Antwerp‘s photography museum FOMU, short for Fotomuseum, just reopened with an updated collection. Every year FOMU closes for a while to rearrange itself and change the exhibitions. It also uncovered a new logo.

For the coming months, the exhibitions are ‘Dirk Braeckman – Echtzeit‘, ‘RE/SISTERS – A Lens on Gender & Ecology‘, and ‘Nick Geboers‘.

1: ‘Dirk Braeckman – Echtzeit’, 29.03.2024 – 25.01.2025

Dirk Braeckman (Belgium, °1958) has explored the medium of photography in sombre/dark and understated images, for over forty years. The ‘Echtzeit’ exhibition presents a dialogue between Braeckman and the FOMU collection. It shows the museum pieces personally selected by the artist, and also the new work that these inspired. 

“Braeckman appropriates the pieces from the collection and the viewer experiences them through the artist’s camera, eyes and hands”, FOMU says.

“Braeckman is interested in photographs with imperfections, in empty interiors, everyday objects, evocative places or objects that leave much to the imagination. He has chosen from the FOMU collection functional photographs, made without artistic ambition. He recognised certain qualities and commonalities with his own work in these atypical images.”

“Rephotography and experimentation have always formed part of Braeckman’s artistic practice, though the trajectory to the final image is always different.”

For the FOMU exhibition, he worked for the first time with an existing collection of photos. Braeckman took photos of the chosen images and printed them. He then over-painted, smeared or cut holes in the prints. He photographed the results and processed them further in his analogue and digital darkroom.

“The original meaning of the photographs has been altered through the removal of context, the change in format and the addition of titles. A functional document is transformed into a piece of art, a timeless visual poem that raises more questions than it answers.”

‘Echtzeit’ refers to Braeckman’s bridging of the past and present. Simultaneously and in real-time, three perspectives: of the original photographer, of Braeckman and of us, the viewers come together.

You can also listen to an audio guide at the exhibition where authors Alara Adilow, Yousra Benfquih, Peter Verhelst and Niña Weijers add their spoken words to the photographs.

Dirk Braeckman dedicates the exhibition and accompanying book to Clarisse M.(2004 – 2023).

2: ‘RE/SISTERS – A Lens on Gender and Ecology’, 29.03.2024 – 14.08.2024

‘RE/SISTERS’ surveys the systemic links between the degradation of the planet and the oppression of women and minorities. The exhibition is rooted in ecofeminism, a movement that arose in the 1970s and is alive and kicking today.

“‘RE/SISTERS’ brings us eye -to -eye with activist women and communities. They are often at the forefront of advocating and caring for the planet, as they are oppressed by the same social, economic and political power structures”, FOMU says.

The exhibition brings together works from over forty international women and gender non-confirming artists. Through photographs, videos and installations dating from 1969 to the present, we see their view of our world and habitat as allies, victims and leaders. And how they present themselves as fellow resisters, fighting systems of oppression.

Participating Artists

Laura Aguilar (United States), Hélène Aylon (US), Poulomi Basu (India), Mabe Bethônico (Brazil), Joan E Biren aka JEB (US), melanie bonajo (Netherlands), Carolina Caycedo (Colombia), Judy Chicago (US), Tee Corinne (US), Minerva Cuevas (Mexico), Agnes Denes (US), the Feminist Land Art Retreat or FLAR (US), Format Photography (United Kingdom), LaToya Ruby Frazier (US), Gauri Gill (India), Simryn Gill (Malaysia), Laura Grisi (Italy), Taloi Havini (Bougainville and Australia), Nadia Huggins (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), Anne Duk Hee Jordan (South Korea and Germany), Barbara Kruger (US), Dionne Lee (US), Zoe Leonard (US), Chloe Dewe Mathews (UK), Ana Mendieta (Cuba), Fina Miralles (Spain), Mónica de Miranda (Angola and Portugal), Otobong Nkanga (Nigeria), Josèfa Ntjam (France), Ada M. Patterson (Jamaica), Ingrid Pollard (UK), Susan Schuppli (Canada), Seneca Women’s Encampment for the Future of Peace and Justice (US), Xaviera Simmons (US), Pamela Singh (India), Uýra (Brazil), Diana Thater (US), Mierle Laderman Ukeles (US), Sim Chi Yin (Singapore).

New perspectives

“‘RE/SISTERS’ and its public programme invite you to let go of deeply ingrained assumptions and to make room for new perspectives. Guided by the phrase ‘The change we want to bring is what binds us’, FOMU and MINO work together to connect local partners. Ongoing conversations and reflections form a shared basis for the public programme that accompanies the exhibition.”

Book

Accompanying the exhibition is a richly illustrated catalog published in collaboration with Prestel. The book is structured around six thematic chapters, featuring essays by leading thinkers such as Kathryn Yusoff, Astrida Neimanis, Catriona Sandilands, Greta LaFleur, Lucy Bradnock, Christine Okoth, Anna Feigenbaum, Angela Dimitrikaki, Ros Gray, and Alona Pardo. Graphic design by The Bon Ton.

The exhibition is realized in collaboration with the Barbican in London, curated by Alona Pardo.

3: Nick Gebours, 29.03.2024 – 12.05.2024

“Photography is both an instrument and a source of inspiration for Nick Geboers. By constantly viewing the world through a lens, framing has become second nature to him”, FOMU says.

Observations gain clarity, details come into focus, abstract shapes begin to appear. Nick Geboers’ images seem to exist outside time. The exhibition is a flow of images that leaves space for associative contemplations about a world that seems both near and out of reach.

Nick Geboers (1987) lives and works in Balen in Limburg. He studied photography at the Luca School of Arts in Brussels and KASK in Antwerp, where he later worked as a researcher for several years.

In 2023 FOMU awarded production grants to Meggy Rustamova and Nick Geboers. The selection was made in partnership with VICE and WIELS. The FOMU Grant consists of an artistic commission for new work, a presentation at the museum, and an acquisition of the museum’s collection.

The FOMU Grant is a breeding ground for the development of the artistic careers of photographers in Flanders, as well as a stimulus that encourages dynamism and innovation within the field of photography. Through this grant, FOMU also expands its own view of the photographic landscape and enhances a multivocal approach both to its exhibitions and its acquisitions.

A visit

As I’m a MuseumPASSmusée holder, I walk in the museum very casually, not expecting much or spending much time. Because I never really do at FOMU.

FOMU loves intersectionality and current hot topics. So ‘RE/SISTERS’ combining some of the main and well-recognized arms of the intersection – feminism, ecology, poverty – is no surprise. FOMU has done this before with the Chantal Akerman exhibition in 2023, ‘When The Body Says Yes‘ by Melanie Bonajo in 2022 and also ‘Masculinities‘ in 2021. 

This is a pattern which I don’t mind at all, but makes me smirk and sigh with a “ah, yes, again” feeling. The same feeling I have when I watch Netflix documentaries which mix acting and interviews with professors. It’s always the same recipe. 

If you’re interested in these intersectional topics, or you agree, or you like these topics, ‘RE/SISTERS’ is definitely for you. If on the other hand, you get triggered by anything which will be “woke” to you, then no, avoid the exhibition. As a matter of fact, avoid the museum. It will only upset you more. 

The Dirk Braeckman exhibition is for me like visiting a commercial art gallery, looking at pretty images. I do like Braeckman’s style. Monochrome, abstract, not too much. But I didn’t spend hours analyzing what I saw.

The Nick Geboers exhibition was unfortunately closed off. 

So?

I can’t really remember when a FOMU exhibition really impressed me and I thought “yes, this is nice, I’m glad I saw it”. But, I perhaps bizarrely do enjoy going to FOMU for short visits. 

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.
• ‘Jef Verheyen, Window On Infinity’ exhibition at KMSKA, the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, until 18 August 2024.
• Inside the KMSKA or Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp.
• Museum Mayer van den Bergh.
• 2024 at Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Antwerp (KMSKA): Rubens, James Ensor, Jules Schmalzigaug and many more.
• 2024 at the museums of Antwerp ft. Ensor Year.
• ANTWERP | Inside Rubens House.
• 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.