M HKA colleagues in education
Sharing knowledge beyond the museum walls
At M HKA, the passion for art reaches far beyond the museum’s galleries. Four dedicated colleagues—Christine, Jan, Piet, and Sylvie—combine their work at the museum with roles in education, bringing their expertise into the classroom to inspire the next generation.
Their commitment to teaching not only enriches their students’ perspectives but also fuels their own work within M HKA. By continuously sharing knowledge and embracing lifelong learning, they ensure that art remains dynamic and relevant, resonating both within and beyond the museum’s walls.
As Sylvie eloquently puts it, “You’re never done learning, are you?”
Christine: Heritage conservation expertise
Christine Lambrechts brings her extensive knowledge of art conservation and restoration to the University of Antwerp, where she teaches Bachelor’s students in Conservation and Restoration. She leads practical courses such as Depot and Museum Management and Preventive Conservation.
For Master’s students in Heritage Studies, Christine teaches Principles and Practices of Collection and Storage Management and Basic Principles of Preventive Conservation, where international students learn techniques for preserving and managing cultural heritage. She collaborates closely with Hélène Verreycke, with whom she co-leads a project on cataloguing the contents of the Panamarenko House. This partnership allows new insights and advancements in heritage care to flow directly back to M HKA, ensuring the museum stays current with the latest developments.
In addition to her work at the University of Antwerp, Christine lectures for the postgraduate Art View programme at KU Leuven-KULAK, offering collectors and art professionals insights into the materials used in contemporary art and practical guidance on collection management.
Jan: Literature and society
Jan Stuyck teaches Literature & Society to Bachelor’s students in the Drama programme at the Royal Conservatoire in Antwerp, part of AP University College. His course encourages students to engage with broader philosophical and social questions through the lens of contemporary literature.
The curriculum explores the lives and works of authors, the contexts in which their works are created, and the relationships between these works and other literary traditions on local, “glocal,” and international scales. Drawing from literature, book studies, cultural studies, history, sociology, and philosophy, topics include activism, gender, nationhood, (de)colonisation, representation, otherness, memory, and trauma.
In addition to his teaching, Jan supervises Master’s theses and serves as Chair of the Theory and Reflection department.
Piet: Contemporary art history
Piet Van Hecke teaches Contemporary Art History to third-year Bachelor’s students at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. In the first semester, his course centres on the neo-avant-garde movements of the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, covering movements such as Abstract Expressionism, Cobra, Situationism, Nouveau Réalisme, Fluxus, Happenings, Pop Art, and Minimalism. Students are encouraged to adopt transhistorical and transcultural perspectives. The second semester shifts focus to the postmodern movements of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, involving art viewings, discussions, and exhibition visits to enrich the learning experience.
Sylvie: Interdisciplinary art education
This academic year, Sylvie Huysman joined the Fontys School of Fine and Performing Arts in Tilburg, where she teaches both theory and practice within the Visual Arts and Design Teaching programme. With her background as an interdisciplinary artist and scholar in film and theatre, Sylvie’s courses focus on the body, space, performativity, and interdisciplinary practice, bringing a broad and experimental perspective to the field of art education.
