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.
At Portopolis you put on a VR visor for a 360° tour and feel the port come to life! Walk across the large aeriel photograph and discover all special hotspots on offer in our port.
The well-being of our visitors and employees is very important to us. We ensure a safe and relaxing museum visit, but we do ask you to take and follow some precautions.
Do you want to be able to enjoy all the MAS’s objects from the past, from Antwerp and from the world at any time and in any place? Well, you can, because the MAS also has its entire collection online.
As part of ‘Antwerp Baroque 2018: Rubens as an inspiration’, MAS welcomed the photographer and artist Athos Burez. With 30 images and installations, he shared his own unique and contemporary view on different genres from the style period: still lifes, portraits, landscapes and interiors.
Since 2012, the Mestizo Arts Platform (MAP) collective has been maintaining and renewing the Altar of Antwerp: a participatory installation that invites us to reflect on the meaning of 'what we have lost' in the city. This has been a part of the MAS' permanent collection since 2017.
The Royal Academy for Fine Arts existed 350 years in 2013. At the same time, the renowned Fashion Department turned 50. That is why the whole of Antwerp was dominated by the Academy and the clash between contemporary artistic "violence" and historical heritage.
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.
Discover the story of Antwerp, its port and its intense freight traffic. Together with a guide, you will depart in late antiquity and travel on into the present day.
