M explores how the museum can become an open house

Creating a museum together

M explores how the museum can become an open house

Last year, we announced that the M Ambassadors scheme would conclude after fifteen years. It wasn’t a decision taken lightly, but rather one made to create space for something that reaches further and delves deeper. “We’re going back to basics,” said Sigrid Bosmans and Sofie Vermeiren at the time. Today, we are reflecting on multiple levels about how M can become an open house: a place where people meet, contribute ideas and get involved.

The lobby as a testing ground

Els Vervloesem (architect and urban planner) and Eva De Baerdemaeker (PLEK-WERK) are taking on the task of redesigning the communal spaces at M. The question is: how can we transform a museum with high-quality but sometimes austere architecture into a warm, welcoming space? A vibrant ‘third space’ where visitors, residents, students, artists and museum staff can come together?

“The M building is spacious, but it isn’t yet being used to its full potential,” says Els. “Take the lobby, for example: previous attempts to make the space more welcoming haven’t always been successful. That’s why we’re now taking a different approach. We don’t believe in a superficial ‘makeover’, but rather in building on the existing potential. How do we create breathing room in the programme as an invitation to neighbours and partners? How do we turn M into a place where people find space for experimentation, play, meeting others, tranquillity and wonder?”

Eva compares their approach to the work of a midwife: “Everything is already there. But how do we bring it into the world? And what support is needed to do that?”

The lobby and outdoor spaces will become ‘testing grounds’ for the museum as a form of social infrastructure. Not an end in itself, but a means of asking fundamental questions about the role of a museum in the city. Eva and Els are exploring where opportunities lie within what already exists: the summer programme, partnerships with schools, and initiatives such as ‘De Kunstbrug’ [Art Bridge] and ‘het Kunstlab’ [Art Lab]. “Many initiatives are currently project-based. Can we turn these into sustainable, structural programmes? And how can we place even greater emphasis on exchange and people’s experiences?”

It is not yet clear where this search will lead. What matters is that time is being taken to explore this through a considered approach and in collaboration with all those involved. “We’re starting with observation and presence,” says Eva. “People are welcome to drop by – whether they work at M, or are volunteers, artists, residents, visitors or partners. Everyone has a voice and is welcome to share their insights and experiences.”

In any case, experimentation will be crucial. “Nothing is more of a shame than good ideas that are brilliant on paper but end up being left on the shelf,” says Els. “If you dare to test them in short-term experiments, you immediately learn more. That’s how we lay the foundations for something that can continue to grow in the years to come.”

What is a community for M?

While Els and Eva are putting the experiment into practice, Sofie Vermeiren is working with a project group to explore, on a more theoretical level, what a new community approach means for M. Sofie spoke with museums in Belgium, the Netherlands and England. The project group assembled colleagues from various departments to collectively explore: what does ‘community’ mean to us?

The aim is to arrive at a working definition that can guide the new approach. The exact wording is still being finalized, but what Sofie already knows is that it involves a dynamic network of people who feel at home both in and around the museum: ‘Individuals who contribute their ideas, enthusiasm and skills, along with those of M, to create a result that is greater than the sum of its parts.’

These communities already exist, of course: volunteers, artist communities, heritage groups, schools, Leuven residents, and all the other groups that feel connected to the museum. “We’re not going to reinvent the concept of community,” Sofie emphasizes. “Above all, we want to identify them and align them with what we’re doing as a museum. When you work with a community, you have to engage in dialogue. What are their needs and questions? How do we find common ground?”

This also raises questions about participation – not just about who you work with and how, but to what extent. Together with the working group, Sofie explored research on levels of engagement, ranging from participation and co-creation to hosting. “The process itself is important too,” she explains. “There’s nothing worse than token participation. Looking deeper and forging valuable, lasting relationships – that’s what it’s all about.”

Experimenting and evaluating

Both projects – Els and Eva’s socio-spatial project, and Sofie and the project group’s theoretical framework – address the same question: how can M be a space for shared use, where different groups feel at home? There are no clear-cut answers at this stage. But what unites everyone is the conviction that experimentation and flexibility are essential – that space must be created, in every sense of the word, to discover together what a museum can mean today.