Mark Manders: The Absent Museum: WIELS, Belgium

To mark its 10th anniversary, WIELS presents a large-scale exhibition to be held not only at our fully refurbished Blomme building but also in the two adjacent buildings, which were also formerly part of the Wielemans brewery site.

The title, The Absent Museum, is a nod to the decisive influence that symbolist, ‘mystical-mysterious’ thinking has had and continues to have on Belgian modernity. WIELS does not have the status of a museum, but is commonly referred to as ‘the WIELS museum’. This is a token not only of recognition, but also of the expectations that the Belgian audience and public opinion have towards WIELS as an institution. WIELS therefore has decided to use this temporary exhibition to set out a substantive framework or blueprint for a possible museum of contemporary art in the capital of Europe.

The annual Kunstenfestivaldesarts is, like WIELS, an important platform for artistic creation and the exchange of ideas. It is thus an obvious ally for such a project. This exhibition will be both a look backwards at the journey that WIELS has made so far and an exploration of its future development. In the process, this local discussion will be anchored within an international perspective of art and globalisation. How can artists maintain the tension between globalisation’s paradoxes and history’s turbulences, and their individual sensibilities and voices?

In the light of these issues and recent turbulent historical developments, it is striking to see how absent the art museums remain in urgent, public debate. Although museums – especially those devoted to contemporary art – have never been as popular as they are today, they are still notably absent from the public space and their voice goes unheard in the formation of public opinion.

Existing works and new productions by about 45 contemporary and historical artists will face, translate and interpret the challenges that face museums today, as well as the communities they inspire.