Bart Ooghe - Speaker

Pride & Paintings: how queer events changed the way we look at ourselves 

Head of marketing, communications and audiences at the Museum of Fine Arts Ghent (MSK)

Abstract:

In recent years, the Museum of Fine Arts Ghent has been experimenting with different kinds of take-over events. In this talk we’ll focus on the lessons learned from the most successful of these: the now annual queer nights curated by local drag collective House of Lux. These have positively influenced the museum’s reach, inner workings and image. However, they also give rise to new questions, such as on the boundaries between ‘museum’ and ‘event-space’, how to balance enthusiasm with a small team and limited funds, and how to convince colleagues that no, we aren’t being ‘too woke’.

About Bart:

Bart Ooghe he/him (1980) began his career with a PhD in historical geography before making the leap to the cultural sector. He has researched digitising collections, spent 5 years as a cultural heritage project manager, and became head of marketing, communications and audiences at the Museum of Fine Arts Ghent (MSK) in 2015. Together with the team, Bart strives to engage more diverse audiences and to connect the arts of the past to the communities of today. In 2021 he initiated the MSK’s LGBTQIA+ programme, as a result of which he is now also curating ‘Queer Belgian Art’. This will be the first exhibition in Belgium to examine fine art from the region through a queer lens, and is set to run in the spring of 2027.

🎟 Join us at CTA Amsterdam 2025 to explore how museums can push boundaries while staying true to their mission.
📅 17-19 June, 2025