Antwerp City Collection

During the 2020 purchasing round, the focus was on the purchase of works of art by young artists.

In 2021, substantial attention was paid to core artists of Antwerp galleries, more specifically artists who are a symbol for a gallery's programming. These can be international artists; Whether or not you live or work in Antwerp does not matter here. In addition, attention was paid to artists who indicate the international dimension of Antwerp, historical efforts to make up for shortages in the public heritage. Absolute priority was given to galleries for which the museum had not previously been able to engage with the City Collection.

During 2020, with the corona crisis in mind, the focus of these acquisitions was on young artists. In 2021, substantial attention was paid to core artists of Antwerp galleries, more specifically artists who are a symbol for a gallery's programming. The multi-year plan provided for substantial attention in 2022 for artists who indicate the international dimension of Antwerp, with historical efforts to make up for shortages in the public heritage. The majority of the available resources were spent on this. They may be international artists, whether or not they live or work in Antwerp does not matter. Evenness in the distribution of purchases between actors is not a hard criterion, but a certain degree of spread across the many galleries that make Antwerp such a vital scene is a point of attention. The exercise that started in 2021 will be continued. Various members of the collection working group selected a long list of galleries that are then visited, in order to formulate and negotiate proposals, resulting in a short list from which purchases can follow. Basic criteria are: the extent to which an artist can be seen as a reference for the gallery, and the extent to which an artist is important within the collection image of M HKA, as formulated in the collection policy plan. Finally, a budget was also provided for work by younger artists within the scene who can be seen as a potential reference point for the future.

In 2023, work by nine artists was purchased. At the beginning of the year, work continued on a screening of the Antwerp galleries. More specifically, Geukens & De Vil Gallery was visited by one of the curators from the acquisitions working group, which resulted in the purchase of reference artist Marthe Wéry, central to the programming of this gallery, and of the young artist Moataz Alqaissy. Subsequently, a work by a top artist was acquired, which indicates the international dimension of Antwerp, more specifically by Panamarenko. A work was purchased by the recently deceased Antwerp artist Vered Ben-Kiki, which can be regarded as a gap in the museum collection. It also concerns an artist whose oeuvre is a key point for (an actor within) the art scene in Antwerp. For the remaining budget of 2023, a survey was launched at the Antwerp galleries after the summer, with a view to acquiring young artists. This resulted in five signings, including Fia Cielen, Sam Druant, Viktor Mattsson, Leendert van Accoleyen and Subin Son.