This lecture introduces research underpinning an exhibition to go on view at Museum Hof van Busleyden in 2027: Susters Samen: Beguinage Culture in the Low Countries. It examines the ways in which beguines — women who pursued spiritual lives without taking monastic vows — negotiated their autonomy within restrictive social structures, emerging as significant cultural actors. Focusing on the beguines of Mechelen, the lecture shows how their initiatives shaped artistic production through personal patronage and collective commissions. By examining beguinages as spaces of female solidarity, creativity, and civic participation, it illuminates the beguines’ enduring impact on visual culture. Finally, the lecture reflects on ways in which their legacy can inspire contemporary museological approaches to representing women’s agency and community.

Niels Schalley

Museum Hof van Busleyden, Mechelen
Niels Schalley (b. 1989) is Curator at Museum Hof van Busleyden in Mechelen. He recently curated Rik Wouters & Nel. Muze en Manager (2025), an exhibition foregrounding the cultural agency of Nel Wouters, and is currently preparing Susters Samen. Beguinage Culture in the Low Countries (2027). Before joining the museum, he spent nearly a decade at The Phoebus Foundation as project manager and curator’s assistant, where he coordinated international exhibitions, publications, and acquisitions. His curatorial practice engages with the social dimensions of heritage and the role of museums in fostering dialogue between historical collections and contemporary audiences. His current research focuses on female agency, cultural networks, and the intersections of heritage, gender, and museological practice.