Panamarenko House in Antwerp granted protected status
Flanders has granted monument status to the Panamarenko House in Antwerp following research by the Flemish Heritage Agency. The late artist’s residence, donated virtually intact to the Flemish Community and now a museum with guided tours, is officially recognised as a protected monument.
Panamarenko, born Henri Van Herwegen, lived and worked in his mother’s former shop on the corner of Biekorfstraat from 1970 to 2002. It became the studio where he developed and built hundreds of creations, while reshaping the building to his idiosyncratic taste.
From the outside, it is immediately recognisable for its full-width glass loggia and the helicopter landing pad on the roof.
It is unusual for an artist’s home to receive monument protection. "But Panamarenko is an artist to be very proud of," said Ben Weyts, the Flemish minister for Immovable Heritage.
"With this protection, we emphasise the importance of this building and its contents, and we support the efforts to preserve the Panamarenko House."
"Panamarenko is an artist to be very proud of"
The Museum of Contemporary Art (M HKA) will continue to manage the house and its contents . The protection is seen as particularly important given that Panamarenko’s works are dispersed around the world, with no dedicated museum in Belgium.
"His memory, his oeuvre and his spirit will live on in the Panamarenko House," the museum said.
Panamarenko would have turned 85 this year, an anniversary being marked with exhibitions and events across Flanders.
#FlandersNewsService | © BELGA PHOTO / VIDEO TIJS VANDERSTAPPEN
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