Click on a photo below this text and discover the story of the person(s) portrayed.
Ten years of the Red Star Line Museum. More than 10 years of donors. That means hundreds of stories and objects. Both historical ones covering the period of the Red Star Line and recent ones that put a face to today’s migration. We show a lot to our visitors, but we harbour even more in our depots, kept safe for the future.
Donors tend to fade into the background behind the objects they have given to the museum. But to celebrate our anniversary, we are bringing them out into the limelight. Photographer Koen Broos has turned his camera on 10 of them: one for each year of the museum’s existence.
He placed our donors in a setting that was familiar to them. Fatima and Henia are standing on Mediaplein. Where Henia’s house was in the 1970s is now the DPG building. Laura chose her studio, where she makes illustrations, paintings and other things. Emzar poses with his cat, while Henos gestures a greeting from his home country with his hands. Caroline’s portrait is dominated by the shadow of her famous grandfather Irving Berlin, who plays a major role in her life.
Yousuf took Koen Broos to the bike park bridge, where he wanted to take a photo to show his family and friends. Koen had his doubts: the bridge has been photographed many times already. But the light was a revelation, and Yousuf made the photographer look at the place with different eyes.
With these 10 portraits, we would like to thank everyone who has contributed something and thus made the museum what it is. They range from avid collectors to visitors who have brought us an object they just happened to find in the attic. There are also people who have shared their personal stories with us and continue to collaborate with us to this day.
Also enjoy the mini documentary about our very first donor, Robert Vervoort. His collection sparked interest in the history of the Red Star Line in Antwerp long before there was any talk of a museum.
