Corona death knell for Brussels Comics Art Museum?
Like all the other museums in Brussels the Comics Art Museum has had to close again. Museum closures are one of the decisions taken by the Brussels regional government in a bid to stem the spread of coronavirus. The museum fears its second forced closure this year could mean the end for this institution.
“The closure is a nasty surprise for us” says Tine Anthoni. “After the first forced closure we set to work with great enthusiasm making the museum corona-secure and staging an exhibition of the work of the Spanish cartoonist Juanjo Guarnido. It was aimed at a domestic audience, but the summer was pretty poor. There were clearly fewer foreign visitors too as they were avoiding Brussels.”
“In contrast with many other museums we get by on no or virtually no subsidy. We need the takings from ticket sales. If that disappears, it gets difficult. We will now contact the authorities, but will that help?”
“During the first lockdown, we turned ourselves into a virtual museum with lots of online activities and daily comic news. We won’t be able to repeat that. We’re going to look and see what we will be able to do. Keep your eye on our online channels.”
The Comics Art Museum, dedicated to an art form that is quintessentially Belgian, opened in 1989. In normal times it attracts 200,000 visitors making it one of the key attractions of the Belgian and Flemish capital.
