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Item: Directe Actie ‘Rubenshuis’

1977

Performance
Materials:

Collection: M HKA archives.

To celebrate the 500th anniversary of Peter Paul Rubens’ birth in 1977, the City of Antwerp allocated a generous budget to public projects centred on the artist. However, there was a lack of initiatives for young artists, and Hautman, Janssen, Stoops, Tordoir and Verbesselt decided to voice their dissatisfaction through the Directe Actie ‘Rubenshuis’. Participants in the action first gathered at Today’s Place for a discussion, then set off one by one for the Rubens House to disrupt the normal museum experience. For example, they would stand next to a museum attendant for several minutes at a time or deliberately obstruct the view of visitors looking at paintings. Jan Janssen bought postcards from the reception and then ripped them up. The police intervened and several members were arrested, but they were soon released.

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The M HKA is a museum for contemporary art, film and visual culture in its widest sense. It is an open place of encounter for art, artists and the public. The M HKA aspires to play a leading role in Flanders and to extend its international profile by building upon Antwerp's avant-garde tradition. The M HKA bridges the relationship between artistic questions and wider societal issues, between the international and the regional, artists and public, tradition and innovation, reflection and presentation. Central here is the museum's collection with its ongoing acquisitions, as well as related areas of management and research.

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