, dance and an intimate tête-à-tête with the heads of Quinten Matsijs, Pieter Bruegel, Rubens, Adriaen Brouwer and Rembrandt. A colourful event for young and old alike. But above all, the very last chance to stroll through the exhibition and come face to face with 76 turning heads, including Johannes Vermeer‘s ‘Girl with a Red Hat‘.

‘Rubens in Black & White’, 26.01.2024 – 28.04.2024 at the Print Room KMSKA

Rubens’ fame spread quickly and far beyond Europe. He owed this not only to his paintings, but also to the many prints he commissioned of his works. 

Indeed: ‘commissioned’. Unlike Albrecht Dürer, for instance, Rubens left the cutting of his prints to others. Admittedly under strict supervision. Rubens was in the habit of checking proofs himself, correcting them with pen or retouching them with paint. The engraver or woodblock cutter based his work on these to further refine the copper plate or woodblock. 

The KMSKA owns more than 700 Rubens prints. From before and after his death. This exhibition introduces you to the engravers’ talent for flawlessly capturing Rubens’ works in black and white. Each one of them a masterpiece, presented in the intimate atmosphere of the print room.

Studio Rubens

Throughout the year, visitors in the Rubens Gallery can catch a glimpse of the restoration of Rubens’ ‘Enthroned Madonna Adored by Saints‘. After scanning the canvas and cleaning the surface, a new phase will start in 2024: the removal of varnish. On the immense scaffolding, restorers get to work with solvents and cotton swabs. Various restorers take care of different areas simultaneously. A painstaking task that you can observe live. 

In February, the University of Antwerp will also announce the results of their research with the macro-XRF scanner on this colossal work.

‘Jef Verheyen, Window on Infinity’, 23.03.2024 – 18.08.2024 

In cooperation with M HKA and Jef Verheyen Archive.

So important to the European art world and yet relatively unknown in Belgium: Flemish artist Jef Verheyen (1932-1984) returns to Antwerp. Forty years after his death, the KMSKA presents the first solo exhibition of this illustrious modern master in his hometown. A first.

In the exhibition, visitors will discover a fascinating interplay of light and dark, of form and colour. Thanks to pioneering research by the M HKA, Verheyen’s experimental quest for the void is taking shape. 

Accordingly, Verheyen’s works are not only placed in dialogue or confrontation with his predecessors and contemporaries, but also with contemporary artists. Prestigious loans from the Yves Klein Foundation, the Ueker Archiv and the Fondazione Lucio Fontana, among others, will enhance the exhibition and place Verheyen in an international context.

‘What’s The Story?’, 17.08.2024 – 17.11.2024 and 23.11.2024 – 09.02.2025

In your wildest dreams, which works by contemporary Belgian and international artists would you add to the KMSKA’s permanent collection? The museum puts this challenging question to our curators. 

You will experience their answer in two editions of ‘What’s The Story?‘. A fascinating quest for contemporary art that touches, surprises and interrogates people. Expect an intriguing exploration through the empty Ensor halls. Where you might come face to face with the masterpieces of tomorrow’s Ensors.

‘Schmalzigaug in the Printing Cabinet’, 27.09.2024 – 12.01.2025

Jules Schmalzigaug is a pivotal figure in Belgian modernism. He created the first abstract oil painting in Belgian art history. He was the first Belgian avant-garde artist to penetrate the core of Italian and international Futurism. 

And with James Ensor and Rik Wouters, he belongs to the Big Three modern colour artists. KMSKA already had the largest collection in the world of James Ensor and Rik Wouters. Of late, the same applies to Jules Schmalzigaug. 

Ronny and Jessy Van de Velde have donated 43 drawings, 4 sketchbooks, a preliminary study, lithography, a painting, personal photos and an archive collection of manuscripts and letters to the museum. His drawings, sketches and pastels will form the core of an atmospheric exhibition in the print room from September onwards.

Ensors Boldest Dreams, Passed Impressionism’, 28.09.2024 – 19.01.2025

In autumn 2024, James Ensor will be taking over the KMSKA with one of the biggest Belgian Ensor exhibitions since 1999. 

In this exhibition, you will dive into Ensor’s wonderful universe of wild visions, masks and satire. 

“We will be showing Ensor side by side with work by international artists who inspired Ensor and with whom he wanted to measure up. Because above all, Ensor wanted to be sharper. More radical. Even if his competitors were named Claude Monet, Edvard Munch or even Hieronymus Bosch and Francisco Goya. The exhibition is part of the Ensor Year.” 

“From September 2024, several Antwerp museums will highlight the artist’s oeuvre with a series of ambitious exhibitions. The focus will be on Ensor’s enduring relevance through cross-pollination with contemporary art, fashion and photography. With the largest Ensor collection in the world, this avant-garde artist lives on in the KMSKA”, the press release says.

KMSKA LATE introduces you to two new Artists in Residence, every Thursday night

With ‘KMSKA LATE’, the museum keeps its doors open until 10 PM on Thursday nights. This late-night formula caught on strongly in 2023. 

“We are therefore happy to make it a regular tradition in 2024 as well. Visitors once again enjoy evening tours, tête-à-têtes with Rubens and Jean Fouquet, cocktails and performances.” 

The first months’ programme features some exciting guests such as new Artist in Residence Elise Caluwaerts. The internationally acclaimed opera singer will perform songs by Alma Mahler, unrecognised composer and wife of Gustav Mahler. Aïda Gabriëls, a grande dame in the world of music, opera and theatre, will also be joining the KMSKA as Artist in Residence. With her ‘oyster’ collective, she draws inspiration from the rich KMSKA collection.

In addition to the exhibitions and activities mentioned above, in 2024 the KMSKA will also participate in Erfgoeddag (Heritage Day), Museumnacht (Museum Night), Open Monumentendag (Open Monument Day), Kunstendag voor Kinderen (Children’s Art Day), Slow Art Day and Dag van de Wetenschap (Science Day), among others. 

The permanent museum activities also provide additional experiences. For children, there are The 10, Theater voor de allerkleinsten (Theatre for the Very Young) and Kunstkampen (Art Camps). 

The Open restoration studio and Curator talks provide extra depth. Open atelier and drawing workshops stimulate visitors’ creativity. And the tours for the blind and visually impaired, queer tours and Radio Bart also remain firm favourites. With family tours and youth events on De Trappen, our museum offers two more accessible activities.

Art and museums in Antwerp

• A visit of the Flemish Tram and Bus Museum – Vlaams Tram- en Autobusmuseum (VlaTAM) in Antwerp.
• MUSEUM AAN DE STROOM | ‘City at war, Antwerp 1940-1945’.
• ANTWERP | M HKA modern art museum presents first half of 2024 activities.
• ANTWERP | Discovering queer(ed) art with the Queer Tour at the KMSKA fine arts museum.
• REVIEW | Illusion Antwerpen, an active and photogenic museum.
• Antwerp museums and sports facilities team up with European Disability Card for accessible leisure activities.
• FOMU 2023 | Reimagined collection, strippers – Nicaragua – Kurdistan and people touching each other.
• ANTWERP 2023 | MoMu fashion museum presents IO Van Oostveldt and Man Ray exhibitions.
• Inside the KMSKA or Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp.
• Museum Mayer van den Bergh.
• ANTWERP | ‘Stories of Refuge’ exhibition at Red Star Line Museum.
• 2024 at the museums of Antwerp ft. Ensor Year.
• 2023 at the museums of Antwerp.
• 2022 in the museums of Antwerp.
• ANTWERP | ‘Stories of refuge’ exhibition at Red Star Line Museum.
• ANTWERP | Inside Rubens House.
• ModeMuseum MoMu – Fashion Museum Antwerp 2021.
• ModeMuseum MoMu – Fashion Museum Antwerp 2022.
• Museum Plantin-Moretus in Antwerp.
• ANTWERP | Museum Vleeshuis up for restoration.
• BOOK | ‘Antwerp. An Archaeological View on the Origin of the City’ by Tim Bellens.
• 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.