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.
At the foot of the MAS in Antwerp you will find Portopolis, a free interactive visitor centre. Here you can discover the port of Antwerp in the heart of the city. 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.
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.
CLOSED - "The corner shop" highlighted the colourful history of Antwerp's shops and shopkeepers in the MAS boulevard. MAS asked photographer Sanne De Wilde to find out more about the people who run local shops in the city today. The result was a colourful and diverse portrait series. Combined with old photos, the exhibition showed the human face behind the corner shops of the city since the Fifties.
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.
The Antwerp Hand biscuits are the most well-known tourist souvenir from the city. In the MAS collection, we find many packagings of the biscuits. However, behind the scenes of the little biscuit, there is more than one story to tell.
At the request of the city of Antwerp, the Antwerp artist Guillaume Bijl created the artwork Saluting Admiral Couple for the fifth anniversary of the MAS. The work gives the monumental building a playful and surprising touch.
In 2024, we selected a dental collection to perform a valuation on. There was no knowledge within the MAS about the provenance and history of this collection. It was not clear whether these objects had a place within the collection plan.
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.
