Open Call for Independent Board Members

M HKA – the Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp, which is legally a not-for-profit association – is a cultural heritage institution under the Flemish Government. M HKA works in the field of visual culture, more specifically with contemporary visual art, film and media art. It regards the postwar avant-garde as fundamental for its approach to today’s multipolar world, and thereby profiles itself as a Eurasian museum.

M HKA is facing extraordinary challenges for its coming policy in the following years. The institution is expected to deliver exemplary functionality on an international level, and must therefore determine the appropriate scale of its operations whilst securing the necessary level of support for them. A new building with a fully functioning museum infrastructure is being planned. On the Flemish level, M HKA was tasked two years ago to coordinate visual art archives and offering support to artists’ estates.

In accordance with the Flemish Decree on Good Governance the museum’s Board consists of seven members appointed by the Flemish Government and four independent members. The Flemish Government appointed its board members in October 2021. The Board now launches an open call for candidates to become independent board members.

In light of the positive challenges facing M HKA, specific profiles are formulated for these independent board members in addition to a general profile. For two of the independent board members these specifics are to do with artistic and cultural content, whereas for the other two they are to do with expertise that M HKA will need for its development as a public institution.

• From two of the independent board members, we expect experience in managing artistic and cultural content at a high level within the international art world, from a perspective that is expressing the plurality of the world today, being open also to organisers, critics, artists or art collectors from countries such as China, India, Turkey, the Russian Federation for example.
• From two of the independent board members, we expect expertise at a high level in one or more of the following areas: (1) complex project structuring, management, (2) legal issues relating to public institutions, authorship and succession rights, (3) governance, (4) HR, (5) change management.

The task of the Board is to supervise the policies of the not-for-profit association and the realisation of its objectives.

The Board convenes four times a year. The dates for these meetings are decided at least one year in advance. The duration of this mandate is five years. The mandate is not remunerated, but costs for travel and accommodation are reimbursed if necessary.

The independent board members are also expected to have:

• a sound interest in all matters concerning contemporary visual art, visual culture and the other artforms
• a clear commitment to M HKA as a project;
• the competence to formulate long-term objectives benefitting the visual arts and their sustainable position in society at large;
• the capacity to correctly and constructively question the organisation and its Board, in the overall interest of institutional development;
• insight into, and strong feeling for, societal opportunities;
• corporate governance experience;
• innovative and creative visions for the future.

Do you recognise this profile as being yours, and do you wish to join us in governing a dynamic, internationally oriented yet locally embedded institution for visual culture and art with heritage functions? Then we hope that you will offer your candidature as an independent board member of M HKA.

Procedure:

Please submit your candidature together with an updated CV by noon on December 4^th 2021, via info@muhka.be. Please mark submissions: att. Mr Herman De Bode.

The Board has delegated the selection of candidates to its Committee on Appointments and Remuneration, which will then be presented to the General Assembly in December 2021.

Further information: bart.debaere@muhka.be