Iconic contemporary art museum Mima to close

After nine years “filled with creativity and thousands of visitors”, Molenbeek’s flagship museum, Mima (Millennium Iconoclast Museum of Art), will have to shut, the museum announced in a statement.

The museum will close its doors on 5 January 2025, at the end of the current exhibition "Multitude" by Portuguese artist Alexandre Farto, aka Vhils.

Its planned subsequent exhibitions on the Italian-Japanese sound artists Lolo & Sosaku and the Brussels collective of digital experience creators Crafteke have been cancelled.

This is something of a shock given that in April this year, Mima was still making plans to expand its activities and to extend the site.

But the extensive roadworks made it a challenge to get to the museum as well as blocking it from view, and this put paid to future activities.

“The road leading to Mima being at risk of collapsing into the canal has forced the museum to close,” museum management said.

“This blockage has made access difficult, cutting our attendance by more than 50% in July, when the Quai du Hainaut was unexpectedly closed to traffic, and making it impossible to host events.

"With the repairs estimated to take well over a year, and with no certainty of a return to normal, continuing this adventure is no longer viable."

Since its momentous opening in 2016, just after the March attacks, Mima’s 17 exhibitions have welcomed 400,000 visitors to the premises of the former Belle-Vue brasserie, complete with rooftop views.

The Jean Jullien show was most attended, with 44,850 visitors. “2019 as our best year, with 61,800 visitors attracted to 'Dream Box' and 'Obsessions',” the museum added.

The founders said Mima had "earned its place as a beloved contemporary art museum, especially among families and young people from the city, with groundbreaking exhibitions like 'Local Heroes' and 'Art is Comic'".

“We’ve shone a spotlight on emerging artistic scenes often overlooked by traditional institutions, reflecting societal change and gaining momentum on social media,” they added. “Beyond being known as a ‘street art museum’, we’ve built a more complex identity: a playful space for artistic discovery.”

Mima’s co-founder Michel de Launoit added: “We remain determined to pursue our mission of promoting urban and alternative arts. We are actively exploring ways of continuing our work in another context.”

Until that time, de Launoit and the Mima team urge the public to “come and support us until 5 January 2025, honour the team that has always welcomed you with enthusiasm, find your Mima souvenir that will soon be a collector’s item, and discover, or rediscover, the 'Multitude' exhibition by this extraordinary artist, Vhils”.

Mima derived 50% of its income from ticket sales. The rest of the funds came from annual participatory financing (15%) and from grants and private loans (35%).