Experience

ANTWERP | MAS opens ‘Compassion’ and Red Star Line Museum presents ‘Happy Family 全家福’ on 31 January 2025

Posted by Timothy on

Sure, the respective openings are on Thursday 30 January 2025, but on Friday 31 January the Museum At the Stream (Museum Aan de Stroom, MAS) presents the temporary exhibition ‘Compassion‘. Red Star Line Museum presents ‘Happy Family 全家福‘.

Both Antwerp municipal museums are located at ‘t Eilandje, a hip neighbourhood. 

‘Compassion’, Friday 31 January 2025 until Sunday 31 August 2025 from 10 AM to 17 PM

Feeling or showing compassion is typically human and has many sides. The exhibition ‘Compassion’ shows how we portray this in different times, cultures and worldviews. And also, what its abrasive sides are. Contemporary art by Ai Weiwei, Berlinde De Bruyckere and Stephan Vanfleteren, make you reflect on the more difficult questions about this theme.

“How do we show compassion? What drives us to do so? Who do we see as good examples? What ideas inspire us to show solidarity? And what if the views clash? When the ideals are unachievable?”, the exhibition asks visitors. 

‘Compassion. The many faces of compassion‘ is about our need and aspiration to help others. 

“You will see art from past and present and from all over the world that depicts this, as well as ornaments and utensils. A work by Brueghel with the seven works of mercy, a Japanese print showing how to help the sick, a Congolese sculpture of a generous woman, a Tibetan prayer wheel with a compassionate mantra or a Masonic collection box. Each piece illustrates how humans want to help others. You will also be introduced to music and stories about the theme. You will listen to interviews by Lieve Blanquaert and reflect on your own ideas about compassion.”

At the same time, contemporary artists invite you to think critically about the how and why of ‘compassion’. Besides visual works by Khaled Barakeh, Berlinde De Bruyckere and Ai Weiwei, photographer Stephan Vanfleteren made his own interpretation of the ‘works of mercy’ and artist Annita Smit created a surprising paper sculpture of posters calling for solidarity.

‘Happy Family 全家福’, Thursday 30 January 2025 until Sunday 4 May 2025 from 10 AM to 17 PM

“Be amazed by the rich history, entrepreneurial spirit and unparalleled work ethic of the Chinese community in Antwerp and around the world, through unique artworks and intriguing family stories.”

The Chinese community in Antwerp is one of the oldest and largest in Belgium. It plays an important role in the city’s local business and cultural life. Not far from Antwerp-Central Railway Station, on Van Wesenbekestraat, you will find Chinatown with numerous Chinese restaurants, supermarkets and cultural centres. 

“In our temporary exhibition ‘Happy Family’, we highlight this community and, in particular, the Chinese entrepreneurs in Antwerp’s hospitality industry.” 

For this, Red Star Line Museum is collaborating with guest curator Ching Lin Pang, anthropologist, at the University of Antwerp and the Catholic University of Leuven.

The exhibition tells the story of three Chinese pioneer families and their restaurants, including the family of guest curator Ching Lin Pang herself. 

These families introduced Belgium to non-Western cuisine at the start of the 1950s and played a crucial role in the local hospitality industry. 

Visitors will learn about the families through their personal archives, their testimonies and through new work by photographer Vincen Beeckman. The missing t in Vincen(t) is not a typo. 

‘Happy Family’, a title with multiple layers

The title of the exhibition has multiple layers of meaning. It refers to:

  • The importance of socio-economic relationships among members of a Chinese family across generations.
  • The social role the Chinese restaurant has come to play in Antwerp as a ‘family restaurant’ for Flemish customers, also across generations.
  • A specific dish from the South-Chinese cuisine with this name. It is a stir-fry dish with many ingredients such as meat, fish, tofu, and various vegetables. Due to the wealth of ingredients, every family member finds something to their liking. So, it brings happiness for every member of the family.

“We tell the story of three Chinese restaurant families through interviews and documents from their family archives. Photographer Vincen Beeckman captures images of the families and their restaurants.”

“However, the close connection between Chinese entrepreneurs and the hospitality industry is obviously not limited to Antwerp. The exhibition also features work by Chinese-Belgian artists Sarah Yu Zeebroek, Atang and Yingda Dong. New York-based visual artist Von Hyin Kolk explores the tensions and peculiarities of her multicultural existence in her work, drawing from her experiences as the daughter of Chinese-American immigrants.”

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