Flemish subsidies for new reception pavilion in Africa Museum

The Royal Museum for Central Africa in Tervuren is to receive €550,000 from the Flemish government for the construction of a new reception pavilion. The grant comes shortly after the federal government last week announced it will impose heavy budget cuts on the museum, as well as other Brussels cultural institutions.

The Africa Museum is one of 11 Brussels cultural institutions that will see their budgets shrink from next year. The Africa Museum will have to make do with 30% less budget for operations, 20% of which will disappear next year, equating to a loss of more than €1 million in 2015.

The recent grant from the Flemish government is independent of these savings. Museum director Guido Gryseels told Het Nieuwsblad that he is satisfied with the grant, even though the museum had not in fact requested the additional funds.

The money will be used to build a new reception pavilion, which is part of the large-scale renovation of the Africa Museum due for completion in 2017. The museum aims to attract more visitors from abroad with the inclusion of a multilingual welcome feature in the new reception pavilion.