Search

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?

MAS tour for non-Dutch-speakers

On this tour, you'll learn the story behind this exceptional building and its collections and exhibitions. Experience the encounters that the river and the port have brought about for centuries.

Book a guide via Experience Antwerp.

World city | About here and elsewhere

17.05.2011 - 28.02.2016

CLOSED - In 'World city' you could be charmed by the numerous stories and anecdotes that Antwerp is rich in. A must for every Antwerp citizen so that he could become even prouder of his city, a must for every non-Antwerpian so that he finally understood the fuss around this world city.

In Antwerp. 50 years of migration from Morocco and Turkey

17.05.2011 - 30.12.2012

CLOSED - Migration is about living and working in an unfamiliar place. It’s about long-distance love and growing up in a foreign city, a new home. You discovered the story of 50 years of migration from Morocco and Turkey on the fifth floor of the MAS.

Celebrate five years of the MAS

Three-day festival for 5 euros

The MAS is turning five, and we plan to live it up over Whitsun weekend with a surprising and multi-faceted programme. From 14 to 16 May 2016, the MAS celebrates its fifth anniversary with two new exhibitions, DJs in the square, edible art, workshops for young and old, good food and drink at our food truck festival, and an eccentric firework display to round the whole thing off!

Discover the collection

Antwerp is a port city where the world has been mooring at the docks for centuries. The MAS collection is the place where city and world meet. 500,000 exhibits offer a varied perspective on the city and its age-old contacts with the world. Some of them are displayed in permanent and temporary exhibitions, but most are kept in storage. In the Visible Storage area, the MAS lifts a corner of the veil. For the really inquisitive, the MAS also has its entire collection on display online.

The Eyes of the World: Mining in the Digital Age in Eastern DR Congo

Lecture by author James H. Smith

In his lecture, James H. Smith explores the everyday lives and working conditions of Congolese miners. He discusses the challenges they face and how they themselves understand issues such as the global trade in natural resources, regulations surrounding “conflict-free” minerals and the recurring outbreaks of violence.

Saturday 7 November 2026 from 14:00 to 16:00

Call for books

Help us fill a bookshelf in the expo "We are here"

The exhibition “We Are Here” focuses on the lives of LGBTQI+ people. In the room “Chosen Family” we will feature a bookshelf filled with books that have played an important role in their lives. We are looking not only for books with queer stories, but also for books that held personal significance at a particular moment in someone’s life.

Painting by Van Bree on the list of Top Pieces

The painting 'Entry of Bonaparte, as First Consul, into Antwerp on 18th July 1803' by Mathieu Ignatius Van Bree was added to the list of Top Pieces by the Flemish Government. The large oil painting hangs in the Palace of Versailles, an identical work in a small format belongs to the MAS collection.

Dazzling Desire - Diamonds and their emotional meaning

18.10.2017 - 14.01.2018

CLOSED - People have desires. They desire love and security. They desire to understand the meaning of life. They also desire wealth, status and power... In the exhibition Dazzling Desire, visitors discovered how mankind has made these desires tangible with striking objects, often consisting of diamonds.

Content type