Superhost Antje Majewski Connects Through Apples
On February 29, 2024, artist Antje Majewski took on the role of Superhost at M HKA. For almost a year, she worked on a broad performative and collaborative project centered on apples. The apple serves not only as an inspiring artistic object but also as a medium for reflecting on themes like migration, locality, and biodiversity loss. How did Antje experience her year as Superhost?
A Multi-Year Connecting Project
Antje Majewski: “It was a great honor to work on this project for three seasons in and with M HKA. The entire project revolves around connection, participation, and bringing talents together. The active involvement of M HKA and the enthusiasm of its staff were key to its success.”
Apple. An Introduction (Over and over and once again) is a multi-year participatory artistic project by Antje Majewski and conceptual artist Paweł Freisler. It began ten years ago at the Museum Sztuki Lodz in Poland, developed further in Germany (Mönchengladbach, 2015; Lingen, 2017; Worpswede, 2018; Berlin, 2019), and traveled to Switzerland, Kazakhstan, and Belgium. The Belgian chapter at M HKA recently concluded on January 5, 2025.
Majewski: “The intercultural aspect of this project is crucial. Everywhere we go, we invite local communities to plant apple trees together in urban spaces. This brings together a wide variety of people and groups. It connects not only locally but also internationally, linking back to the other cities where we’ve developed the project. In each location, we start a new tradition that grows alongside the trees and apples, leaving a sustainable presence in the city.”
A Participatory Project in Three Parts
The tree-planting initiative reflects the project’s broad and sustainable ambitions. Majewski: “The exhibition in the museum was just one part of what we achieved at M HKA. Equally important were the three presentation moments in February, September, and November 2024. Lectures, discussions, workshops, films, and a full-fledged harvest festival brought many people together—artists, scientists, pomologists, cider brewers, activists, organic farmers, museum staff, schools, visitors… A wide range of expertise and passions converged, all centered around apples.”
The project followed the apple’s natural cycle, from winter planting to autumn harvesting. This seasonal rhythm was also reflected in the exhibition on the museum’s top floor, which unfolded in three parts. Each season introduced new works and installations, delving deeper into the world of apples.
Majewski: “The strength of this project lies in its local grounding. Every new location where we develop it provides fertile ground—literally, through the planting of apple trees, and figuratively, through inspiring exchanges with local artists and scientists. These interactions yield new insights, enriching the collective knowledge about apples.”
Apple. An Introduction (Over and over and once again) brought together diverse artistic practices and artists. Kasper De Vos, for example, presented an XXL version of a Pinova apple, while Setareh Alipour created a fragrant lamp from apple fruit leather. Ada Van Hoorebeke’s massive honeycomb installation offered visitors an immersive experience of the world of bees, essential pollinators for apples. Pomology by Joris de Rycke reflected on the concept of varietals, grafting, and characteristics.
Of Apples and People
The apple also serves as a metaphor for societal narratives. Majewski: “The apple brings the global issue of endangered biodiversity into the museum while also addressing themes like migration, naming and identity, globalization, and commercialization.”
“Within the project, we hosted the Alma Museum / Apple Museum in Almaty. This large city, former capital of Kazakhstan, is the home of the oldest ancestor of the modern-day apples. Like humans, apples have a story of migration. Originally from Kazakhstan and China, the fruit migrated westward over centuries. Today, apples are found worldwide, with each place offering unique climates and soil characteristics.”
Apples, therefore, mirror our society. “Consider ethical bioculture as a response to mass production, or the importance of sustainability and locality in trade and transport. Even the most local projects are inevitably tied to a larger, globalized system. The same goes for apples.”
Superhost at M HKA
The M HKA’s Superhost format is ideal for such a project. Through this program, the museum offers an artist or collective a year-long space for exhibitions and work, along with practical support and artistic freedom.
Majewski: “The Superhost is an important concept. The advantage is that you don’t need to remain physically present, unlike a residency program. Without this format, I wouldn’t have been able to develop this year-long project. I live and work in Berlin, where I also teach, so I couldn’t be in Antwerp full-time.”
“As an artist and curator, I remained deeply involved throughout the year. I curated the three exhibitions at M HKA, in collaboration with Joanna Zielińska, engaged in discussions with the artists, selected the artworks, and installed them. After these intense periods in Antwerp, I continued to follow the developments from abroad.”
“One of my roles is to set things in motion. I initiate projects on-site and then hand over the reins to museum staff and local partners, who further develop and guide the conferences and workshops. They determine the organic direction the project takes. In that phase, I participate as an outsider.”
“As Superhost, I was given physical and artistic space, freedom, and trust to do my work. I am incredibly grateful to M HKA for this opportunity. A special thanks to the entire museum, particularly curators Joanna Zielińska and Anne-Claire Schmitz, as well as Lotte Bodé from the Mediation team, and Lode Geens, the production manager, who was very helpful by proposing local artists to collaborate with.”
(Cédric Raskin)
