Amongst other things, the exhibition shone a spotlight on the diverse social commitments of the artworks on display, with a focus on contemporary and historical emancipation movements, identity-building processes, colonialism and unprocessed experiences from our history. By alluding to the lack of a Museum of Contemporary Art in Brussels, ‘The Absent Museum’ also initiated a reflection on what the role of this museum could be in these debates. Dirk Snauwaert* looks at the exhibition in greater depth.
Practical details:
- Thursday 2 May 2019 at 8 pm.
- In Dutch.
* Since 2004, Dirk Snauwaert (b. 1964, Tielt) has been the director of WIELS, the Centre for Contemporary Art in Brussels. Prior to this he was Co-Director of the IAC (Institut d’Art Contemporain) in Villeurbanne-Lyon, Director of the Kunstverein München and Contemporary Art Programming Manager for the Exhibitions Association at the Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels. For the Belgian Pavilion at the 53rd Venice Biennale, he collaborated with the artist Jef Geys; and he assembled ‘Atopolis’ as part of Mons Cultural Capital of Europe 2015. His recent projects include ‘The Absent Museum, blueprint for a museum of contemporary art for the capital of Europe’ (2017) and ‘Unexchangeable’ (2018).
