15 years of M: a retrospective in highlights

A retrospective in highlights

15 years of M

20.09.2009: on that symbolic date, now 15 years ago, M opened its doors. Time to take a look back.

M & M in M: on a sunny late summer's day in 2009, our Princess Mathilde and Dutch Princess Máxima cut the ribbon together. M opened with a prestigious triptych. There were exhibitions on Rogier van der Weyden, M's completely revamped collection and Belgian artist Jan Vercruysse.

15 jaar M: een terugblik in highlights — © Brecht Vanzieleghem

In early 2012, the museum briefly smelt of lobster soup. The sculpture ‘Le Paravent’, part of Patrick Van Caeckenbergh's solo exhibition, was conceived as a kind of dining room. Inside the work, there was a recipe for lobster soup, which M staff, together with the artist, prepared for visitors. Enjoy!

Our first Magazine rolled off the presses in early 2020. You are now holding the tenth issue in your hands. It is published twice a year and showcases the museum in all its facets. In it, we announce new exhibitions and projects and feature artists, visitors, friends, partners and staff.

The Silver Club, that is what we call the volunteers who since 2014 have been looking after the precious metalwork in our collection with love and patience. Thanks to them, 245 pieces are now once more shining in M and St Peter's Church.

What an honour! In 2017, M was allowed to travel to the Venice Biennale together with artist Dirk Braeckman, representing our country in the Belgian Pavilion and one of his works there has recently been displayed in the first room of M. Braeckman had previously exhibited at M and after the Biennale, we organised a double exhibition around his work together with BOZAR.

Every year, M and STUK jointly organise the Playground festival. In 2013, French artist duo Clédat & Petitpierre took to the streets of Leuven with ‘La Parade moderne’: an open-air performance with walking sculptures with touches of Magritte, Munch, Dali and others.

M was able to purchase the lost ‘twin brother’ of a 16th-century alabaster putto figurine from our collection at the TEFAF art fair in 2017. The figurines originate from the sacramental tower of the former Celestine monastery in Heverlee and had been separated for over 200 years. They have been part of the presentation of the new collection since June.

In 2013, we started Ecoteam which is an internal working group that raises awareness among colleagues to work more sustainably. For example, by no longer throwing away exhibition materials, but reusing, repurposing or recycling them. M was one of the first art institutions with a working group with focus on recycling.

In 2015, we organised the very first Museum Play Street in M's garden: a summer playground for families with children. It was a hit, and the start of something beautiful as the Museum Play Street has become an integral part of what we do.

'Dieric Bouts. Creator of images' was the big crowd puller in 2023-2024 with, all-in-all, 138,155 visitors coming to M and St Peter's Church. They saw how the work of the 15th-century Flemish Master was confronted with today's visual culture. The exhibition fitted into the city-wide festival ‘New Horizons’.

French artist Alexis Gautier concluded his exhibition ‘L'Heure de la Soupe’ in March 2022 with a tennis match against the pro Kristof Vliegen. The match took place in one of the rooms of the exhibition.

In early 2017, M closed its doors for a renovation. Five months later, we reopened with an inviting entrance area, new signs, new hallways and, above all, a new approach with faster-changing collection presentations and a focus on visual culture of the past and present.

The Covid pandemic affected everyone, not the least the art world. Young artists in particular struggled. To help them, we bought 37 works by 19 artists with support from City of Leuven, Cera and donations to M-life. We showed them in the 2021 exhibition ‘The Constant Glitch’.

Bezoekers in de zalen van de 'Collectie van M' — Wouter Van Vooren voor M Leuven

M is free for 15 days

20.09 - 04.10.24

A visit to M Leuven is free from 20 September to 4 October. Be sure to mark that on your calendar, because in the renewed collection of M you’ll find something new to do every day.

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