Image: Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst, Ghent
S.M.A.K. is presenting a dense summer and early autumn program in Ghent, led by the exhibition '40 jaar Chambres d’Amis', which runs until 10 January 2027. The museum’s current exhibitions page also lists six exhibitions now on view, spanning solo shows, collection presentations and a project centered on the conservation history of Joseph Beuys’s 'Wirtschaftswerte'. The museum says it is open throughout the summer period, and notes that Gentenaars receive free admission.
The lineup places the 40th anniversary of 'Chambres d’Amis' at the center of the season. In a newsletter sent ahead of the Gentse Feesten, S.M.A.K. invited visitors to step away from the city-center crowds and into the museum, where it described the anniversary show as one of several current exhibitions. The museum’s news page also recalled a celebration on 21 June marking the 40th anniversary of the landmark 1986 exhibition, bringing together people who had been involved in the original project.
Alongside '40 jaar Chambres d’Amis', the current program includes Carole Vanderlinden’s 'Keep a promise', Francisca García and Mario Navarro’s 'Unearthed Conversation', 'Joseph Beuys | Wirtschaftswerte: een conservatiegeschiedenis', Narcisse Tordoir’s 'Fake Barok', Aziz Hazara’s 'Bow Echo', and 'Museumplein 05 | Veronika Bezdenejnykh: Images from Home'. The exhibition page gives each of these shows a separate closing date, with several scheduled to remain on view into late summer or early autumn 2026.
The Beuys project signals S.M.A.K.’s continuing interest in the museum life of its collection. In its collection statement, the institution says it aims to create an ongoing exchange between the collection and its artistic programming, regularly highlighting parts of the permanent holdings in relation to the temporary exhibitions. The current presentation of 'Wirtschaftswerte' fits that approach by focusing not only on the work itself but on its conservation history.
'Chambres d’Amis' remains a key reference point for S.M.A.K. and for the museum’s identity in Ghent. In a separate news item, the museum linked the anniversary project to the citywide legacy of the 1986 exhibition and noted that the original show placed Ghent internationally on the art map. The same story also pointed to a related summer initiative in which eight Ghent B&Bs are showing works from S.M.A.K.’s collection, with artists including Lawrence Weiner, Werner Mannaers, Rosemarie Trockel and François Morellet.
S.M.A.K.’s summer public offer extends beyond the gallery halls. Through 30 August 2026, the museum is running family activities under the title 'Zomervakantie in S.M.A.K. 2026', including 'Schatten van Vlieg', which invites children aged 5 to 12 to search for hidden artworks in the building, and a hands-on activity tied to 'Unearthed Conversation' in which children make their own felt composition inspired by the textile work 'Tumba de Arena'. The museum also lists summer camps for children aged 6 to 12 in July and August, with places still available.
