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.
CLOSED | You could find out more about the people behind the objects of the MAS: who used them, who collected them? And at the same time, you could take a look behind the scenes of the museum.
FREE ENTRANCE | The Visible Storage gives you a look behind the scenes of the MAS. More than 180,000 collection pieces on tall racks, stacked and labelled, await their turn to be exhibited.
Thanks to intensive restoration, a large float was prepared for the exhibition 'Listen. Stories found in the city'. You can read about how the restoration of this piece was carried out and what choices were made here.
The exhibition reveals the intimate relationship between the city and food, from the sixteenth century to the distant future. Follow the trail of food in the city and find out how what we eat has left its mark on the map of Antwerp.
In the centre of this altarpiece, those close to Christ are mourning his death, and above in miniature, we see Christ again, but alive and in the limbo of Hell. Below, each of the three women are depicting a virtue: Faith, Hope and Love. When the altarpiece is closed, you can see the tortured Christ being shown to the people on the left, and on the right, Jesus being offered a sweat cloth by Veronica.
The exhibition also tells the story of Antarctica today. You will find out how scientists are still conducting groundbreaking scientific research there. This topical part of the exhibition was created in collaboration with the International Polar Foundation.
The MAS has been able to get hold of a few pieces from gay bar Café Strange at an auction. This way, a bit of the bar of Antwerp's icon and café owner Armand in the Dambruggestraat is preserved for the future.
The freeing of the Scheldt was a landmark event in Flemish history. In mid-1863, Antwerp celebrated that after more than 250 years, merchant shipping on the Scheldt was truly free again. A telling painting of this ‘Scheldt Free!’ celebration from the MAS collection can be seen in our Visible Storage.
