Bruno Verbergt takes over the management of the Mu.Zee in Ostend, the Permeke Museum in Jabbeke and the Peiremuzee, a foundation managed by the Mu.Zee. The new director, aged 60, was born in Leuven, where he studied contemporary philosophy and finance before starting his career as artistic director of Klapstuk vzw, a contemporary dance festival in Leuven. He was director of the museology department and management and communication services at the Africamuseum from 2016 to 2021 in Tervuren. Since 2021, he was stationed as director at the Royal Museums of Art and History in Brussels until 2023, before joining the federal public service “Belgium science policy office” (Belspo) as director general of public and collections in January 2024.
Mu.Zee resides in a modernist building built by Gaston Eysselinkc in Ostend in 2008. It was born from the merger between the former Provincial Museum of Modern Art (PMMK) and the Ostend Museum of Fine Arts. A play on words between “museum” and “Zee” (the sea in Flemish), the 14,000 m² museum has extensive municipal and provincial collections covering Belgian artists from 1860 to the present day. Among the 8,000 works are works by Magritte, Permeke, Wouters, as well as Spilliaert and Ensor, two Flemish painters born in Ostend. It’s a “exceptional collection which includes the best of what has been produced in our country over the last 150 years”Bruno Verbergt is proud to vrt.be.
Bruno Verbergt will also be the director of Peiremuzee, a new art center managed by Mu.Zee and located in the elegant seaside resort of Knokke-Heist. The Peiremuzee comes from a recent donation from the Jenny and Luc Peire Foundation to Mu.Zee, named after the Flemish painter and engraver Luc Peire (1916-1994).
The Constant Permeke Museum, located in Jabbeke, is originally the artist’s house, transformed into a museum. The painting of Constant Permeke (1886-1952), classified among the German expressionists, represents emblematic landscapes and portraits of the Flemish region with a very dark palette. The Province of West Flanders acquired the artist’s house and all the works there in 1960, and the Constant Permeke Museum (PMCP) opened its doors in 1961. The collections include 200 works by the artist, including 80 paintings, 60 sculptures and 70 drawings. The museum reopened its doors last March after three years of restoration work.
Bruno Verbergt succeeds Dominique Savelkoul from Antwerp, former director of the Mu.Zee and the Constant Permeke Museum for more than four years. She left her position to join the management of The European Fine Art Fair (TEFAF), the international art and antiques fair in Maastricht (Netherlands).
On January 5, 2025, Mu.Zee will close for three years due to work; it should reopen its doors in 2028. The institution had already closed in 2021 for 6 months in order to reconfigure the scenography.
