Magazine issue thirteen

Hands shaping clay. Eyes catching the light. Voices working together to perfectly position a work. Professional mastery: it radiates from every page of issue thirteen.

From the artists we showcase to the works created in Leuven . But also on another level: the making of the museum itself. Mastery, knowledge, and competency. It is the combination of expertise and skills, coupled with a curious attitude that drives a constant desire to learn, and that is needed to practise a profession successfully.

From curators to exhibition designers, registrars and communications officers, to building and project managers, every member of the M team brings their expertise to bear on a daily basis.

But you don’t build a museum on your own. It requires dialogue – with artists who open their studios, with lenders who place their trust in us, with conservators who pass on centuries-old techniques, and with other museums that share their knowledge. It is a process that occasionally involves trial and error, but one that is based on exchange and uniting expertise across disciplines.

This issue is a tribute to that professional mastery and collaboration. Step inside the practices of Valérie Mannaerts, Els Nouwen and M-resident Judith Van Oeckel, and rediscover Giambologna – whose work you can already see in the ‘Collection of M’ – in all his glory this autumn.

Ellen from M
Magazine Coordinator