The Situation is Fluid

In 2017, M HKA reopened after an extensive renovation, showcasing a permanent collection presentation featuring reference artists, contemporary icons, historical pioneers, and key figures from the museum’s global collection. The collection is ever-evolving, reflecting the dynamic times we live in. In 2025, M HKA will present a renewed, focused collection showcasing approximately 30 key works by Flemish artists. Among them are figures who have lived and worked in the region—such as Marcel Broodthaers, Panamarenko, Luc Tuymans, Anne-Mie Van Kerckhoven, Otobong Nkanga, and Laure Prouvost—alongside artists with ties to Flanders, including Marlene Dumas, Jimmie Durham, Gordon Matta-Clark, and Nicola L. They are presented in dialogue with international artists from the Collection of the Flemish Community, including Cady Noland, Barbara Kruger, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Taus Makhacheva, and Shilpa Gupta. The collection presentation takes the postwar avant-garde in Antwerp as its starting point, using the past as a platform to explore the multipolar realities of both today and the future, structured around the three key angles of the collection: image, action, and society.

The permanent collection presentation features work by Marina Abramović, Chantal Akerman, Hüseyin Bahri Alptekin, Evgeny Antufiev, Marcel Broodthaers, Lili Dujourie, Marlene Dumas, Jimmie Durham, Andrea Fraser, Shilpa Gupta, Craigie Horsfield, Ilya & Emilia Kabakov, Nikita Kadan, Barbara Kruger, Nicola L., Léa Lublin, Taus Makhacheva, Gordon Matta-Clark, Otobong Nkanga, Cady Noland, Panamarenko, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Laure Prouvost, Ayman Ramadan, Chris Reinecke, Oksana Shachko, Walter Swennen, Luc Tuymans and Anne-Mie Van Kerckhoven.

Freely accessible collection wing

The permanent collection presentation is housed in the museum’s collection wing, which is freely accessible. To stay attuned to developments in contemporary art, respond to current events, and showcase recent acquisitions, an accompanying programme of rotating collection presentations is hosted in two adjacent galleries alongside the permanent collection. Additionally, the collection extends into the reading room, which is also freely accessible. Here, visitors can discover works by Koen van den Broek, Marlow Moss, Luc Deleu, Els Dietvorst, and Jacqueline Mesmaeker, among others. Finally, some artworks are inseparably connected to the museum building itself, including pieces by Robert Filliou, Hugo Duchateau, Keith Haring, James Turrell, Christophe Terlinden, Enrico David, and, of course, the Panamarenko House in Seefhoek.

About the M HKA collection

The M HKA collection comprises approximately 6,000 works. Its core is formed by acquisitions made by the museum itself, and works purchased by the Flemish Community and the city of Antwerp. Supplementing this are donations and additional public collections that the M HKA manages, such as the collection of De Vleeshal in Middelburg. The collection narrative begins with the postwar avant-garde in Antwerp and Flanders, and uses this past as a foundation to explore the multipolar realities of both today and the future. The M HKA collection evolves around three key perspectives on art: image, action, and society.

While no work fits exclusively within any of these categories, they provide valuable perspectives for exploring the uniqueness and interconnectedness of our collection. Image, action, and society serve as three axes that collectively define the space of a work: every performative artwork possesses an image quality, viewing is itself an action, and every artwork engages with society. As such, this division is primarily intended to encourage the audience to engage with the works and discover new connections.