The regional Flemish Government has cancelled the €130 million new building project for the Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp (M HKA).
Instead, it has decided to move most of its collection and operations to Ghent.
The M HKA site will be transformed into a new international arts centre. This decision is part of a sweeping reform of the Flemish museum landscape initiated by Minister of Culture Caroline Gennez (Vooruit).
The Flemish Community oversees several museums, including KMSKA, Mu.ZEE, and the Roger Raveel Museum.
Gennez is using recent evaluations of these institutions to redraw the museum landscape. The goal is to reduce fragmentation and competition while enhancing cooperation and pooling resources.
She referred to the "difficult budgetary context" and "rising construction costs", but also to the faltering performance of the M HKA. According to her, it is currently "insufficiently strong". She bases this on a recent evaluation of the museum's performance.
"€130 million is a huge amount of money and an enormous responsibility. As a government, we must ensure that taxpayers' money is well spent," stated Gennez.
The transition will begin in early 2026 and is expected to be completed by 2028. Three museum clusters with designated “reference points” will be established as part of this overhaul.
In the "Fine Arts" cluster, the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp (KMSKA) will serve as the central reference. It will work closely with the Hof van Busleyden Museum in Mechelen and the Castle of Gaasbeek.
For the Contemporary and Current Arts cluster, Ghent’s Municipal Museum of Contemporary Art (S.M.A.K.) will become the new focal point. The collection and main operations of the Antwerp M HKA will largely be relocated to this museum.
The "Modern Art and Belgian Masters" cluster will centre around Mu.ZEE in Ostend. Mu.ZEE already collaborates with partner institutions such as the Peire Museum in Knokke and the Permeke Museum in Jabbeke.
Additional partners, including the Roger Raveel Museum in Zulte and FeliX Art+Eco Museum in Drogenbos, will now join this cluster.
