The 5 most inspiring art galleries in Antwerp

Founded in a town house in Het Zuid, Zeno X gallery now occupies a converted industrial space in the edgy Borgerhout neighbourhood. Run by Frank Demaegd, it currently exhibits works by well-known painter Luc Tuymans. Don't miss out on Pélagie Gbaguidi's Naked Writings for which she investigated the archives of the Royal Museum for Central Africa. The title refers to the importance of un-learning, of shedding prior beliefs and consequently decolonizing the mind.

The daughter of an Antwerp gallery owner, Sofie van de Velde knows the contemporary art scene intimately. Her second gallery occupies a large white interior in the emerging Nieuw Zuid neighbourhood. Here she exhibits her pick of international artists along with young Antwerp artists such as Pieter Jennes.

Formerly based in a small town house, Tim van Laere moved in 2019 into a striking new gallery in the Nieuw Zuid district. Designed by OFFICE Kersten Geers David Van Severen, the gallery is a brutal concrete building set next to the river with two gallery rooms lit by soft northern light.

It seems this art centre is never going to find a permanent home. It launched in 2004 in a condemned building in the docklands, moved to an industrial building, and resettled a third time in a former laundry. Then in 2021 it found a new home in an abandoned 19th-century church. Whatever the location, Extra City stages some of the city’s most exciting shows featuring young and emerging international artists.

Gallery owner Roger Szmulewicz devotes his striking white exhibition space to Belgian and international photography. Ranked as one of the ten best photo galleries in the world, it exhibits classic American photographers such as Andre Kertesz and Saul Leiter as well as contemporary European, Japanese and African photographers.