The Antwerp Museums are looking forward to 2020.
The Plantin-Moretus Museum will celebrate the 500th birthday of Christophe Plantin and Panamarenko will be commemorated with a tribute.
In 2020, Panamarenko would have celebrated his 80th birthday. His wife and some close friends are preparing a tribute in two parts. The first part, a unique pop-up exhibition at Campo & Campo, opens on 24 January and runs until 24 January until 22 March 2020. The public will be introduced to the wonderful world of Panamarenko, Belgium’s most renowned and eccentric artist ever. His most beloved works have been brought together, supplemented by scale models, rarely seen drawings, historical films and other objects of his fanciful works.
The second part of the tribute will follow from May to August. For instance, the city walk ‘Het Pana Parcours’ will pause at places where the master has left his mark. Fans can also visit the M HKA for a Virtual Reality exhibition and an overview of Panamarenko’s life. His house in Antwerp’s Biekorfstraat will be restored to its former glory and opened to the public.
In 2020, the Plantin-Moretus Museum will celebrate the 500th birthday of Christophe Plantin with a generous and varied programme that offers a surprising view of a versatile man: Christophe Plantin as an inspiration, traveller, letter writer and citizen of the turbulent 16th century.
The festive year starts on the European Day of Printing Museums. From 15 March, the inspiring collection of wooden blocks will be made available online on a new platform called ‘Impressed by Plantin’. From 25 April to 30 August, visitors will accompany Plantin on a business trip to Leiden, Paris and Frankfurt. From 9 October, the museum will exhibit inventions and discoveries from the 16th century. At the same time, through Plantin’s letters, visitors can catch a glimpse of how he was in real life. Finally, in November the museum will welcome two internationally renowned graphic artists for a lecture and a series of workshops.
