Controversial plans to dismantle Belgium's oldest contemporary art museum and transfer its collection to Ghent have been softened after a huge public outcry over the proposed scheme.
The controversial museum reform, announced in October 2025, aimed to restructure the art landscape in Flanders, with Antwerp's M HKA being turned into an art centre, and Ghent's Municipal Museum of Contemporary Art (S.M.A.K.) becoming the primary museum for contemporary art in Flanders.
M HKA was founded in 1985 and is home to works by renowned artists including Marina Abramović and Kerry James Marshall.
Under the plans, approximately 8,000 artworks were set to be transferred to S.M.A.K., thereby stripping M HKA of its museum status.
Strong pushback
The proposals were met with strong pushback from Antwerp's artistic community. Luc Tuymans, an Antwerp-based painter widely seen as Belgium’s most influential living artist, who also represented the Museum at Risk action group at M HKA's press conference, said "to degrade a museum to an arts centre is simply insane," reported The Guardian.
“Antwerp is Flanders' biggest city, with a legacy as a home of the avant-garde in Belgium,” said Tuymans. "You cannot simply take a collection of artworks and transplant it into another ecosystem, because such an ecosystem does not exist.”
British artist Anish Kapoor, whose artwork is included in the museum's collection, also protested against moving his works. In an email sent to the Minister of Culture, seen by the Guardian, Kapoor wrote, "I cannot accept that they might be removed from M HKA or otherwise put at risk as part of any institutional reorganisation."
At the M HKA press conference in Antwerp on Tuesday, 6 January, the museum's acting director Dieter Van Keirsbilck and independent director Philippe Pirotte announced they had sought legal advice against the move, calling the reform "unlawful," reported De Morgen.
Minister backs down
In the wake of this barrage of criticism, Flemish Minister of Culture Caroline Gennez (Vooruit) said she was willing to give the M HKA another chance at a "fresh start."
She gave assurances that the collection would not be physically moved to Ghent, with the collection of contemporary art being shared instead between M HKA and S.M.A.K., and the latter taking responsibility for collection management.
Flemish Minister for Welfare and Culture Caroline Gennez during a plenary session of the Flemish Parliament in Brussels, Wednesday, 19 November 2025. Credit: Dirk Waem/Belga
Speaking to the Flemish Parliament's Culture Committee, Gennez said she is now exploring whether the museum can maintain both "museum and arts functions." She suggested M HKA could evolve into an international art centre, focusing on visual arts through exhibitions, residencies, workshops, and educational programmes.
After the discussions, Gennez's museum plan was submitted to the Flemish government on Friday, 9 January.
The M HKA asked for the Flemish government to postpone the decision on Gennez's museum plan, "to make time and space for truthful consultation," and organise a hearing on the reform of the museum landscape. Antwerp's Royal Museum of Fine Arts (KMSKA) has also joined the M HKA in calling for the Flemish government to postpone its decision on the museum plan.
