The Open-Air museum

The idea of setting up an open-air museum in the Sart Tilman arose simultaneously with the area’s first development projects. Academic officials and the architects in charge of the different buildings worked in close cooperation with several contemporary artists from 1965 onwards, with a view to creating harmonious links between buildings, art works and the natural environment.

Essentially focused on contemporary sculpture and monumental painting, the Museum was officially opened in 1977. It now includes nearly 120 works – among which about thirty indoor works – fitting well with the campus.

L’Ange Vert (The Green Angel), a ceramic sculpture by Freddy Wybaux, and Déplacement dans le temps et dans l’espace (Move in Time and Space), a stainless steel composition by Thierry Bontridder, have pride of place in the path from the car park to the Castle.

On arriving at the Castle, visitors are struck by La Joie de vivre (Joy of Life), also called La Vierge folle (The Mad Virgin), a bronze sculpture by Rik Wouters, defying the laws of gravity.

Inside the building, guests will admire L’Arbre laïque (The Secular Tree) by Marcel Mariën, Pierre Caille’s ceramic and wooden Trinité (Trinity), Olivier Strebelle’s bronze L’Homme (Man) and Jean Willame’s Belgian granite Hibou (Owl).

The area around the Castle frequently hosts sculpture and contemporary composition exhibitions. The place’s spirit is indeed propitious for the intimate experience of art.