Open Letter to Flemish Ministry of Culture
Artistic Freedom Initiative / Initiative pour la Liberté Artistique is raising concerns over the future of the M HKA - Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp, a leading contemporary art institution in Belgium and beyond.
The Flemish Ministry of Culture is proposing to strip M HKA of its museum status and transfer its collection to another museum. This proposal was made with no consultation with stakeholders. Such a unilateral move would set a dangerous precedent for cultural governance. AFI’s research across Europe and the United States shows that cultural institutions are often among the first to face political interference when democratic norms begin to erode.
With the Ministry’s final proposal expected on December 15, public engagement is essential.
Read AFI’s full open letter to Belgian and EU officials: https://artisticfreedominitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/AFI_Open-Letter-M-HKA_Minister-of-Culture-Caroline-Gennez.pdf
Support the public response by signing the Museum at Risk petition:https://www.change.org/p/reverse-the-decision-to-abolish-m-hka-s-status-as-a-national-museum
Photo credit: LUCID photography
