MoMu Fashion Museum Antwerp has big plans laid out. Their physical building has officially closed its doors to the general public for renovation works until 2020, but not to fret: outside of the museum, MoMu plans to host unique activations and exhibitions as 800 square metres of additional public exhibition space - including a large, multi-purpose space and exhibition hall for the permanent in-house collection - adding up to a total of 2.000 square metres, are carved out. Which makes it possible for three different fashion stories to be displayed simultaneously.
MoMu director Kaat Debo details: "Our own collection, comprising about 30,000 objects, has been less frequently exhibited. Until now there has been no physical space within the museum to structurally show this collection. Once the renovations are complete in 2020 we will be presenting the story of Belgian fashion on a permanent basis and giving our visitors a deeper look into our own world-renowned fashion history."
The esteemed B-architecten are in charge of the modifications and have vowed to respect Marie-José Van Hee's original signature, allowing for MoMu’s spacious entrance hall and its sculptural wooden staircase, eye-catchers since 2002, to remain untouched.
Render Facade MoMu Nationalestraat 2020, (c) MoMu Antwerp
Kaat Debo: "MoMu’s library will be expanded with infrastructure for the museum's study collection, so that besides consulting books and magazines visitors can study and handle the objects. Copyright Bookshop will become even more integrated into MoMu, and the museum will get its own shop and café. Behind the scenes, our depots and restoration studios will be completely renewed, which will allow us to store our collections and archives for future generations in a high-quality infrastructure under the best possible conditions. In this we are aiming for the most climate-neutral approach possible."
Render Facade MoMu Drukkerijstraat 2020, (c) MoMu Antwerp
But fans will still be able to get their MoMu-fix. Under the banner: "MoMu closed for renovations, open to inspire at other locations", the iconic institution is stepping out. The MoMu exhibition 'Margiela, the Hermès Years’ can be seen until September 2018 in MAD, housed in the Louvre in Paris, while objects will be on loan at museums in Belgium and all around the world. This year the museum is lending works to MoMa in New York, Vitra Design Museum in Germany and Världskulturmuseet in Sweden, among others.
As MoMu enters this exciting chapter, be sure to keep an eye on the beautiful and brand-new website for not-to-miss #MOMU2020 features and throwback stories, including contributions by KNOTORYUS. As part of the official MoMu team of writers, we gladly invite you to read up on the past, present and future of a singular museum on this compelling platform.
