Toy Museum (Mechelen, 23-12-2007)

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Other

Yes I had not yet visited this museum even though it's really close to home and I love toys. But the right moment for a visit had come so we finally went there ;-)

This is a really nice museum if you like old dolls and toys. And you can actually learn something about the history of them too.
The scenes they have created with the dolls, the stuffed animals, trains, etc. are really fun to watch.
I really loved the part with carnival and circus toys, especially the funny mirrors (I had never seen myself as a dwarf yet!).

If you have time some day and are into toys this is a great museum to visit. There are usually temporary exhibits as well about specific toys.
They also have a shop where you can buy some toys and you can play games at the museum as well. It's a pity they don't have any picture cards of their collection for sale.

The site here

Jerwood:Free and Framed (Momu, Antwerp, 16-12-2007)

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Other

If you want to see some really really large pictures you should check out this free exhibit in the hall of the fashion museum.

You should go to this museum anyway to see the Bernhard Wilhelm exhibit if you haven't done so already (see the review, it's a terrific exhibit!).
You can still see it un till 27th of January.

You can see the free exhibit un till February the 3rd.
The site: http://www.momu.be/en/index_momu.jsp

Female Portraits (Mayer-Van Den Bergh, Antwerp, 16-12-2007)

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Other

If you are in Antwerp you should visit the Mayer-Van Den Bergh museum anyway so now is a great time to do just that! Residents of Antwerp can visit this museum for free!

The museum is very nice itself but we were there for the exhibit. It's a small exhibit of the drawings of Eugeen Van Mieghem who has made some terrificly beautiful and moving drawings of his wife. Especially the drawings made when she was ill and dying...
I don't know much about he artist but he has his own museum somewhere in Antwerp.You can read about him on their site here.

The Mayer-Van Den Bergh site: museum

If I Can't Dance... (Muhka, Antwerp, 16-12-2007)

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Other

If I can't dance I don't want to be part of your revolution!

This is a quote from Emma Goldman and also the title of one of the current exhibits in the museum of modern art in Antwerp. It's supposed to be about feminism in art but that's not something that's really visible in the pieces.

There's a lot of revolution going on though in the works currently shown in the Muhka, especially in the presentation of their own collection. And you are of course allowed to dance if you want to ;-)
It's always inspiring to visit this museum because there are always interesting recent artworks to be seen.
And if you are here you should try the sandwiches in the museum cafe because they are delicious!

You can see the current exhibits un till January the 6th. The site: Muhka

Belgicum - Stephan Vanfleteren (Fotomuseum, Antwerp,16-12-2007)

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Other

This exhibit has been such a success already that it has been prolonged un till February the 10th 2008. So you still have some time to visit it and you should visit it if you have a chance!

These pictures show you Belgium in all it's uniqueness, beauty, ugliness, weirdness, sadness. They show you (part of) the soul of Belgium.
Every-one should just go and watch them! Or buy the book and enjoy them at home ;-)

http://www.fotomuseum.be/

In The Name of God (Leuven, 8-12-2007)

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Other

An exhibit about 1000 years of monastic tradition in Europe.
Several (former) convents in Europe have joined hands to make this exhibit and I think it will still travel to other countries. Here in Belgium it ends tomorrow.

It's a fun exhibit, especially for people who don't know much about convents. Expect a lot of easy to read information and interactive "games" but not a lot of art and objects.
I especially loved the animation movie of a day in the live of a medieval novice.

You can still enjoy the site even if you won't be able to see the exhibit here: http://www.ingodsnaam.com/EN/ingodsnaam.html

National Genever Museum (Hasselt, 7-12-2007)

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Other

A must see in Hasselt! Not only is this a great old industrial building but it's also an interesting museum ànd the only steam distillery in Europe which is still in use!

We were mainly here to see the exhibit "The wise man and the fool" about Alchemism. There are always small exhibits in this museum that have something to do with the (history of) genever or distilling. This was a pretty cool exhibit with some great pictures of alchemistic laboratories and such.
The museum itself is of course very cool if you like old industrial buildings. And we love them so we totally enjoyed it ;-)

It's not a very expensive museum and the best thing: you get to taste one free genever. You can of course also buy whole bottles of this elixir here ;-)
Check the site: http://www.hasselt.be/index.php?lang=en&rO=1