Autumn 2025 at M HKA
Pauline Curnier Jardin | Kyiv Biennial 2025 | Vaast Colson | Saodat Ismailova | Ruimte Morguen
Autumn is upon us, and with it a new exhibition season at M HKA. The connecting thread is clear: art that prompts us to reflect on how we live, what we share and what is at stake — from international headliners to local voices.
Public opening on Thursday 9 October from 20:00, with free entry and a drink, performances in the exhibitions, and a party from 21:00.
This season, M HKA presents the first survey of French artist Pauline Curnier Jardin. The exhibition brings together twenty years of her exuberant, hybrid practice — films, drawings, sculptures, installations and a stage for live events. Visitors are immersed in Curnier Jardin’s distinctive world, where cinema, performance and personal or collective narratives flow together into a festive, multilayered whole.
On Thursday 30 October, during M HKA Late, Pauline Curnier Jardin herself will take to the stage for an artist’s talk.
Following its transnational edition in 2023, Kyiv Biennial 2025 once again unfolds across multiple European venues. In that context, M HKA presents the group exhibition Homelands and Hinterlands as an extension of the main show at the newly opened Museum of Modern Art (MSN) in Warsaw. Kyiv Biennial 2025 reflects on failed solidarities and internationalism along an axis the curators describe as “Middle East Europe”, a term encompassing Central and Eastern Europe, the former Soviet East and the Middle East.
Accompanying the exhibition is There Is Nothing Solid About Solidarity, an INBOX presentation and a three-day programme of talks, performances, music and film across M HKA, De Cinema and De Studio.
Homelands and Hinterlands is the first of two major exhibitions addressing threats to freedom of expression, with particular attention to Palestinian artists. M HKA takes a clear stand against censorship and reaffirms its ongoing support for artists working in contexts of conflict and oppression. In spring 2026, M HKA will present we refuse_d, developed in collaboration with MATHAF in Doha, Qatar. Palestinian and Middle Eastern artists make visible how they confront censorship — and how art nonetheless continues to speak. The exhibition underscores that refusal can itself be a form of imagination, and that new voices claim space.
In the collection wing, Vaast Colson reunites his sculptural puzzle You Used to Be Part of Something for the first time in twenty years — a work that not only marks a moment in Colson’s practice, but also offers a broader reflection on the art world and its structures. The presentation is linked to a research project in collaboration with the University of Antwerp and an in-depth public programme.
The second part of the collection wing features recently acquired work by Saodat Ismailova. Her singular film language weaves documentary elements with experimental approaches, bringing ancient rituals, myths and recent history together in layered, ongoing narratives.
Finally, the archive presentation offers the first overview of the key projects of the artist-run initiative Ruimte Morguen. The display combines original artworks with a selection of printed matter from the Ruimte Morguen archive.
Looking ahead | On 17 January, M HKA once again marks Art’s Birthday — an homage to creativity and imagination first proposed by artist Robert Filliou. In 2026 the evening celebrates EUROPALIA ESPAÑA, with Spanish and Belgian artists joining forces for a festive mix of performances and installations. Expect a warm winter’s night of art, music, poetry — and birthday cake.
Press preview on Thursday 9 October at 11:00 in the presence of the curators and artists. Please confirm attendance by Wednesday 8 October.