Between an Art Center and a Contemporary Photography Museum
©Benjamin Baltus
A Photography Museum in Brussels?
Located in the heart of Brussels, Hangar is a contemporary photography exhibition space open to all audiences. Visiting a photo exhibition at Hangar is to experience the medium in all its facets.
The objectives are twofold:
Introduce the entire spectrum of Belgian and international contemporary photography to all audiences. Hangar takes a museum-like approach to exhibitions, emphasizing transmission and didactic approaches. It offers visitors diverse experiences in reflection and knowledge sharing through a program of conferences, workshops, guided tours, and artist meet-ups.
Support artists, both emerging and established, by funding artwork production, showcasing their work in exhibitions, featuring their books in the bookshop, and acquiring photographs for the Hangar collection. As a photography exhibition space for the general public that maintains, conserves, and shares its collection with other institutions, Hangar aligns itself with the role of Brussels' photography museum.
Supporting photography
The goal of this "almost" private photography museum is non-profit. The proceeds from ticket sales are donated to the non-profit organization Photo Art & Culture, which aims to support events that promote photography, such as the PhotoBrussels Festival. Financial support is also provided for artistic creation, the publication of artists' books, exhibition catalogs, and more.
Photography Museum or Art Center?
Hangar also serves as a research and experimentation space for the medium. Through its programmatic choices, it aims to showcase the vast scope and creative force of photography. Beyond organizing exhibitions, its mission is prospective. Over 300 artworks are produced annually through close collaboration with artists. Like an art center, Hangar places the artist and their project at the core of its activities, providing financial, technical, and intellectual support.
A Photo Museum with a unique identity
This work, stemming from the very source of creation and the medium itself, compels Hangar to consider eco-responsible means of production. Connected to the world and its significant changes, Hangar has found its own identity by offering museum-like exhibitions with strong themes for all audiences while supporting contemporary creation and its artists.
From Art Center to Photo Gallery
Supporting contemporary creation also involves assisting artists in the commercialization of their works. Art collectors also require guidance in purchasing photographic prints within the specific and precise rules of contemporary art. Therefore, in response to the mutual demand from artists and collectors, Hangar established the Hangar gallery activity. This is the uniqueness of Hangar: a physical space for museum-like exhibitions in Brussels and support for artistic creation that leads to the development of gallery activities.
