The Museum aan de Stroom (known as MAS;

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

for: ''Museum by the Stream'') is a museum located along the river

Scheldt The Scheldt (french: Escaut ; nl, Schelde ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of Netherlands, the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corr ...

in the Eilandje district of

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

, Belgium. It opened in May 2011 and is the largest museum in Antwerp.

History

In 1998 the Antwerp city council decided to build the museum at the Hanzestedenplaats. On 14 September 2006 the first brick of the building was laid. In 2010 museum objects arrived from various other museums like the Ethnographic Museum and the Maritime Museum, which both ceased to exist. The museum opened for the public on 17 May 2011.

Design

Curved glass viewed from inside the MAS museum (Antwerp, BE)

The MAS was designed by

Neutelings Riedijk Architects Neutelings Riedijk Architects is an architecture firm based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, founded by Willem Jan Neutelings and Michiel Riedijk in 1987. Work and design philosophy The work of Neutelings Riedijk Architects has been characteri ...

. The façade is made of Indian red sandstone and curved glass panel construction. It is an example of postmodern Art Deco architecture. The MAS houses 470,000 objects, most of which are kept in storage. The first visitor's gallery is the "visible store", which contains 180,000 items. The building is located on the spot where the used to stand. International merchants worked and resided at the Hanzehuis. In the nineteenth century a fire destroyed the building.

Collection and exhibitions

The central focus of the MAS is Antwerp and its connection to the world. The MAS collection ranges from maritime objects which document international trade and shipping, to the history, art and culture of the port city of Antwerp and to art and culture from Europe, Africa, America, Asia and Oceania. The MAS develops thematic exhibitions which connect local and global culture, art and history. The museum is committed to informing the public using new media and immersive presentations. The museum was internationally awarded for its MAS IN YOUNG HANDS initiative, which involves youngsters from very diverse backgrounds as event organizers and curators.

References

External links

Museum aan de Stroom The Museum aan de Stroom (known as MAS; Dutch for: ''Museum by the Stream'') is a museum located along the river Scheldt The Scheldt (french: Escaut ; nl, Schelde ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the sou ...

History museums in Belgium City museums in Belgium Museums established in 2011

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