Millennium Iconoclast Museum of Art, Contemporary art museum in Molenbeek, Belgium
The Millennium Iconoclast Museum of Art occupied the former Belle-Vue Brewery at 41, quai du Hainaut in Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, a four-storey red-brick building of 1916 on the Brussels–Charleroi Canal. Its 1,300 m² held eight exhibition rooms, and white lettering on the facade read "MIMA" and "MUSEUM RESTAURANT SHOP" above a dark-framed glass entrance.
The museum opened in 2016, transforming a former 1916 brewery building that had stood along the canal for decades. Its creation resulted from a partnership between a developer and a group of art collectors who shared a vision for the space.
MIMA took its name from the Millennium Iconoclast Museum of Art, and its programme drew on 21st-century urban culture: punk rock, electro, hip-hop, folk, cinema, graphic arts, fashion, tattoo and board sports. Exhibitions paired street artists such as Invader and FAILE with poster archives and art brut, and a 2023 show staged boxing matches inside the museum.
The museum closed permanently on 5 January 2025, so visits are no longer possible. Until then, a pedestrian footbridge over the canal, opened in 2021, linked the City of Brussels side directly to the entrance at 41 quai du Hainaut. The closure followed the shutdown of the quai for repairs.
The museum's name, Millennium Iconoclast Museum of Art, was chosen by founders Alice van den Abeele and Raphaël Cruyt, who launched the non-profit project to fill a gap in Belgium's public contemporary art offering. The building at 41 quai du Hainaut dates from 1916 and once belonged to the Belle-Vue breweries.
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