Experience

ANTWERP | Maagdenhuis Museum to be repurposed

Posted by Timothy on

The Maagdenhuis (Maidens’ House) in the Lange Gasthuisstraat in Antwerp will be given a new cultural purpose. In the short term, in addition to the core collection of the Maagdenhuis, part of the collection of Museum Mayer van den Bergh will also be temporarily housed. In addition, the Antwerp cultural-social organisation GATAM vzw will move there, and Tutti Fratelli vzw will also have temporary extra space there.

The Maagdenhuis is located in a historic building from the 16th and 17th centuries in the Lange Gasthuisstraat. In the past it served as an orphanage for girls, and is currently a museum for Antwerp’s foundling, orphan and poor care through the centuries. 

Essential for a new purpose for the Maagdenhuis is, on the one hand, safeguarding the core collection of the Maagdenhuis and the social story of the site, and on the other hand, developing an up-to-date and modern operation with a sustainable future.

Museum character is retained

In the short term, from 2024 to 2027, a temporary design for the use of space at the location will be drawn up. The museum function is retained: the core collection of the Maagdenhuis remains. 

And during the restoration and renovation works in the nearby Museum Mayer van den Bergh, part of the museum collection, which in total has more than sixty masterpieces on the Flemish masterpieces list, will be given a temporary home in the Maagdenhuis. Museum Mayer van den Bergh is working with (groups of) Antwerp residents to develop a temporary exhibition that focuses on their unique stories about the museum collection. The result of this participation process will be available to visit in the Maagdenhuis from the spring of 2025 to 2027.

Temporary collaborations with the Antwerp cultural-social field

Exploratory discussions were also held with the Antwerp cultural-social field with a view to optimal use of space. The organizations GATAM vzw and Tutti Fratelli vzw were selected to join forces at short notice: in terms of vision, mission and operation, they are closely aligned with the message that the Maagdenhuis wishes to continue to convey, namely care for the vulnerable.

GATAM vzw has working with people with the greatest distance to the labour market as the core of its mission. It connects people with each other and with the labor market, as well as citizens and communities in the city. This vision fits in seamlessly with the ambition to maintain the social aspect of the site in the new purpose of the Maagdenhuis.

GATAM vzw has been organising training for kitchen staff for non-native speakers in Antwerp for more than ten years. They are always looking for new, also temporary, locations.

The collaboration between GATAM vzw and REantwerp, a fashion studio that believes local anchoring, social connection and more attention to craft are important values, will also have a place in the current buildings of the Maagdenhuis until 2027.

In addition to the social aspect of this temporary use of space, there is also a historical link with the original function of the Maagdenhuis. In the past, orphan girls were taught household tasks, such as cooking and sewing, so that they could later be employed by families as maids.

Theatre

Tutti Fratelli vzw is a social-artistic workshop and makes theatre with people who have had and have fewer opportunities in their lives. The organisation will also have a place in the Maagdenhuis. The Maagdenhuis is a ‘roof for the vulnerable’, and by offering Tutti Fratelli vzw an opportunity here, the mission of the Maagdenhuis is extended to the present day.

Alderman for Culture Nabilla Ait Daoud (N-VA): “We are breathing new life into the Maagdenhuis and at the same time we are cherishing its valuable history. The integration of socio-cultural organizations such as GATAM vzw and Tutti Fratelli vzw adds a contemporary dimension to the historical significance of the Maagdenhuis, when care for the vulnerable was central: Antwerp orphan girls once learned household tasks here, such as cooking and sewing.”

Alderman for Social Affairs Tatjana Scheck (Vooruit): “The Maagdenhuis is the cradle of the Antwerp Public Centre for Social Welfare and of poverty reduction. With the rich social history in mind, it is important that the Maagdenhuis remains an open house. This new design ensures that every Antwerp resident can also visit here in the future.”

Sustainable future

For the long-term vision for the Maagdenhuis, from 2027, the focus is on modern operation with a sustainable future, with the cultural and social story of the Maagdenhuis site central.

Art and museums in Antwerp