2026 Preview – Culture in Antwerp and more
Newsletter – January 2026
Seasonal greetings!
The press team of the City of Antwerp wishes you all the very best for 2026.
In 2026, Antwerp will be firmly in the spotlight as a fashion capital, with an exhibition dedicated to the Antwerp Six at MoMu and the fashion festival surrounding the graduation show of the Fashion Department of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp (KMSKA) in June. Our museums will also welcome several internationally renowned artists, including Monster Chetwynd at the Middelheim Museum and Carrie Mae Weems at FOMU. As ever, we continue to invest substantially in art, culture, shopping and nightlife. In 2025, Borgerhout was named the second-coolest neighbourhood in the world by Time Out. You can read more about that later in this newsletter but first, a look back!
Exhibitions in 2026
Antwerp’s museums have an exciting programme lined up for the coming year. Check out a selection below. For more information and a full overview of all exhibitions and their dates, please consult our press kit "Antwerp Museums in 2026".
- The Middelheim Museum presents "A Friends Making Machine", the first outdoor exhibition by internationally acclaimed artist Monster Chetwynd. For the occasion, Chetwynd designed a new entrance gate on the eastern side of the park. This sculptural work literally welcomes visitors and symbolically connects the museum with the surrounding neighbourhood.
- FOMU (the Photo Museum) is exhibiting "The Heart of the Matter", the first major retrospective in Belgium of influential American artist Carrie Mae Weems (1953). Through monumental photographic works and video installations, Weems explores themes of race, gender, power and memory.
- In 2026, Museum Plantin-Moretus will be celebrating a festive year with two remarkable anniversaries: 450 years of the printing house and 150 years as a museum. From December onwards, visitors will be able to explore a renewed permanent display, in which they are transported back in time to the 16th century for an immersive visit to the Plantin-Moretus family.
- From April, DIVA will present "Rings That Rock", an exhibition exploring the cultural and historical significance of diamond rings from the 15th century to today, through three central themes: love, power, and brilliance.
- The KMSKA will be presenting, among other things, Geestgrond by Antony Gormley Gormley’s body sculptures will become an integral part of the museum building, responding to its architecture, collection, and visitors. The title refers to fertile Ice Age soil, while also carrying a symbolic meaning: geest (spirit) as the soul, grond (ground) as earth or origin.
- The Snijders&Rockox House will present the very first exhibition devoted to one of Europe’s earliest female painters, and her long-forgotten family. Van Hemessen & Father: The Antwerp studio of Jan and Catharina van Hemessen is a major exhibition focusing entirely on this 16th-century artistic family.
The Antwerp Six at MoMu
In 2026, MoMu will be celebrating the 40th anniversary of the international breakthrough of the Antwerp Six with a major exhibition. For the first time, an official exhibition will be dedicated to these six iconic designers. The exhibition opens on 28 March 2026 and runs to 17 January 2027.
The exhibition will explore the shared journey that connects the six designers, from their education at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp to six influential solo careers. Dirk Bikkembergs, Ann Demeulemeester, Walter Van Beirendonck, Dries Van Noten, Dirk Van Saene, and Marina Yee put Antwerp firmly on the global fashion map in 1986 when they presented their collections at the British Designer Show in London. It led to their international breakthrough and established Antwerp’s reputation as a fashion city, while their visionary designs continue to shape the fashion world to this day.
MoMu pressdossier The Antwerp Six.pdf
PDF 9.2 MB
Borgerhout: Second Coolest Neighbourhood in the World
Borgerhout, a district of Antwerp, was named the second-coolest neighbourhood in the world by Time Out. According to the magazine, the area’s DIY spirit is reflected in everything — from community-built “parklets” that transform parking spaces into social hubs, to the record-breaking two-kilometre-long table along Turnhoutsebaan that brought thousands of people together to celebrate Easter and Ramadan. It's the residents of Borgerhout who make their neighbourhood one of the most vibrant and welcoming corners of Antwerp.
A perfect day in “BoHo” starts with breakfast at Café Josee by Te Boelaerpark, followed by a bike ride along the district’s creative axis. Discover sustainable fashion at Noma, local talent at BorgerHub, and galleries such as Base-Alpha, Violet, DMW, Lichtekooi and Pizza Gallery. Don't forget a stop at Borgo Gelato along the way. Enjoy lunch at Clo, an aperitif at Café Mombasa, and dinner at wine bar Glou Glou. End the evening with live music at Trix or De Roma, and a late Belgian beer at Bar Leon or Bakeliet.
And more…
- On 1 December, the City of Antwerp and the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) awarded the prestigious quality label Antwerp’s Most Brilliant to 14 Antwerp jewellers at the DIVA Museum. The label guarantees quality, craftsmanship, and reliability at the heart of the world’s diamond capital. Recipients included Mia&Moi, Studio Collect, Elliot & Ostrich, and Wouters & Hendrix.
- On 8 October 2025, the Michelin Guide awarded one, two, or three Michelin Keys to the most remarkable hotels in Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. For the first time, the Benelux shone in this prestigious selection, with Antwerp’s five-star Botanic Sanctuary Antwerp receiving two Michelin Keys — the only hotel in Flanders to do so.
- Belgian fashion talents and experts were also honoured at the eighth Belgian Fashion Awards 2025. Arte Antwerp won Company of the Year, while REantwerp was named Emerging Talent of the Year.
- Traum, the club housed in the former Café d’Anvers, will remain open for an indefinite period. What began as a one-year pop-up has become a permanent fixture in Antwerp’s nightlife. The extension will be celebrated in mid-January with a birthday event featuring Jeremy Underground, Kode9, Miss Angel, Legowelt, and Luigi Tozzi.
- The renowned French cultural programme Des Racines et Des Ailes filmed outside France for the first time when it produced an episode centred on Flanders. Antwerp plays a starring role, through the legacy of Pieter Paul Rubens and the heritage he left behind in the city.