MAS | Museum aan de Stroom Lifts a tip of the veil, one year before ...

MAS | Museum aan de StroomLifts a tip of the veil, one year beforeopeningPress information 17 May 2010

More than a museum, a meeting placeBy choosing a vertical building urban space is created for events and open-air exhibitions. Themuseum square with the 'Dead Skull' mosaic (under construction) by contemporary artist, LucTuymans is thus also incorporated in the design.The STORM museum cafe on the ground floor is the new ‘place to be’ in the Eilandje district. On theninth floor visitors will be enchanted to discover the MAS restaurant,‘t Zilte of two-starred Michelinchef, Viki Geunes which has a panoramic terrace and events room.MAS in figures• height:o roof construction 65 metreso roof terrace: 62 metres• heaviest one-piece truss: ± 60 tons• the biggest foundation piles have a bearing capacity of ± 750 tons• floors: 10• Investment budget: 56,000,000 euros• construction budget: 33,500,000 euros• total surface area construction site (museum, pavilions, square and surrounding area in redstone): 6,600 m²• museum surface area: 1,498 m²• surface area pavilions + canopies between pavilions : 1,123 m²• surface area square Tuymans : 1,600 m²• exhibition space (including depot) : c. 5,716 m²• MAS galleria in red stone: c. 2,155 m²• duration of a walk from the ground floor to the ninth floor using the escalators: ± 5 minutes• reception space: 300 m²• museum store: 300 m²• STORM museum cafe: 150 m²• museum restaurant ’t Zilte 230 m²• panorama hall: 230 m²• collection items: 470 000• number of hands on the facade: 3 185• foundation stone: September 2006• highest point: October 2008• handover of the building: February 2010• opening: 17 May 20113

MAS | Museum aan de Stroom :Luc Tuymans’s ‘Dead Skull’ mosaic gives a contemporary twist to Antwerp arthistoryIn addition to being a museum MAS | Museum aan de Stroom also wants to be a meeting place.The perfect place demonstrate this commitment is the museum square with its 1,600-sq.m.‘Dead Skull’ mosaic by Luc Tuymans. The mosaic refers to Tuymans’s eponymous paintingfrom 2002, for which the contemporary artist based himself on the commemorative plaque forAntwerp painter, Quentin Matsys on the facade of the Cathedral of Our Lady. Tuymansconnects the present with the past with ‘Dead Skull’, much like MAS does.MAS | Museum aan de Stroom tells the story of Antwerp in the world and of the world in Antwerp. Thenew city museum, however, is much more than an amalgam of stories about Antwerp’s rich past; it is ameeting place where present and past converge. At the foot of the sixty-metre high museum tower liesthe museum square with the ‘Dead Skull’ mosaic (which is currently under construction) by LucTuymans. Like the museum itself, the mosaic perfectly connects the past with the present.In the last twenty-five years Luc Tuymans has acquired international fame as a painter. During hiscareer he has created more than forty works on location, of which a large number of temporary muralsin various public locations. ‘Dead Skull’ is Luc Tuymans’s first public work that will remain permanentlyon view.For the ‘Dead Skull’ mosaic Luc Tuymans based himself on his eponymous painting from 2002, whichrefers to the commemorative plaque for fifteenth-century Antwerp painter and founder of the painter’sguild, Quentin Matsys on the façade of the Cathedral of Our Lady. ‘Dead Skull’ thus establishes a linkbetween the contemporary Antwerp artist and pictorial art from Antwerp's Golden Age. By choosing tocreate ‘Dead Skull’ in the museum square, Luc Tuymans also connects two Antwerp towers with oneanother: MAS and the Cathedral of Our Lady, two cultural beacons of the skyline of Tuymans's homecity, Antwerp.The artist connects his own knowledge of the painted image in an innovative manner to the process ofworking with natural stone in an unprecedented dimension. In the first phase a new image was built inline with the example of the painting from 2002, which translated all the subtle nuances and pictorialqualities to a grid of 488 x 488 pixels. Using this image and a specially developed digital conversionthe final architectural design for the mosaic was generated, which uses four different formats and apalette of eleven types of natural stone.The construction of the mosaic started during the freezing cold winter of 2009. It is expected to becompleted by the summer of 2010. In anticipation of the festive inauguration of the square in May2011 the ‘Dead Skull’ project will be presented to the press at the same time as the completion of theconstruction of MAS.4

‘Dead Skull’ mosaic in figures• size: 40 metres x 40 metres• number: 96,569 stoneso eleven different colourso four different sizes: 80 x 80 mm, 163 x 163 mm, 246 x 264 mm and 329 x 329 mm• duration from creation to construction: 2.5 years5

MAS | Museum aan de StroomMedallions by Tom Lanoye and Tom Hautekiet: ode to the city, the port, theriver and the worldThree thousand aluminium hands adorn the deep-red facade of MAS | Museum aan de Stroom.They soften the appearance of the building, which has been built in Indian natural stone. Insidethe red surface of the galleria is dotted with the same number of medallions. Author TomLanoye and graphic designer Tom Hautekiet have created an ode to the city, the port, the riverand the world, with these medallions, much like the museum itself.In order to soften the rough appearance of the hand-hewn Indian natural stone three thousandaluminium hands, the symbol of the City of Antwerp, adorn the facade of MAS | Museum aan deStroom. Neutelings Riedijk Architects commissioned graphic designer, Tom Hautekiet and author TomLanoye to design medallions, which would be appended to the walls inside of the building in the samenumber and according to the same pattern to soften the appearance of the deep-red galleria.Like the museum the medallions are a homage to the city, the port, the river, the world and history. Forthe design Tom Hautekiet referred to the plans for an ideal Renaissance city, Palmanova.Tom Hautekiet then asked Tom Lanoye to write a text of maximum sixty characters about the image ofthe ideal city. The result is a poem that refers to water, the city, people and heritage that can be readround and round. Each word can serve as the start or the end of the poem.‘WAAR WATER WAAKT EN WAT ER WAARD WAS LATER WERD BEWAARD ALS (WAAR WATERWAAKT EN...)’ (WHERE WATER KEEPS WATCH AND WHERE WHAT WAS VALUABLE WASSUBSEQUENTLY PRESERVED AS)The MAS medallions in figures• number: around 3,000• diameter: 135 mm• poem 60 characters6

MAS | Museum aan de Stroom: also a culinary masterpieceMAS | Museum aan de Stroom is more than just a museum. It is also a meeting place wherepast and present converge. The ideal place to write new history is the MAS cafe on the groundfloor level, which has been named STORM. The MAS Restaurant on the ninth floor will not onlyenchant visitors with its sweeping views of the city and the port but also with its delightfulmenu. Jan Michiels, who holds the restaurant franchise, has opted in favour of a partnershipwith Viki Geunes, the chef of the two-Michelin starred 't Zilte in Mol.MAS | Museum aan de Stroom recounts the story of Antwerp in the world and of the world in Antwerp.This interaction is still alive and well today in the bustling port city and will be given the space todevelop in MAS. The galleria and the museum square are excellent meeting places and the MAS cafe,STORM and the MAS restaurant,'t Zilte also invite visitors to contribute to making new history.The STORM museum cafe is the new ‘place to be’ in the Eilandje district. Comfortable leatherbenches invite visitors to reflect on their visit of MAS. But you can also head there with colleaguesafter a hectic working day or enjoy a moment of peace and quiet before or after a day's shopping onthe terrace. Architect Kurt Hereygers (‘Not before Ten’) used a mix of ‘rich’ and ‘poor’ materials for thecafé’s interior: leather, oak, mirrors, multiplex and concrete, finished in warm hues. The eye-catchingfeature is the huge wall cabinet. The menu features small, healthy and seasonal fast food dishes inaddition to Illy coffee, Oxfam Fair Trade juices and beers, alcoholic beverages and wine.MAS restaurant ’t Zilte will take visitors to new unprecedented heights, literally and figurativelyspeaking. The ninth floor offers a breath-taking sweeping view of the medieval city, the Scheldt andthe port. Viki Geunes will be moving his two-starred restaurant, ‘t Zilte from Mol to MAS. From May2011 the chef will weave his magic in the kitchen of Antwerp's highest restaurant. On the north side ofthe museum guests can enjoy his delicious dishes on the spacious terrace or in the panoramicrestaurant bar. On the south side the multifunctional '9 Beaufort' room can be used for private partiesand meetings.Practical informationMAS café - STORMHanzenstedenplaats 1, ground floor, 2000 Antwerpfrom May 2010 until May 2011:open from Monday until Friday from 11 a.m. until… and on Saturday, Sunday and holidays from 9 a.m.From May 2011: open every day from 9 a.m..MAS restaurant – ’t ZilteHanzenstedenplaats 1, ninth floor, 2000 AntwerpOpening: 14 May 20117

MAS | Museum aan de Stroom lifts a tip of the veil, one year prior to its openingOne year before its official opening MAS | Museum aan de Stroom will open its doors verybriefly. The general public will be able to tour the building and enjoy the breath-taking views ofthe city from the MAS galleria. However MAS will also be revealing some secrets as regards themuseum’s themes, its dynamic layout and the interaction between the present and past,between Antwerp and the world.MAS | Museum aan de Stroom recounts stories about Antwerp in the world and the world in Antwerp.MAS tells stories about the past and present, about how new stories are written every day again in theport city. MAS is the meeting place of choice for embarking on a new story every day again, in theMAS cafe, in the museum square, in the MAS galleria or in the museum space itself.More than a museumMAS has ten floors. The reception desk and museum cafe, ‘STORM’ are situated on the ground floor;the first floor is not open to the general public, as this is where the museum’s offices are located. Onthe second floor visitors can take a look at some of the museum objects that are not on display in themuseum in MAS’s viewing depot. This is the place where the museum’s (guest) curators will maketheir selection from hundreds of thousands of objects and where heritage will be preserved in the bestpossible conditions. The third floor is reserved for temporary exhibitions. MAS's permanent collectionwill be distributed among floors four through eight. The ninth floor will be occupied by the MASrestaurant, ’t Zilte and the ‘9 Beaufort’ events room. The roof terrace on the tenth floor will provide themost breath-taking and sweeping views of Antwerp. The city, the river and port, which changecontinuously, will undoubtedly be the museum’s biggest collection item.A dynamic museumMAS’s permanent collection is made up of 470,000 objects, compiled from the collections of theEthnographical Museum, the National Maritime Museum, the Museum for Regional Folklore, part ofthe Vleeshuis's collection and the Paul and Dora Janssen-Arts collection. The objects from thesevarious collections will not be exhibited side by side however. They will be linked with one another in adynamic layout across five floors and subdivided into four different themes: ‘A port as junction’, ‘A cityin the world’, ‘People and power’ and ‘Life and death’.The dynamics of the new city museum are reflected in the semi-permanent display of the objects.Every year other objects from the permanent collection will be put on display, which had been hithertosafely preserved in MAS's depot.8

A WOW museumThe five floors for the permanent collection have been subdivided into different spaces. They will guidethe visitor through the museum space as if they are viewing a play. Each space plays a specific role inthe experience of the theme: the wake-up space (which briefly touches upon the theme), theintroduction space (in-depth introduction to the theme), the focus space, the wow space (generalpresentation of the theme), the concentration space (here the museum concentrates on the details ofthe theme), the knowledge space and the traces space (a space where the visitors can leave his ownmark).9

MAS | Museum aan de Stroom present itself to AntwerpMAS | Museum aan de Stroom tells the story of Antwerp in the world and also recounts thehistory to which the inhabitants of Antwerp are still contributing today. In a series ofinformation sessions Alderman for Culture and Tourism, Philip Heylen discusses the closerelationship between MAS and Antwerp and immerses Antwerpers in the story of MAS. Thefirst exclusive information session will take place in MAS on Monday 17 May for a select groupof 240 Antwerpers. The press is more than welcome to attend this event.MAS | Museum aan de Stroom has enthralled Antwerpers for a number of years. The museum hassince announced that it will open its doors to the general public on 17 May 2011 and that it will recountthe history of Antwerp in the world and of the world in Antwerp from the past to the present. Aldermanfor Culture and Tourism Philip Heylen will reveal more to Antwerpers during a series of informationsessions.The first information session, exactly one year before the museum's opening, however is very special.On Monday 17 May 120 Antwerp duos are welcome to visit the building even before the open housefrom 22 until 26 May. The program includes a tour of the MAS promenade with a beautiful view of thecity, the port, and the Scheldt, a presentation about MAS by Alderman Heylen, the new city poemwhich will be recited by municipal poet, Peter Holvoet-Hansen and a reception with live music by TheClement Brothers. These 240 Antwerpers were the first to register in the competition in the city’smagazine, De Nieuwe Antwerpenaar.More information about these press releases or requests for images:Nadine Plehiers, Press Office Museums and Heritage AntwerpPhone +32 3 292 36 14, Mobile +32 492 91 52 38, nadine.plehiers@stad.antwerpen.be10