New: guided tour with afternoon tea

New

Guided tour with afternoon tea

A tailor-made tour followed by a cosy afternoon tea with colleagues in the museum café? You can at M! Professors from KU Leuven’s Faculty of Social Sciences recently had a go at it and it was a smashing success. That is what Sabine Vandenplas, administrative director of the faculty, says.

“I am the dean’s right-hand, you might say. One of my tasks is to organise activities for the staff. I try to bring our professors together at least once a year. Most days, they hardly see each other as they are busy within their own research groups. But it is nice – and certainly useful – for them to see and talk to each other once in a while.”

“I am also a member of M’s executive committee, so it felt natural that to take up the museum’s offer. The guided tour with afternoon tea seemed very attractive. You don’t have to work out a programme of content yourself, and the catering is also arranged. An accessible, budget-friendly formula.”

Excursions nearby

“I must admit that it is not always easy to get people excited about a group activity. Organising something that really appeals to everyone is almost impossible, and you also have to make sure that is does not take too long. That is why this trip was perfect. The museum is close to the faculty, and the tour and tea afterwards together did not take up too much time. Most of them spent about two to three hours.”

“Half of them already knew the museum – we had held our big staff party on M’s roof terrace before. You could visit the exhibition halls then too, but most had not got around to it at the time. But this visit coincided with the Dieric Bouts exhibition. That had been widely advertised, and the professors were curious about it anyway.”

Zaalzicht 'DIERIC BOUTS. Beeldenmaker', 2023, M Leuven, foto: © Eline Willaert voor M Leuven

Easily Digestible

“Our afternoon started with a warm welcome by the front desk staff. Then Marjan Debaene, department head of Ancient Art, took us on an hour-long tour. I almost felt sorry for her that it was so short, because she has so many passionate stories. But a tour like that should not be too long either. There are certainly those who like to find out all the details about the works, but others have had enough after an hour. For me, it was perfect: easily digestible, with lots of great stories, and never too complex.”

“The stories Marjan told also contained many links to KU Leuven and to the social sciences. Our university was founded in the 15th century which also is when Dieric Bouts was active. Leuven was already an important centre of knowledge back then too. Many of the professors, certainly our communication scientists, were clearly fascinated by the visual language of the time.”

M-bassadeurs krijg — Eline Willaert voor M Leuven

M-bassadeurs in de museumzalen van M — Eline Willaert voor M Leuven

Surprise!

“The tour was followed by afternoon tea, a great opportunity to socialise. They had reserved the mezzanine floor of Barbóék in M for us, and there was a lovely buffet ready with coffee, tea, soft drinks, cake and even – totally unexpectedly – bubbles. The participants really enjoyed the fact that it was quiet and separate.”

“The reactions afterwards were unanimously positive. Some even suggested going to M together for every new exhibition. In the days and weeks after the visit, professors often spontaneously started talking to me about the museum visit. They enjoyed being with colleagues.”

“M” is also a very nice setting for such an activity, of course. The subtle way the old parts have been connected to the sleek new building, as well as the openness of the building and the abundance of light impressed our group. All I can say is that all companies and organisations in Leuven and the surrounding area should get to know M.”