Protopopescu Ioana-Veronica

Group 383

Museums in Belgium and Italy to reopen mid-May under phased lifting of

lockdown
Link: https://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/museums-in-belgium-and-italy-to-re-open-mid-may

Type Recreation and culture

Industry Mass media
Predecessor(s) Hedendaagse Kunst Art museum
Founded 20 September 1985
Founder(s) Flemish Community
Headquarters Antwerp
Area served Antwerp, Belgium

Key people Bart de Baere (Director)

Products 4750 artworks

Services Visiting the art museum, Watching contemporary art
Employees 72 (2020)

Case study:
A Belgian museum director says he welcomes the opportunity for his gallery to act as a
“test room” for cultural institutions opening up post-lockdown in the wake of the coronavirus
crisis. The Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst (MHKA) in Antwerp plans to reopen on 19 May in
line with the guidelines issued by the National Security Council, which includes the Belgian
prime minister and Minister-Presidents from the regions.
The MHKA will present the work of the Belgian filmmaker Els Dietvorst and California-
born artist Tramaine de Senna when it reopens. Bart De Baere, the director of the contemporary
art museum, says in an online statement: "Museums are like parks; spaces in which the
individual experience can intertwine with the public space of being together. In the coming
months, as a society, we face the challenge to find a new, positive balance between personal
freedom and care for our relationship with others. We, at the MHKA, are ready to serve as a test
room for that post-lock down experience.”
But the Brussels Times newspaper points out that relaxation of these measures can only
happen if social distancing is maintained, face masks are available, hygiene rules and workplace
protocols are respected, and up to 40,000 tests a day are carried out.
An online statement from the MHKA adds: “Together with our fellow museums in
Antwerp and Flanders, we hope that, as a test case, we will be able to provide experiences that
will allow other cultural sub-sectors [such as opera and theatre] to reopen.” Crucially, the
MHKA says it wants to “make a case for reopening, in the wake of the museums, art spaces such
as Wiels [in Brussels] and Z33 [in Hasselt], and large [commercial] art galleries such as Zeno X
Gallery or Tim Van Laere Gallery in Antwerp.”
The Royal Museums of Fine Arts, comprising six museums based in Brussels, will re-
open gradually. “The Old Masters Museum will reopen to the public on Tuesday 19 May. The
precise prevention measures will be announced very shortly. The other collections of the Royal
Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium will reopen at a later stage,” says a statement on the museums'
website.
Meanwhile, the Italian prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, has outlined lockdown easing
measures which include reopening museums, cultural venues and libraries on 18 May; this also
depends on implementing necessary safety measures. Conte warned: "If we do not respect the
precautions the curve will go up, the deaths will increase, and we will have irreversible damage
to our economy. If you love Italy, keep your distance."

Author’s comments:
After this pandemic situation, museums will open and art lovers will probably be tempted
to visit or revisit these places. The precautionary measures they will take, so that the social
distance is kept and so that visitors and employees are protected, are auspicious. In Italy, too, it
has been decided to reopen its museums, libraries and cultural sites, but it is mandatory to
maintain social distance and precautions, so as not to reach a disastrous situation again. The
safety methods that will be taken are the wearing of masks available in any public space, the
observance of hygiene rules and protocols at work and up to 40,000 tests per day will be
performed.

Questions:
1. Do you think it is safe to reopen these public spaces so early, being closed and possibly
crowded in the next period?
2. What do you think about the precautionary measures they want to apply, with the
opening of the museums mentioned in the text?

Bibliography:
https://www.muhka.be/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museum_of_Contemporary_Art,_Antwerp