The use of the Museum pass, a season ticket that offer access to 235 museums and more than 300 exhibitions across Belgium continues to grow. This year the number of museum visits made by Museum Pass holders was up by 48% compared with last year. This is likely to increase still further during the coming months as several big exhibitions are set to open in the country’s museums.
Have you decided what to buy your nearest and dearest for Christmas yet? You might consider giving them a Museum Pass. The pass provides unlimited access to museums large and small in towns and cities across Belgium for just 59 euro per annum. The Museum Pass was launched just 5 years ago and since then its popularity has soared. The pass has lured many thousands of extra visitors to museums across the country.
November was the most successful month ever
Recently the 500,000th Museum Pass was sold. Meanwhile, those that have a Museum Pass are using it in ever greater numbers. During the first 11 months of 2023 837,000 people visited a Belgian museum using a Museum Pass. This is 48% more than during the same period last year. November 2023 was also the most successful month ever for the Museum Pass since its launch in 2018.
The Director of the Museum Pass scheme Erika T'Jaeckx told VRT News that “In November, we passed the milestone of 100,000 visits in one month for the first time. An enormous figure that is the result of the large increase in the number pass holders and the wide selection on offer at the country’s museums that really has something for everyone."
Big exhibitions coming up
This month several big exhibitions are set to open this month. For example, on 16 December the Ensor Year will get under way at Mu.ZEE in Ostend with an exhibition that concentrates on the artist’s still life works. In addition to this M Leuven is to stage an exhibition on the works of the artist Dieric Bouts. The MAS museum in Antwerp’s "Rare & unmissable" is likely to attract a lot of visitors.
Three tips from Erika T'Jaeckx
1) Museum of Art and History in Brussels presents “Georgia: a story of encounters”, a heritage exhibition about the art, culture and history of Georgia. The exhibition runs until February 2024.
2) The Eperon d'Or museum in Izegem (West Flanders) is paving its way into the wonderful world of sneakers until September 2024 with the "Sneaker Gold" exhibition. You can learn about the history of the sneaker and design your own pair of sneakers.
3) The Huis van Alijn museum in Ghent takes you on a nostalgic trip back to the 1990s in its exhibition "Nineties". From the Spice Girls to the internet: the exhibition shows everything from the vibrant decade. The exhibition runs until April 2024.