The Eilandje was the place where people gathered on their way to the New World. The magnificent Red Star Line steamers moored on the quay just before the bend in the Scheldt River. When the steam whistle announced an impending departure, the quay swarmed with activity. The Eilandje is currently a sought after place in the city.
The nine contemplations on the impurity of the human body depicts how finite the human body is. Japanese monks used such series as an aid to their meditation.
The MAS collection consists of more than 500,000 objects about art, cultural traditions and history of the city and port of Antwerp. But also of Europe, Asia, Africa, America and Oceania.
In the MAS pavilion, you can see where V-bombs fell on Antwerp and the scars they have left behind, by means of photographs, first-person testimonies and maps. You can even see a real V1-bomb from the MAS collection.
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.
