Museum Mayer van den Bergh has appointed CODART member Hannah Thijs as its new director. On 19 October, she will succeed Carl Depauw, who will retire at the end of this year. Thijs joins the museum from Museum Hof van Busleyden in Mechelen, where she has served as Head of Collections and Exhibitions since 2021.

Hannah Thijs is well acquainted with Museum Mayer van den Bergh, having completed an internship there in 2014 during her master’s degree studies in cultural management at the University of Antwerp. She previously studied art history and archaeology at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Leiden University, specializing in sixteenth-century art from the Low Countries and Italy. Prior to her position at Museum Hof van Busleyden, she worked as a collection manager at The Phoebus Foundation.

Renovation and Temporary Display

Museum Mayer van den Bergh closed in April 2025 for a major renovation and expansion project. The historic 1904 museum building is being restored and connected to the former residence of Fritz and Henriëtte Mayer van den Bergh. The museum is scheduled to reopen in 2030 with a completely renewed presentation and visitor route.

During the closure, a significant portion of the collection remains accessible to the public nearby at the Maagdenhuis in the exhibition Beloved Favorites: 43 Personal Stories from the Mayer van den Bergh Collection. Additionally, a collaboration with the Musée de Cluny in Paris will see many pieces from the collection displayed in the French capital between 2028 and 2029.