Antwerp is undergoing a cultural revival, though many might argue this major port town and unassuming capital of fashion has always maintained some level of influence. Part of this small but impactful city’s cache is its raft of museums that touch on creative topics as varied as Flemish Renaissance painting and radical performance art.
Among this bevy of specialized institutions is the world famous Fotomuseum Antwerp, or FOMU. Housed in a former warehouse, the kunsthalle-style platform has hosted solo exhibitions on Sally Mann, Cindy Sherman, and Zanele Muholi. Though a popular destination for 80,000 local and international visitors annually, its ground-level entrance was in dire need of a refresh.
“Initially, the museum had to employ signage and staff to direct visitors up the stairs to the exhibition rooms,” said Wim Van der Vurst, practice coprincipal. Visitors were prone to “inadvertently” head toward the cinema instead of the museum: the stairs were situated laterally to this line of sight. Van der Vurst decided that “a spatial intervention was required to distinctly separate the two areas.”
Read more about FOMU on aninteriormag.com.
