- Bianca Vinther
Do you Antwerp?
Impressions from my weekend trip to the city of Antwerp (19-21 November 2021).
Today I’d like to share with you some thoughts and impressions from my weekend trip to the amazing city of Antwerp (Dutch Antwerpen, French Anvers) in Flanders, Belgium. I’m a big fan of this place, for Antwerp has it all: culture (LOTS!), visual arts (in the veins), fashion (wow!), diversity (the epitome), history (monumental). You name it, Antwerp has got you covered.
Flanders has it in its DNA, Antwerp in particular: vibrancy and creative effervescence. Without the slightest doubt, Antwerp is a breeding ground for art and culture. Because it’s got the DNA of the Flemish artists and collectors.
My relationship with Antwerp
I’ve been to Antwerp countless times as a teenager and an adult. I recall the days my husband and I walked up and down its streets in search of the perfect wedding dress and rings. And Antwerp didn’t disappoint us: we found the best designer for my bridal gown and the right jeweller for our wedding rings. So, yes, I’m happy to admit it: I’m attached to Antwerp. And I’ll always be.
This time I was invited by The Phoebus Foundation to participate in an international conference on archaeological textiles from Egypt, where I used to be an active member and co-author of an outstanding publication on so-called Coptic textiles (if you’d like to find out more about this topic hit About). It was lovely to see my friends – researchers and textile collectors from Belgium and to revisit some of the places I love in Antwerp, where I always find art inspiration and a lot of joy.
I’m not going to write here either about the stunning Rubens House (Flemish Rubenshuis) because this palazzetto in the heart of Antwerp is too well-known and richly documented, or about the largest Belgian chocolate museum in the world (which is called Chocolate Nation and is definitely worth a visit, by the way). I prefer to take you to the outskirts of Antwerp and introduce you to a not-so-well-known jewel.
The Middelheim Museum
Here’s a glance into the Middelheim Museum, a place where art and nature interact, flow into each other, and reciprocally transform themselves in a myriad of ways. In the Middelheim Museum’s so-called Art Park, modern and contemporary sculptures populate a 30-hectare forest. Water and various types of trees, bushes, flowers, birds, and insects engage in a perpetual exchange with beautiful man-made artworks.
In this enchanted forest, the distinction between art and nature becomes superfluous. In other words, you cannot tell where nature ends and art begins. Yes, in the Middelheim Museum you cannot simply differentiate between nature and art. This vast sculpture park offers you a unique experience of a different reality that comes to view when works of art and nature complement and mirror each other in a never-ending flow.
Let’s take, for instance, Philippe Van Snick’s Poetry (Dutch Poëzie) from 2012. This subtle, site-specific artwork offers you an extraordinary visual experience of form and colour. And beyond