MoMu - Fashion Museum Antwerp announces reopening dates

MoMu, the fashion museum of Antwerp, has been undergoing an ambitious renovation and expansion since April 2018, and will be reopening its doors to the general public over the weekend of 4 and 5 September 2021. The museum in Antwerp, which has a strong international reputation, will also present its new programme later this year. Thanks to the renovation, MoMu will be open continuously for the first time and will be able to devote itself to a varied programme at all times.

MoMu director and chief curator Kaat Debo: “The complete renovation project was concluded at the start of this month, and later this month we'll be moving into the new offices along with the entire MoMu team. From then, we'll start furnishing and decorating the building: the MoMu collection and archives, containing over 30,000 items, will be moved, after which the first exhibitions will be erected. So effectively, we've still got another year to wait until we can start welcoming visitors, but I'm extremely happy that we have a final opening date: the weekend of 4 and 5 September 2021.”

Antwerp's Alderman for Culture, Nabilla Ait Daoud: “The reopening of an international pillar of culture and crowd-puller like MoMu is something we certainly won't let go unnoticed. As from the opening weekend on 4 and 5 September 2021, the general public will once again be able to get acquainted with the foundations of Antwerp Fashion City. After all, MoMu offers the public not only a unique collection of clothing, accessories and textiles, but also the opportunity to get to know the world of fashion in the broadest sense of the word, including, of course, the Antwerp Six. Throughout the course of the works, the Renaissance restaurant and Copyright Bookshop have remained open, and will continue to be. Later this year, the other renters, the Fashion Department of the Royal Academy for Fine Arts Antwerp and Flanders DC for Fashion, will move into their familiar spaces.”

Fashion lovers will need a little more patience before they can climb the MoMu's iconic staircases once more. Now that the renovation has ended, the full furnishing of the building and the erection of the exhibitions will begin. The renovated building's improvements include a façade renovation, a dome restoration, a modernisation of the technical installations for an adequate indoor climate, the construction of new exhibition rooms and a modernised lobby. 

The architectural interventions, for the enlargement of the exhibition rooms and the improvement of the museum's functioning, were carried out by B-architecten. AG VESPA acted as the principal and coordinated the collaboration with contractor Artes Roegiers.

The renovation of the building was made possible in part by a stimulus subsidy from Tourism Flanders, the support of the Flemish Government, the City and Province of Antwerp and through the museum's own resources.

“Flanders has a rich history of mastery. Even today, however, there is still so much talent in our magnificent region, and that includes the fashion industry. Fashion is a sector undergoing massive change, with all this entails for our Flemish fashion designers. With the reopening of the MoMu fashion museum in 2021, we are focusing heavily on the artistic quality and creative mastery of contemporary fashion. I am therefore delighted to be investing in a renovated Antwerp Fashion Museum and in the current generation of Flemish masters via Tourism Flanders," says Flemish Minister of Tourism, Zuhal Demir.

Until MoMu reopens, you can continue to enjoy a powerful extramural programme and countless fashion-related workshops for adults and children taking place on location.

Render inkombalie, (c) Render: Studio Dos SantosGevel MoMu Nationalestraat 2020, (c) B-architecten

Gevel MoMu Drukkerijstraat 2020, (c) B-architecten

De ruimtelijkheid van de MoMu-inkomhal, met de sculpturale houten trap van Marie-José Van Hee wordt behouden, maar wordt volledig opgefrist en herdacht met respect voor de oorspronkelijke signatuur. Foto: Stany DederenDe tentoonstellingsruimtes worden volledig gestript en aangepast aan de hedendaagse normen rond techniek en klimatisatie. Foto: Stany Dederen

De tentoonstellingsruimtes worden volledig gestript en aangepast aan de hedendaagse normen rond techniek en klimatisatie. Foto: Stany DederenDe inkom van de tijdelijke tentoonstellingsruimte wordt aangepast en opengetrokken. Foto: Stany Dederen

Naast de renovatiewerken in de publieke ruimtes van het gebouw worden de kantoren van het museum ook opnieuw ingericht en geoptimaliseerd. Foto: Stany DederenMoMu voegde een extra verdieping toe aan het depotgebouw voor een fotostudio en atelier. het volledoge depotgebouw wordt aangepast aan de hedendaagse eisen met betrekking tot het bewaren van collecties en het voorbereiden van tentoonstellingen, met oa een depotruimte voor het bewaren van kunststoffen. Foto: Stany Dederen