Z33 in Hasselt brings together work from the collections of S.M.A.K., M HKA, Mu.ZEE and M Leuven for the very first time.
In This Is Us, for the first time ever, work from the collections of the four largest Flemish contemporary art museums will be shown as a whole. Z33 in Hasselt made a selection from the Flemish contemporary art collections of S.M.A.K., M HKA, Mu.ZEE and M Leuven. In doing so, curator Fabian Flückiger departed from the theme 'the artistic learning environment' to reflect on what our Flemish collections represent. How do they show a picture of our contemporary society and what can the visitor learn from them? The exhibition is divided into three sections: The Art Institution, Living Spaces and Telling Stories and presents works by almost 50 artists, more than half of whom live and work in Belgium. Seven new artworks created as part of this exhibition will also be shown. This Is Us is a unique collaboration between leading contemporary Flemish museums and Z33.
The three chapters of This Is Us are part of the Z33 series "The art centre as learning environment" and explore the art institute as a place for the transformation of knowledge through artworks. Fabian Flückiger sees art collections as seismographs of time, both past and present. Each new exhibition provides a space for reflection in which the validity of ideas is questioned. In This Is Us, this dialogue between past and present is further challenged by the addition of recently created artworks. This friction creates an artistic learning environment that can sharpen, align or shift perspectives.
The exhibition includes works by Richard Artschwager, John Baldessari, Sammy Baloji, Dara Birnbaum, Audrey Cottin, Anne Daems, N. Dash, Robert Devriendt, Marlene Dumas, Mona Filleul, Andrea Fraser, Joris Ghekiere, Karin Hanssen, Ann Veronica Janssens, Jean Katambayi Mukendi, Felix Kindermann, Aglaia Konrad, Wolfgang Laib, Konrad Lueg, Natasja Mabesoone, Dyan Marie, Kerry James Marshall, Hana Miletić, Bruce Nauman, Otobong Nkanga, Cady Noland, Clare Noonan, Sophie Nys, Willem Oorebeek, Meret Oppenheim, Ria Pacquée, Marina Pinsky, Avery Preesman, Emmanuelle Quertain, Peter Rogiers, Jura Shust, Monika Stricker, Ana Torfs, Keith Tyson, Anne-Mie Van Kerckhoven, Michael Van den Abeele, Emmanuel Van der Auwera, Jan Van de Kerckhove, Maarten Vanden Eynde, Anna Zacharoff en Heimo Zobernig.