Stay at Home Museum: Flanders' virtual cultural initiative during lockdown

During the COVID-19 lockdown, VisitFlanders launched the Stay at Home Museum, a coordinated, multilingual virtual tour program allowing remote access to Flemish cultural heritage. The initiative featured weekly online events, including a Facebook Live tour of the Van Eyck, An Optical Revolution exhibition at MSK Ghent with co-curator Till-Holger Borchert and expert Frederica Van Dam, after the physical show was forced to close despite being sold out. Other highlights included a guided tour of Pieter Bruegel's Fall of the Rebel Angels at the Royal Fine Arts Museum of Brussels with director Michel Draguet, a visit to the Rubenshuis in Antwerp with director Ben Van Beneden exploring the artist's home and studio, a portrait of James Ensor at Mu.ZEE in Ostend with curator Mieke Mels, and a tour of the Renaissance Hof van Busleyden palace in Mechelen, associated with patron Hieronymus van Busleyden and figures like Thomas More and Erasmus. The program was promoted under the motto: "Our museums may be closed, but our passion for the Flemish masters burns unaltered," stated by VisitFlanders CEO Peter De Wilde. All events were streamed live and later made available on YouTube.