Censorship and freedom of expression are the twin themes of a new expo at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Antwerp.
Organisers say the “we refuse_d” exhibition “amplifies voices that have been ignored, cancelled or marginalised within the international artistic community.”
Guest curators Nadia Radwan and Vasıf Kortun consciously focused on an accessible format and “we refuse_d” is the first of several international collaborations M HKA is engaging in this year.
Originally organised by Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art in Doha to celebrate its 15th anniversary, Antwerp is the exhibition’s first and only European stop.
Running parallel with “we refuse_d” is the exhibition COSMIC BODY — First Incision by Stef Van Looveren (open until May 17). Through a site-specific installation, Van Looveren engages with the architecture and history of the museum.
Also on view until 24 May are the collection presentation Carla Arocha & Stéphane Schraenen — 20 Years and More: Works from the Collection and the archive presentation Nueva Visión. Printmaking as an Artistic Practice, 1940–1976.
The event organisers said, “we refuse_d probes a societal climate in which censorship, public attacks and institutional isolation increasingly shape the lives of artists and academics.
“Critical voices are being suppressed, exhibitions cancelled and artworks withheld, consigned to archives rather than audiences. Until now.
“For this reason, this exhibition brings together artworks that have been refused elsewhere and are now to be seen by the public.
“Alongside, there will also be new works featured reflecting on this situation.
“More than a protest against censorship, we refuse_d is a plea for more openness.
“In close collaboration with the artists, the curators chose an accessible approach where personal stories merge with questions of belonging, solidarity and the necessity to continue creating.”
The title “we refuse_d” evokes the nineteenth-century Salon des Refusés, a space for artists rejected by official institutions, while also referencing Hannah Arendt’s essay We Refugees (1943).
She highlights how people in exile hold on to hope and demonstrate resilience despite loss and isolation.
In this spirit, the exhibition seeks to position itself as the contemporary salon: a space where refusal is transformed into presence and artistic agency.
“we refuse_d” is the first in a series of international collaborations embarked upon by M HKA this year.
Its partnership with Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art aligns with the museum’s Eurasian perspective and underscores M HKA’s commitment to supporting relevant international voices and practices little known in Belgium.
Antwerp is the exhibition’s first and only European stop.
Address: Leuvenstraat 32, 2000 Antwerp
Exhibition: we refuse_d
Dates: March 13 – June 7
Website: www.muhka.be
Copyright banner: Walid Raad (met – with Pierre Huyghebaert) – I thought I’d escape my fate (again), 2026. Foto: Christine Clinckx – M HKA
