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Research and restauration

Discover Antwerp’s heritage

Mention of heritage in Antwerp immediately puts us in mind of the cathedral or a painting by Rubens. But the Reuzenstoet (Giants’ Parade) or an ancient tree are also part of our heritage, and the same is true of everything we have built up over the centuries in our society.

Our sponsors

Become acquainted with our loyal partners. The MAS and its operation continue to exist thanks to their financial and material contributions.

Accessibility

MAS strives to be as accessible and inclusive a place as possible. How do we welcome less mobile visitors, people with hearing or visual impairments, or those with autism spectrum disorders?

Virtual guided tour 100 x Congo

A virtual tour based on images from objects in the exhibition.

12,770 km from home and what was lost along the way

Colonial collectors brought many pustaha into European museum collections, thus separating these books from their communities of origin. What happens to the knowledge that manuscripts contain when they are displaced and access to them is lost?

8 x dance in the collection

FREE ENTRANCE | From October 25, 2025, dance is the starting point in the Visible Storage for delving into the MAS collection. Eight people from dance communities in Antwerp rummaged through the depots together with the curators. 

'Poesjenellen' heritage

The MAS collection comprises approximately 2,400 objects related to the poesjenelle tradition, originating from the former Folklore Museum: rod puppets, stage props, signs, theatre programmes and photographs. We also have rod puppets from other theatre traditions and a number of hand puppets.

Belgian emigrants

In 1890, the painter Louis van Engelen depicted a crowd of Belgian emigrants moving across Antwerp’s Nassau Bridge to the district of Het Eilandje towards a ship. The resident population watches them pass by.

Provenance of the Congo collection

The MAS preserves culturally and historically sensitive Congolese heritage. In what circumstances did this collection of approximately 3,800 cultural objects come into being? A two-year research project will map this out more clearly.