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ALICE VAN DEN ABEELE
15

ALICE VAN DEN ABEELE

THE STREET CURATOR

BELGIUM

Illustration by Denise Nestor for POLITICO

Brussels’ newest museum, the Millennium Iconoclast Museum of Art, debuted at an inauspicious time in an unlikely location. Just weeks after twin bombings killed 32 people last March in the Belgian capital, it opened its doors in Molenbeek, the neighborhood from which the terrorists planned and staged the attacks. For Alice van den Abeele, the creative brain behind MIMA and one of its four founders, giving voice to contemporary artists is a way to explore issues of social cohesion and modern identity.

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Where did MIMA originate?

My husband [Raphaël Cruyt] and I have run a gallery for more than 10 years, and a couple that followed our work, Michel and Florence de Launoit, saw the enthusiasm people had for what we were doing. We quickly realized it was a way to reach a much larger audience. The idea was to make accessible the work of artists, and a whole culture, who are underrepresented in cultural institutions today.

What, if anything, changed after the Brussels attacks?

What happened forced us to ask ourselves a lot of questions, about the role of our museum, and art in society more generally. Our location is no accident. The building’s location represents what we’re about, which is creating bridges. But we’d be the same museum on the other side of the canal, because, to us, both sides are the same.

What kind of art do you look for? What makes you take a chance on an artist?

Authenticity. There needs to be a strong connection to what we experience in our daily lives. Access to culture and art has completely changed. You no longer have to go through a gallery or a studio. You can follow an artist on Instagram, see their influences, where they go out to eat. So what I mean by authenticity is that there’s a sense that the artist is really anchored in our time, and explores subjects that are real, not borrowed or remote.

What role can contemporary art play in a community like Molenbeek?

Crossing the threshold of an art gallery is difficult for most people. The most common response to contemporary art is, “I don’t get it.” Not everyone feels they can decode this kind of work and what we’re saying is yes, you can.

20161020, Portrait of Alice van den Abeele of the Mima Museum in Brussel

Alice van den Abeele of the Mima Museum in Brussels | Jimmy Ketts for POLITICO

How does MIMA work to make a difference?

When we started we became a kind of positive flag-bearer for Molenbeek. That’s great, of course, but we hardly had a chance to land. For now, the idea is to make our museum available as a tool to people who are already doing great things in the neighborhood. We’re hosting workshops for an organization that works with children from disadvantaged neighborhoods and teaches them about different types of careers in the art world.

How do you interact with your audience?

Our strength is that the artists we present have a strong following before they’re introduced to the general public in any formal way. They work in a very direct, empathetic way. For many of them, their first canvas was the street because it allows them speak to people in their daily lives.

If you had no constraints — time or money is not a factor — what would you do?

There are always constraints — and that’s not a bad thing, because it can force you to be more inventive. I try not to think about the future too much. It brings up questions like ‘Is this going to work?’ and the anxieties that come with that. So I’m fairly connected to now, to today. My big dreams are very abstract. They’re about meeting people, artists I admire, and seeing projects become reality.

20161020, Portrait of Alice van den Abeele of the Mima Museum in Brussel

Van den Abeele on the Mima Museum roof | Jimmy Ketts for POLITICO

 

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Are you an early bird or a night owl? I have two kids (they’re 8 and 6), so I have no choice. If I could sleep in later I would, but I’m up early.

Do you have a favorite Belgian artist? Oh, I can’t play favorites. I’d say it depends on my mood. I’d have to describe a mood and a time of the day to name a favorite artist.

What is this city’s best kept secret? The canal. Because the water is so low, people walk along the edge without noticing the barges gliding by every day. I can’t help it: every time I see them, I stop and want to take a photograph. It shows you a different side of the city. For most people, the canal is just dirty water. But actually, when you see these boats, it feels timeless, it’s magic.

Click here to return to the full listing of the POLITICO 28 class of 2017, and click here for an explanation of what this ranking means.

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