Agenda: to see and to do, museums and exhibitions and kids in Ostend

Welcome home! Ensor art from the KBC collection

Where:

The James Ensor House

When:

29/04/21 to 29/08/21

The third temporary exhibition at the James Ensor house since its official reopening in July 2020 will put the KBC Bank's Ensor collection in the spotlight. KBC Bank owns a rich art collection in which the oeuvre of James Ensor occupies a prominent place. It comprises an almost complete collection of prints including etchings, drypoints and lithographs, as well as oil paintings and drawings such as an interesting self-portrait from 1883, based on a photograph. The paintings in the collection are very diverse and cover different periods in the artist's career. There is a self-portrait from 1878, a still life from 1880, a view of the Ostend market from 1882, a typical Ensorian work from 1905, called Pierrot and Skeletons, and finally, a painting from 1912 with the poetic title Faded Perfume, Withered flowers. For this work Ensor found inspiration in a print by the French artist Jean-François Janinet (1752-1814) after a painting by the Swedish painter Niclas Lafrensen (1737-1807), entitled L'Aveu difficile (The difficult confession). The collection itself illustrates in a striking way the varied styles and different art techniques mastered by the Ostend artist. The exhibition will take place from April 21st to August 29th.

The Crystal Ship 2021 - Summer of Street Art

When:

12/06/21 to 31/08/21

The Crystal Ship is a contemporary art festival that specializes in public space producing different installations, sculptures and murals each year. All artworks remain permanently in the public domain and can be visited freely.

Ostend City Museum

The museum tells you Ostend’s fascinating life story and also casts light on its future. A host of objects, posters, documents and multimedia applications reveal the secrets behind the development of the city, its tourism, fishing industry and shipping. Discover the Ostend of former times and the most famous resident of the premises, Louise-Marie, the first Belgian queen. She shows a strong presence, and even has her say.

Mercator

Arctic traveller Adrien de Gerlache designed this three-master which was built in Scotland. The Mercator had only two commanders and made 54 voyages. In 1956 it repatriated the remains of Father Damien from Molokai. In 1960, it sailed into the harbour of Antwerp and in 1961, it was equipped as a museum ship. Since 1964, it has been the pearl in Ostend’s crown. Like to visit this attraction at a discount? Print your free Coast Pass now on www.kustpas.be/home/register

Hangtime

1,000 square metres of trampolines, a huge ball bath, and a challenging play area for the little ones, all connected by an inspiring coffee bar: that is the definition of Hangtime! ...

TikTokTour

Ostend has its own TikTokTour now! This crazy TikTok tour takes you to ten highlights of our lovely City by the Sea where you can recreate fun TikTok videos. Get your free TikTokTour at the Ostend Tourist Information Centre or download the tour at www.tiktokoostende.be.

The James Ensor House

This newly created experience centre contains James Ensor’s original house and five interactive adventure spaces. Bring Ensor’s paintings to life, admire his interior decorations and carnival masks, look through his letters and photographs and then take a peek at his authentic home and studio. At home with Ensor. Like to visit this attraction at a discount? Print your free Coast Pass now on www.kustpas.be/home/register.

Museum Amandine

April 3rd 1995. On this day the Amandine entered Oostende harbour for the last time. On this day it dropped anchor for the very last time. The crew disembarked, swallowed hard and went home without looking back. The last page in Oostende's book on Iceland Fishing had been turned. Now, 13 years later, the Amandine has started her second career, a career as an interactive museum. It has taken two years of hard and concentrated work in the old shipyard 'Seghers' to restore the...