This year the museum will be celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Friends of the S.M.A.K. This association, originally called the Society for the Museum of Contemporary Art (V.M.H.K.), was founded on the initiative of Karel Geirlandt in 1957 and was the driving force behind the genesis of the museum.

The creation of a collection was one of the association’s core activities from the very beginning. Its very first purchase was made in 1958 and this initiated a fine tradition. So S.M.A.K. is taking the opportunity offered by the 60th anniversary of the Friends to highlight several works in the collection that were purchased by them.

After all, their contribution was and still is indispensable to the expansion of the museum’s collection. The presentation will offer an insight into the structure of the collection and into its relationship with the globalised art world.