On 5 December, Ghent's museums organise their iconic Museum Night. The programme includes lots of musical performances, like beatboxing at the Museum of Fine Arts Ghent (MSK), slam poetry at the Ghent City Museum (STAM) and unique sound experiences at Kina. Prefer something quieter? Then come and discover the ASMR room at the Museum of Industry, or have a unique wellness experience at the Dr. Guislain Museum. Need to release some energy during your museum tour? You can do so with aerobics at the House of Alijn.
European Youth Capital
This year, Ghent is European Youth Capital. For one year, young people got the opportunity to make their voices heard and start their own projects. This is also true for Museum Night! Not only will a lot of young people perform in Ghent's museums, they also get the chance to curate or experiment. Museum Night also kicks off the closing weekend of Ghent European Youth Capital (5 to 7 December).
Prepare your visit
Algorave in the Winter Circus
Dance to the rhythm of algorithms! Together with artist and coder Kasper Jordaens, Design Museum Gent has developed software to convert its collection data into images during a unique algorave. In a nutshell: a party where both the music and the visualisation of our revamped collection will be encoded live by various ‘algoravers’! Extra fun: you can see the result for yourself on the spot. For this project 'Lost in diffusion', we are partnering with Winter Circus, home to more than 38 tech start-ups who, like the museum, want to shape the future together.
Plastic Fantastic?
Come and enjoy the best view of Ghent’s city centre! Printing presses run at full speed and surprise you with unique prints. Weaving machines rattle like never before. And the brand-new expo Plastic Fantastic? introduces you to the wonderful world of plastics. Freestyle legends Coi and Samoerai dive into the plastic soup and rap like crazy. The ASMR room will make you wild about plastics. CirQ will raise the roof. And maybe you'll make your pipe dream come true?
‘The Gates’ take-over
Discover the brand-new temporary exhibition ‘The Gates’, about the imposing city gates of yesteryear and the super-diverse neighbourhoods that still bear their name. The museum will be taken over by slammin' freestyle rappers, diverse lyrical talent, slam poetry with Slam Aleikum and music from Ghent's city gate neighbourhoods. Don’t miss out on the live virtual graffiti on the giant aerial photo of Ghent! Leave your own snippet of rap lyrics for our huge Museum Night rap song and linger in our outdoor bar (while enjoying some fries). Street cred thanks to VOEM vzw and Hip Hop Hooray.
Silent disco and family tour
From 4 to 8 pm, the Museum of Fine Arts Ghent opens its doors specially for the youngest among us! During Kids' Museum Night, you’ll be carried away to the sounds of our silent disco in the beautiful museum rooms, fully tailored to children. Dance and experience art in a playful way, with headphones on your ears and your own rhythm in your legs! In addition, you and your family can explore the temporary exhibition of expressionist artist Erich Heckel. Go on an interactive family tour and discover his powerful, colourful works of art.
Between art and beats
Be surprised by beatbox performances curated by Farooq Baig, and discover new perspectives with youth collective Schoonvolk! in their exhibition ‘Alternative Narrative’. The highlight of the evening is the return of the popular silent disco: dance through the museum halls, surrounded by masterpieces. For a moment of peace and quiet, you can settle down in the atmospheric cocktail bar.
Through the looking glass
At GUM & Botanical Garden, you enter a wonderful world where your senses are stimulated, challenged and sometimes even tricked. Inspired by Lewis Carroll's literary classic ‘Through the Looking Glass’, you will discover - just like Alice - a world hidden behind the mirror image in the greenhouses of the Botanical Garden. At GUM, the truth comes to light and you help determine the fate of a defendant. Guilty or innocent? True or false? MuST, our student team created this wonderful world and takes care of every detail into perfection. Join us for a night filled with mystery and adventure!
Retraite Guislain
Escape into the night and find inner peace in the chaos within the museum walls. Opt for the Guislain total experience package: liberate body and mind and flow along on the swell of unknown pleasure. Check-in for an otherworldly wellness experience of distraction, seduction, relaxation and exertion. BYOP = bring your own problems
HELL (in a museum) ON EARTH
Discover our new exhibitions ‘Joris Van de Moortel: HELL ON EARTH’, ‘PRESENTS - private donations to S.M.A.K’. and ‘Tsai Ming-liang / Walker series’. Be guided by our sources of knowledge and vessels of fun facts (i.e. our S.M.A.K. guides) or admire the works at your own pace. The night is long!
To your health!
The House of Alijn goes the healthy way. Challenge each other on the bikes on rollers, get out your sweatbands and leg warmers for a session of Eighties Aerobics and dance your hearts out with DJ Patrick (Diskobar Sabrina). Rediscover your inner peace and have a drink to your health. Go home with a new hairstyle or a new sex toy.
Night full of sounds
Prick up your ears, at Kina you can hear and experience all kinds of things. Can you hear the birds chirp? Can you do that too? Singing crystal glasses lure you to the rocks and minerals wing. A swarm of 20 speakers surrounds you with sound. Immerse yourself in this unique sound experience, a presentation by aifoon vzw. Musician and comedian Wim Claeys will also perform. Loosen your vocal cords because singing along is mandatory!
Rich stories from the SWANA region
Kunsthal Gent's cinema focuses on the cultural richness of the SWANA (South-West Asia and North Africa) region. Fascinating stories are brought to life through evocative visual art, experimental film, live music and performances.
Candle light date with Judith
Judith is waiting for you, bathed in candlelight. She is a queen. A rebellious teenager. A Carolingian princess on the run. A mother. A gritty countess with the air of Maggie Smith. At Saint Peter's Abbey, you'll go on an exploratory journey. Together with four scientists, you’ll investigate the cold case of tomb S127, uncovered in Sint-Pietersplein square. It will transport you back to the time of the Vikings and family feuds. This is an exhibition for real time travellers and detectives! Cosplay included.
Museum nights are known at home and abroad as the night when museums present an extremely atmospheric programme full of surprising extras. Lovers of heritage, design and art can enjoy the most beautiful collections and exhibitions offered by the museums until long after normal opening hours. Museum Night Ghent has been organised since 2007, is always free and takes place on the first Thursday of December. Next year, it will take place on 5 December 2024.
Unable to join us in December? But does a late-night visit sound like something you’d enjoy? Then you should add the Late Thursdays to your calendar. Every first Thursday of the month, a few Ghent museums are open until 10 p.m. On these nights, you can also enjoy art and heritage in a special atmosphere and discover the best bedtime stories. You do have to pay for these late-night visits. The (Dutch) programme can be found elsewhere on this website.
© Martin Corlazzoli
© Martin Corlazzoli
© Martin Corlazzoli
© GUM
© Martin Corlazzoli
© Michiel Devijver
© Kina
© Kunsthal Gent
© Historische Huizen Gent