Against the Powerlessness of Art — A Selection from the Archive of Ruimte Morguen
© Ruimte Morguen
Click here to browse the digital scan of the exhibition.
The archive presentation Against the Powerlessness of Art. A slection from the archive of Ruimte Morguen offers for the first time an overview of Ruimte Morguen’s most significant projects. Archival materials and original artworks show how artists created a space for artistic experimentation. At its core is a critical awareness of how images are shaped across different media, such as propaganda and advertising. An attitude that feels urgent once again today.
In 1979, Leen Derks, Marc Schepers, Jacques Sonck, Luc Tuymans and Bob Van Ruyssevelt came together in the conviction that art and society are inseparable. Inspired by international examples, they organised artistic projects in the Bleekhof neighbourhood in Borgerhout and the Sint-Andries neighbourhood in Antwerp. Their actions sought ways to connect art with the social fabric of the city and with everyday life in a street or community.
Out of these initiatives, Ruimte Morguen was founded in 1982: a space that balanced between an alternative venue and a gallery. The programme was internationally oriented but also offered opportunities to young, lesser-known Belgian artists such as Lode De Clercq, Paul De Vylder, Danny Devos, Nadine Tasseel and Stefaan Vermuyten. Ruimte Morguen took on a ‘laboratory function’: investigating contemporary visual culture and playfully rebelling against the prevailing production and consumption of art. Not only posters, photographs and documents from the archive, but also original artworks made this energy tangible.
This presentation invites us to reflect on how artistic experimentation, social engagement and imagination can once again provide direction today.
Curated by Marc Schepers, in collaboration with CKV and M HKA.