One third less funding
Supra-local museums
What are supra-local museums?
Supra-local museums are museums recognised by the Flemish Government for their particular social and heritage value. They manage collections of supra-local importance and place a strong emphasis on collection management, research, educational activities, public engagement, collaboration with heritage partners and heritage preservation.
These museums are an essential part of Flanders' cultural landscape.
What is at stake?
The Flemish Government has announced that €47 million must be cut from the Culture policy area. The cultural heritage sector is being particularly hard hit. Museums, heritage cells, archives, heritage libraries, regional service providers, the organisation dedicated to intangible heritage and the support centre are all facing substantial funding cuts. As a result, 25 years of cultural heritage policy risk being undone.
For the 27 supra-local museums, this means a 30% reduction in their Flemish government subsidies, on top of the 5% cut already implemented last year. Together, these museums will therefore lose more than a third of their Flemish operating funds.
These funds are currently used to preserve and research collections, develop educational projects for schools, organise public activities and exhibitions, foster international cooperation and provide day-to-day care for heritage. The announced cuts threaten these activities.
Read more: https://faro.be/laat-het-licht-aan-stopcultuurbesparingen
Open letter to the Minister of Culture: ‘A museum landscape of broken promises’
The supra-local museums have jointly published an open letter expressing their concerns about the planned cuts and their potential consequences for the sector.
What are we doing?
Together with other supra-local museums, we are taking various actions to highlight the importance of cultural heritage.
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What can you do?
The announced cuts have a direct impact on the way museums operate. Would you like to help protect cultural heritage?
- Visit a museum. By purchasing a ticket, you directly contribute to the museum’s work and help keep heritage accessible to future generations.
- Support the museum financially. A donation, large or small, helps museums preserve collections, conduct research and develop educational projects.
- Share our message. Tell others why heritage matters, share posts on social media and help strengthen public support for museums.
- Take part in activities. Exhibitions, lectures, guided tours and events show how heritage continues to live on today.
Together, we can ensure that the stories, objects and collections that make our past tangible are preserved and remain accessible in the future.
Discover all supra-local museums
The cuts affect not just one museum, but an entire network of heritage institutions spread across Flanders.
Together, the 27 supra-local museums preserve hundreds of thousands of objects, tell stories from different periods of our history and welcome a wide range of visitors every year, including school groups, researchers and heritage enthusiasts.
Although each museum has its own collection and areas of expertise, they all share the same mission: to preserve heritage, research it and make it accessible to present and future generations.
Discover below which museums are part of this network and explore their unique stories and collections.
’t Gasthuys – Stedelijk Museum (Aalst)
‘t GROM – Groentemuseum (Sint-Katelijne-Waver)
ABBY (Kortrijk)
Abdijmuseum Ten Duinen (Koksijde)
Bakkerijmuseum (Veurne)
De Wereld van Kina (Gent)
DIVA (Antwerpen)
Het MOT – Museum voor Oudere Technieken (Grimbergen)
Huis van Alijn (Gent)
Jenevermuseum (Hasselt)
Karrenmuseum (Essen)
KOERS - Museum van de Wielersport (Roeselare)
Modemuseum (Hasselt)
MOU – Museum van Oudenaarde
Mudel – Museum van Deinze en de Leiestreek (Deinze)
https://www.turnhout.be/nl/musea-turnhout: https://www.turnhout.be/nl/musea-turnhout
Museum De Mindere (Sint-Truiden)
Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens
Museum Mayer Van Den Bergh (Antwerpen)
Museum PARCUM (Leuven)
Muziekmuseum Vleeshuis (Antwerpen)
NAVIGO – Nationaal Visserijmuseum (Oostduinkerke)
Passchendaele Museum (Zonnebeke)
Speelgoedmuseum (Mechelen)
Stedelijke Musea (Sint-Niklaas)
Texture (Kortrijk)
Yper Museum (Ieper)
