Programme highlights

AmuseeVous is an organization that aims to bring young people and museums closer together. For this edition of Museum Night, they matched young artists with some of the participating museums and cultural institutions. Curious about the makers of the future? This way!

Several young artists take over the entire cruise terminal of Het Steen during Museum Night. Eveline Bumba, Machteld Mercelis, Oona Oikkonen and Mitch Yan will show their work in a joint exhibition. Discover their idiosyncratic art practices. There are also short artist talks at regular intervals.

In Cinema Lumière you will discover the work of Isabelle Le Tutour. She now opens her colourful, multiform works to visitors, who can use them to create their own projected collages.

Bumba also presents a small intervention in the smallest rooms of De Cinema. You can also watch her video work via QR code.

Finally, Laura Y will give a performance at the KMSKA in which she, as a pianist, gives the musical cues to b-girl Kato and Yamuna.

Looking for a test audience for cheerful jokes, sensitive poems or self-written songs? The microphone is up for grabs at the KMSKA. The youth organization De Trappen is organizing an open mic there.

Free the beast in you! But let it be your inner seagull, because at M HKA you can compete for first place in a round of seagull screeching. You can also hear the 2020 European Seagull Screech Champion, Bregje Iding, doing her thing.

Voice all warmed up? Then continue your journey to DIVA where you can sing along to brilliant hits with boundless empathy in a unique precious metal karaoke. "Ruby, ruby, ruby" or "Diamonds are a girl's best friend"? Have you pick! In the meantime, have fun with an exciting bingo that can earn you a real zircon.

Of course you can also dance the night away on many museum dance floors this Museum Night. DJs spoil you with exciting beats at KMSKA, M HKA and MAS, among others. But if you can't get enough, you should of course buy a ticket for the sultry afterparty in De Studio as soon as possible.

Need to recover from all the hustle and bustle on Museum Night? 

The atmospheric Museum Mayer van den Bergh may take your breath away, but you will surely catch a breath as well. An experienced teacher guides you through a relaxing meditation session, where the decor and the collection form the anchor points.

Or find some peace of mind with beautiful classical music in AMUZ. Curl up in a soft seat, put on your headphones and dream away to one of their concert recordings. 

Prefer some nature sounds to relax to? Then just crawl into a tent at M HKA! Make your own cocoon while the crickets chirp and the frogs croak. ​​​​​

Have you visited the RE/SISTERS exhibition at FOMU? Then you can share your thoughts and feelings with other visitors in a sharing circle. Under guidance and in a safe space, you are invited to reflect on the themes of the exhibition.

You can also sit down with a guide in Jef Verheyen's exhibition at the KMSKA. Together you will experience what it feels like to look at color and light more slowly in a slow art session.

In the foreground or in the background, these concerts are the soundtrack of your museum visit!

In Museum Vleeshuis, Fanfaar Fatal kicks off Museum Night with their infectious mix of Balkan, gypsy, klezmer and with their own unique songs in a byzantine vibe. Later in the evening, Cream Colored Ponies take the stage with their vintage swing jazz; Roffa Rango Trio concludes the night with moody tango. The pianist then plays the upright piano in the dance café.

In the Snijders&Rockoxhuis, soprano Astrid Stockman enchants the hearts of visitors with her incredible voice. Let yourself be taken to higher spheres during one of her three mini-concerts.

For more classical music you can visit the baroque St. Paul's Church. International guest professors and masterclass students from the annual Summer Festival of the International Academy of Arts bring their A-game. The great acoustics make the violin, cello and harp sound at their best.

A contemporary perspective on historical songs can be found in the Hendrik Conscience Heritage Library. Singer-songwriter FULCO and hip-hop queen Slongs Dievanongs will present their interpretation of the Antwerp Songbook. Fingers crossed for good weather, because then these concerts will take place outside. Later in the evening, Les Âmes Perdues will perform the Antwerp Songbook in their typically non-conformist, cheerful guise.

You will find more young talent at Het Bos. Here, Bosacademie residents Caro Abutoh, Leon Jespers and Emily Van Overstraeten pull out all the stops. Atmospheric, melodic, experimental: let it all wash over you!

Feeling adventurous? Then these peculiar performances might just be what you are looking for!

The landscape of Antarctica captures the imagination of many, but few know first-hand what it looks like. The Dutch artist Esther Kokmeijer evokes the white endless plain in her "Polar Landscape Dinner". You can not only admire this buffet, but you also taste it at MAS. 

Still in the MAS you can also admire the results of the "Freebird" project. Homeless people created their dream outfit together with costume designers/artists Alex Akuete, Joke Van de Casteele and Elisabeth Roggeman. They show their work in a fashion performance. 

Drag artists Brenda and Haas delved into the archives of the Letterenhuis for a unique drag show. They were inspired by the special collection of costume designs. Be prepared for a wild ride.

In the M HKA, musician Spencer Clark plays a live performance of psychedelic tunes surrounded by and inspired by the artworks of Vedran Kopljar.

Want to grab a movie? Also possible during Museum Night!

In Cinema Lumière they play short films XX all evening

In De Cinema you can enjoy a unique "triple bill". Experience the raw intensity of Rainer Werner Fassbinder's "Querelle", immerse yourself in the poetic intimacy of Jean Genet's "Un Chant d'Amour" and be enchanted by the stark beauty of Willy Vanderperre's "Heartlands". These three groundbreaking films are played in loop.

Can't get enough of so much passion and artistry? Then MoMu is the right place for you! You will discover the fashion talent of today and tomorrow. The film recording of the graduation fashion show of the renowned Antwerp Fashion Academy is shown here in full.

Museum Night is all about (re)discovering Antwerp's museums. And what better way to get to know a museum than by working with their collection yourself?

In Red Star Line Museum you can attend two different workshops in collaboration with Technopolis. In the first, you experiment with the effect of UV on your skin and also make your own sunscreen. In the second, you will learn to make your own super slime, which you can take home afterwards. Super cool, right?

Also cool: transforming waste and weeds into something completely new. At FOMU you can choose a free spot at the table all evening and join the workshop "One Man's Trash". You will receive tips from textile artist Liesbeth Plettinckx. In a second workshop in the museum, a FOMU guide will help you make your own protest sign. Who knows, maybe you'll get inspired by the exhibition?

In Het Bos, artist Anisa El Margai guides you during a ring-making workshop. It will certainly be a special object!

The same goes for the snow globes that you can make yourself at the MAS. Decorate your snow globe with penguins, ice floes or ships and watch the snow gently cover everything.

In Plantin-Moretus Museum, lend a hand to Eva V's large loom. The new carpet, surrounded by the museum's historic tapestries, is gradually taking shape.

In the same way, the "common bowl" takes shape in DIVA. Under the guidance of silversmith Dries Dockx, visitors will have the opportunity to hammer away at a silver bowl. This collective work of art will be shown in the museum for another month after Museum Night.

Did you see the plates that Bruegel painted in Museum Mayer van den Bergh? They were the inspiration for a unique workshop on stickering plates. You choose a vintage dinner plate yourself and decorate it with elements from works of art from the museum collection. A work of art to enjoy!

In Letterenhuis, ROMBUS ensures that you master screen printing. In this mini-workshop you will print a quote from the inexhaustible Letterenhuis collection on your own T-shirt, postcard or handkerchief. You will go home with a unique piece, all yours.

Collect (in)tangible souvenirs during Museum Night.

Will you go home with a unique, musical portrait? In AMUZ, Jan Van Outryve (lutinist) or Thomas Baeté (gambist) transform you into a melody. Not a painting with a frame, but a memory to be framed.

Equally personal is the "pride confession" of author Veerle De Caestecker in the Letterenhuis. Tell Veerle something you are proud of and you will receive a poem in return.

At FOMU you can get a fake tattoo, based on details in the works of Dirk Braeckman. In addition, photographer Fien Devos is happy to capture you (and your company) on camera in her real photo studio.

And who knows, maybe you will get something long-term from this Museum Night? At MAS, the young people from MAS in Jonge Handen are happy to set you up with a (friendly) blind date in the exhibition. The beginning of a beautiful friendship - or even something more?