Connecting art, nature and health

Dreaming of connection

Since 2023, the Middelheimmuseum, the University Centre for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (UKJA) at ZAS Middelheim, the University of Antwerp and the City of Antwerp have been working together. Our shared ambition: to connect the hospital and the museum. Together, we are creating a new entrance to the sculpture park from the hospital site.

This will make the museum far more accessible to the neighbourhood — for students, residents of care homes, and the young patients of UKJA, along with their families, friends and caregivers. Many of them do not easily find their way to the museum.

Gateway to imagination

A new passageway will be created in the tall fence between UKJA and the museum. Not just an ordinary gate, but an impressive portal designed especially for children and young people — complete with a safe boardwalk leading towards it.

Around it, new meeting spaces, nature zones and hammocks will invite visitors to connect: with themselves, with others and with nature.

Preparatory work

We organised creative sessions with young patients and caregivers from UKJA.
We designed the new meeting place through co-creation.
We installed an experimental gateway and invited feedback from the neighbourhood.
We launched an art commission for the portal and boardwalk.
We commissioned a creative project to document the process.
We started a Learning Network bringing together different sectors.

Breaking ground

In April 2025, we obtained the environmental permit. Construction works started in October. Between the hospital and the museum’s East Zone, three new areas are being created.

The square in front of the UKJA entrance (1) will become a welcoming green space. A new boardwalk with portal (2) will guide visitors towards an imaginative gateway. Along the path, meeting spots with benches and hammocks will invite people to pause and connect.

Art commission

A new portal will mark the boundary between the museum and the hospital. For this special permanent artwork, we launched an international art commission.

The commission consists of two parts: a visual and/or tactile guide running along the full length of the short path, and a “portal” that serves as a new entrance gate, which can be closed when the museum shuts for the day.

Portal with salamanders

The winning concept was created by Monster Chetwynd. She designed a new gateway straight out of a science fiction film: a large ring that invites visitors to step into another world. Along the way, salamanders guide the path — symbols of resilience and renewal. They move effortlessly between water and land, much like we move between vulnerability and strength.

For Salamander Portal (2026), the artist drew inspiration from the co-creation process with the children and young people of UKJA. Their creativity helped shape the final work. The new artwork is realised with the support of the Middelheim Promotors.

Monster Chetwynd

British performance artist Monster Chetwynd is known for her playful, theatrical and often absurdist works featuring costumes and monumental sets. In her installations, she pays particular attention to the importance of mental wellbeing.

These characteristic elements also appear in Salamander Portal (2026). The new permanent artwork welcomes every visitor while immediately sparking the imagination. The installation forms the starting point of the summer exhibition A Friends Making Machine (16 May — 11 October 2026).

Sarah & Charles, Puppetry & Puppets (2019). Foto: © Coccolarte

Playtime

Passing through the portal, visitors enter the Contact Planes Zone of the sculpture park. Here, artworks can be touched, entered and even played with. In 2025, two additional works from the collection were installed in this area: One Minute Sculpture (2011) by Erwin Wurm and Projet pour un Jardin (2016) by Roman Signer.

The outdoor puppet theatre by Sarah & Charles (Puppetry & Puppets, 2019) also offers plenty of room for play and imagination.

Design through co-creation

Never before has the museum developed such an extensive co-creation project. Co-creation is a form of collaboration in which all participants influence the process, from the first ideas to the final result.

The place, path and portal were designed together with ZAS (UKJA) and the University of Antwerp. In every design phase, the children had the final say.
We also involved caregivers and therapists, heritage professionals and visitors, university departments and city services.
As part of the Flemish campaign Together Resilient: Make Time for Mental Health (1–10 October 2025), we also developed a ten-day public programme.

Learning Network

This project set many things in motion among the partners involved. New insights continually sparked new initiatives to further explore different paths. On 3 October, for example, we brought together artists, researchers, healthcare and wellbeing professionals, policymakers and cultural workers for a study day on the relationship between art, nature and mental wellbeing.

The day concluded with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding. This officially launched a Learning Network between the Middelheimmuseum, the University of Antwerp and ZAS, focused on knowledge sharing, research, education and social impact.

Documenting the process

The many collaborations within this project continue to open new doors and generate new insights. That is why we want to document the entire process through the eyes of a storytelling artist.

Audio maker Adriaan Severins created an audio installation 'I'm Listening" for the project. A live version of this musical artwork will be performed during the inauguration of the new portal.

To be continued

Over the past few years, we have taken major steps forward. Many ideas have been transformed into concrete plans, together with carefully selected partners. The project is becoming increasingly visible now: through the development of the new zone and walkway, the creation of the new portal, and new activities within our programme.

Discover the work of Monster Chetwynd in the new summer exhibition, from 16 May to 11 October 2026.