Extra City Kunsthal Information

The tone was set from the start with a number of internationally renowned exhibitions, with depth and quality proving to be the firm foundations on which Extra City would be built. In 2006, Anselm Franke was appointed Artistic Director, subsequently moving Extra City to a former industrial space in the North of Antwerp. More and more, Extra City was evolving in the direction of a fully-fledged art institution or 'Kunsthal', with carefully considered thematic exhibitions including 'Mimétism' and 'Animism', solo exhibitions by internationally renowned artists and a discursive programme the likes of which had been rare in Belgium. Under the leadership of Mihnea Mircan, Extra City focused more on the capacity of the exhibition as a research tool, such as with the series 'Cross-Examinations' and the impressive 'Allegory of the Cave Painting', as well as solo exhibitions from artists such as Luc Deleu, Jean-Luc Moulène, Koenraad Dedobbeleer, Laure Prouvost and Michael Dean. The accompagying programme also became an important platform for research. In September 2013 the Kunsthal was re-established in its current location in Antwerp Berchem. Here at the former premises of the industrial laundry business Wasserij Goossens, in addition to there being room for Extra City's exhibition spaces, there is also space for artists' ateliers, a bar and a small cinema, as well as the offices of partner organisations such as Antwerp Art, Platform 0090, Gagarin and Kunst/Werk. In 2016, the mission, vision and structure of Extra City was updated as part of a fundamental repositioning project. Adinda Van Geystelen is the new Director at Extra City as of September 2016. She, together with a core artistic team that changes every three years, has taken on the task of giving the Kunsthal a new lease of life. Antonia Alampi (IT), iLiana Fokianaki (GR) and Michiel Vandevelde (BE) are the artistic team for the 2017-19 period. Together with the staff of Extra City they will realise the new mission in the form of a programme of exhibitions ...