Ensemble

During 2020, with the corona crisis in mind, the focus of these acquisitions was on young artists. In 2021, substantial attention was paid to core artists of Antwerp galleries, more specifically artists who are a symbol for a gallery's programming. The multi-year plan provided for substantial attention in 2022 for artists who indicate the international dimension of Antwerp, with historical efforts to make up for shortages in the public heritage. The majority of the available resources were spent on this. They may be international artists, whether or not they live or work in Antwerp does not matter. Evenness in the distribution of purchases between actors is not a hard criterion, but a certain degree of spread across the many galleries that make Antwerp such a vital scene is a point of attention. The exercise that started in 2021 will be continued. Various members of the collection working group selected a long list of galleries that are then visited, in order to formulate and negotiate proposals, resulting in a short list from which purchases can follow. Basic criteria are: the extent to which an artist can be seen as a reference for the gallery, and the extent to which an artist is important within the collection image of M HKA, as formulated in the collection policy plan. Finally, a budget was also provided for work by younger artists within the scene who can be seen as a potential reference point for the future.