Art Antwerp

Curated by Beatriz Colomina & Mark Wigley

29/09/2026 – 31/01/2027

Architecture has contributed both to the destruction and survival of bacteria. Increasingly, modern ailments like obesity, diabetes, allergies, and depression are linked to a decline in microbial diversity. According to curators Beatriz Colomina and Mark Wigley, these are ‘diseases of the built environment’ – inseparably tied to the health of the planet and the biosphere.

The exhibition invites us to view humans differently: not as individuals, but as mobile ecosystems coexisting with bacteria.

We The Bacteria was previously showcased at the Triennale Milano, where it became a groundbreaking exhibition. Now it holds up a mirror here too. Meet your own microbes and trace their journey – from deep within the earth to outer space, from billions of years ago to today. Discover how scientists and architects together explore an alternative history of architecture, told from the perspective of bacteria.

 Curated by Guillaume Bijl Estate (Nadia Bijl and Ulrike Lindmayr) & Antony Hudek

24/10/2026 – 27/12/2026

Kunsthal Extra City presents In Remembrance of the Earldom of Watou, an exceptional project by Guillaume Bijl that was shown only once before, during the Watou Arts Festival in 2002.

Twenty-four years later, this unique work is being reconstructed for the first time in the former Dominican church of Kunsthal Extra City. The installation combines a fictional-historical museum, theatrical scenery and live performances of The Early Years of the Earldom of Watou, the only stage play in Bijl’s oeuvre. For this new presentation, the play is directed by artist Aline Bouvy and performed by amateur actors from Antwerp.

Who was Rubens exactly? The artist and the man behind the brush. And why is he so well loved? Find out by visiting the Rubens Experience. Find out what he was really like thanks to life-like videos and interactive tools. Or look straight into his mind by observing his self-portrait.​​