The Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp, the KMSKA, is welcoming its 2 millionth visitor in less than 4 years. The museum reopened in September 2022 after years of renovation work and has immediately become one of the most popular museums in Flanders. ‘The KMSKA has become much more accessible to visitors,’ Annick Schramme, professor of cultural management at Antwerp University explains.
Antwerp Fine Arts Museum KMSKA attracts 2 million art lovers since reopening: what makes the museum so popular?
Colin Clapson
Published:
Last year, the KMSKA attracted more than 570,000 visitors to the Zuid district of the northern port city, making it the most visited museum in the entire country. Since its reopening in September 2022, after a 100-million-euro renovation lasting more than a decade, 2 million people have already come to take a peek.
The average number of visitors for a Flemish museum is between 100,000 and 150,000 a year. How come the KMSKA is so popular, despite having been shut for so long? And what is the impact of this popularity on the museum neighbourhood?
A building renovated
‘An old lady has thrown open windows and doors, and a whole new wind is blowing through,’ Annick Schramme of Antwerp University notes. According to her, the reopening of the KMSKA a few years ago is nothing but good news.
‘The building has become much more accessible after the renovation,’ says Schramme. However, it was not certain that it would immediately attract so many visitors. ‘It was closed for more than a decade, which is actually a very long time. How can you remain relevant after that?’
The grand opening celebration generated a lot of publicity and immediately attracted people from all over the country. ‘Director Carmen Willems, with her background in economics and marketing, also made a great contribution.’
The entrance to the renovated museum no longer takes visitors up the large staircase and through the columns, but the entrance is now a smaller door to the left of those stairs. This may seem strange, but according to Schramme, it is the right choice. ‘The KMSKA was always perceived as a temple, the stairs creating a sense of distance,’ she says. ‘The entrance is now much more accessible.’
Exhibitions galore
A museum stands or falls on its programming. ‘Hans Op de Beeck and Magritte are certainly great crowd pullers,’ Schramme continues. ‘This creates a lot of curiosity and makes people wonder what the next exhibition will be.’
‘In the first year after the reopening, it was relatively easy to attract visitors,’ says Schramme. ‘But after that, you have to remain interesting and relevant. The KMSKA attracts young people and schools, but also art lovers.’
Peter Bernaerts of the Bernaerts auction house regularly gives guided tours of the museum and has noticed how popular the exhibitions are. ‘Sometimes it's really difficult to get anywhere,’ says Bernaerts. ‘The days when you could come and view the artworks in peace seem to be over. Everyone feels that they have to see all the exhibitions.’
It sometimes reminds Bernaerts of the big museums in London and Paris. ‘That is largely due to the curators' choice of certain exhibitions.’
According to Schramme, the KMSKA is ‘much more than a museum’. For example, writer Saskia De Coster locked herself in the building for a month to finish her new novel. In addition, the museum also welcomes regular performances.
‘The museum also collaborates with the university and lectures are held there,’ says Schramme. ‘The management has succeeded in making it a lively place by not focusing solely on exhibitions.’
Awesome impact on the neighbourhood
In order to measure the impact of the KMSKA on the neighbourhood, an impact study is usually carried out. ‘For the KMSKA that question has not yet arisen,’ says Schramme. It’s popularity and pull are so overwhelming.
‘A year before the museum opened, we had a crisis meeting with the hospitality industry around the KMSKA,’ says Peter Bernaerts. His auction house has been located in the neighbourhood since 1994. ‘At the time, we wondered what the effect of the museum would be, but it turned out to be very positive.’
According to Bernaerts, the success of the KMSKA has had a major impact on his business and on the neighbourhood. ‘People now visit our establishment more frequently. This was not the case before the museum opened. Many new restaurants and cafés have also opened in recent years, and those that were already here are always packed.’
People who can't immediately find a seat in a restaurant or café on the museum side cross the Zuidpark and settle down at an establishment on the Waalsekaai opposite. ‘Catering establishments there are also reaping the benefits of the reopened KMSKA,’ Bernaerts notes.
Galleries also feel that the reopening of the museum has changed something in the neighbourhood. ‘Visitors to the museum easily continue on to our gallery,’ says Tim Van Laere who owns a gallery in the Nieuw-Zuid district. ‘All gallery owners are extremely happy with the popularity of the museum.’
‘Moreover, the KMSKA is incredibly important for young artists and allows them to see all the works of Peter Paul Rubens and James Ensor in real life,’ Van Laere adds.