Portrait of an M-bassador

Wim Roeckx (47) must have been one of M’s very first visitors: he discovered the museum when it was literally still under construction.

Some people go for a walk in the woods to clear their heads. I go to the museum.

Wim Roeckx, M-BASSADOR

“I work as a translator at Confederatie Bouw in Brussels. Among other things, we organise the Open Construction Site Day, so I knew you could visit the museum under construction in Leuven – that was in 2009. I immediately had the feeling: I want to be part of this later on. That’s why I became an M-bassador as soon as I could. I wanted to support the museum."

GREEN SURFACE

“At home there was always room for art. Our parents took us to the Paul Delvaux Museum in Koksijde, the Royal Museum for Central Africa in Tervuren … I loved that. At college, I had to put art aside for a while because I had to concentrate fully on my studies. But when I started working, I discovered that experiencing art is the ideal way for me to relax. I can really immerse myself in that. It helps me to let go of the worries and stress of a busy working week. Some people go for a walk in the woods to clear their heads. I go to a museum. Or I go for a walk.”

“I like all kinds of art, except when it gets too abstract. Sometimes, when there’s a beautiful story around it, I still enjoy it, because I also like stories. But just a green surface on a wall – that doesn’t appeal to me as much.”

AN OUTING IN OSTEND

“M regularly organises activities for the M-bassadors: excursions, lectures … I participate if possible. Only: during the week, after a whole day of translating, I don’t have the energy for it anymore.”

“But a day trip: I always want to be there. Corona figures permitting, we will go to Ostend on September 20. A very interesting programme: we will visit Mu.ZEE and the Spilliaert Huis with the curators as our guides. I’m already looking forward to it.”

“For me, whether such an outing is a success depends entirely on art. I don’t make friends with strangers easily because I have a disability – autism. A friend of mine is an artist. Now he has also become an M-bassador and, if possible, I try to take him with me. But if that doesn’t work out, I’ll just go solo.”

FACEBOOK LIVE

“One of the great plus points of M is that they really make an effort to present what they have on offer as accessibly as possible. In June, they organised Facebook Live sessions. For me, these are gems of communication. Beautifully made and very spontaneous. If you take a rigid and academic approach, you only reach the elite – people who feel drawn to that style. But for everybody else you build in a threshold.”

“I’ve seen Facebook Lives on ‘Rodin Meunier Minne’, ‘Take your Time’ and the solo exhibition of Kiluanji Kia Henda. I’m not so much concerned with the background information, but I do notice that something lingers here and there. I later visited the exhibition of Kiluanji Kia Henda with my artist friend. I was able to tell him a few things I had learned from the Facebook Live session.

VIRTUAL

“You can view some of M’s exhibitions virtually via the site, but that’s not really something for me. I restrict my use of the screen, because I’ve been sitting at the computer all day. But I do understand that for many people during the lockdown, it was the only way to enjoy art.”

“After the lockdown, I immediately went to M twice: May 21 – one of the first days you were allowed back in – and to the exclusive day for M-bassadors and M-art patrons in June. And soon there will be activities for M-bassadors again. I already know where you will find me then.”

The M-bassador programme is currently being revised. The current programme will continue until June 2026. However, it is not possible to apply for new membership at this time.

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