The National Bank of Belgium is an art collector like many banks; it has a great collection of artworks. In 2020, the National Bank of Belgium curatorial team decided to create participatory artwork that would involve all its employees. Therefore, they invited us to experiment with our unique methodology of producing with the people.

The Museum of the National Bank owns a great collection of furniture, coins, paintings, prints, paper money, and extraordinary objects that tell the story of trade through which the memory of humans and civilizations’ relationships took place.

The museum curator asked us to invent a participative project involving 10 % of its employees, from the governor to the archivist and chef.

We proposed to design a series of faience objects in the shape of a plate-painting-tray. It will be kind of a tray on which a plate will be carved and painted. The tray can be hung on a wall like a painting. The entire series can be set on a large long table to form a Banquet.

A program, including 20 workshops, will be organized within the bank. Staff will be asked to express their feelings about an object in the museum collection and paint it on a tray in blue paint.
The museum’s guide will help people understand the various objects they choose.

Laurence Van Nieuwenhoven
Camille Steyaert
L’Académie Royale des Beaux Arts de Belgique
The Guides of the Bank’s Museum

Banque Nationale de Belgique
Anne Bambynek, Collection Director
Yves Randaxhe, Collection Director
Carine Fol, Collection Curator

Françoise Schein
Carine Fol
Anne Bambynek
Yves Randaxhe