V-bombs hit Antwerp hard in the winter of 1944-45. The blast at Cinema Rex was the deadliest bomb strike in history. The City at War exhibition features a large V1 practice bomb, surrounded by small, personal souvenirs. They show how deeply the attacks affected the lives of residents.
Le Corbusier (1887-1965) was an architect who believed that the way a city is built can improve the lives of its residents. He drew up plans for Antwerp-Linkeroever that were never completed and he built an entirely new city in India called Chandigarh. This exhibition immerses you the ideas of Le Corbusier, but also lets you saunter through the streets of Chandigarh and take a look behind Linkeroever’s façades.
The Flemish non-profit organisation Sensoa donated its collection of quilts to the MAS. It consists of unique and personal canvases, each commemorating an AIDS victim. The creations are not limited to the traditional quilting (patchwork) technique. Some canvases were drawn or painted.
In 1873, the Antwerp Museum of Antiquities purchased a 16th-century retable of the Averbode Abbey, depicting the Lamentation of Christ. 150 years later, it is given on long-term loan to the abbey and thus returns home.
CLOSED | What can be heritage? What has value and what does not? A photo exhibition in the boulevard explored these questions. It showed the people behind the city's heritage. And the exhibition was complemented by online stories.
Jan Corteel devoted himself to promoting the story of Nello and Patrasche in Antwerp and Belgium. Over the years, Jan even built up a Nello and Patrasche collection, with all kinds of merchandise and various editions of the book. He donated this collection to the MAS.