Four museums in Flanders and Brussels nominated for European award

The prize is awarded each year by the European Museum Forum to an institution that sparks visitors’ imaginations through a unique display of its collection, involves members of the local community and takes a creative approach to education and social responsibility.

Nominations are open to museums in any of the 47 member countries of the Council of Europe. The Gallo-Roman Museum in Tongeren won the prize in 2011.

Often nominations recognise museums that have altered their approach to their collections or outreach, which can be seen in Texture, previously the National Flax Museum, which has worked since its beginnings in the 1960s with volunteers and local businesses to present the history of flax agriculture and the resulting textile manufacturing in the region. The museum closed for two years, re-opening in 2014 in the centre of Kortrijk, housed in a flax distribution centre from 1912.

Similarly, Hasselt’s Jenever Museum (pictured) underwent a transformation last year, completely overhauling the presentation of its collection and developing interactive exhibitions to connect with visitors. Last summer, the museum collected stories from residents of the area about their family’s history with the jenever industry. It is now choosing a “Jenever Baron of the Month” to bring to the museum to share jenever with family and friends.