More than two million people sailed to the United States on the ocean liners of the Red Star Line from 1873 to 1934. This museum, housed in three listed historical buildings of the shipping company in Antwerp in Belgium, tells their story.
The €16.9m development sees visitors follow in the footsteps of those who left Europe in search of a better life on the other side of the Atlantic. Two ships carrying up to 1,500 passengers each sailed every week in the heyday of the Red Star Line.
The stories of famous passengers, such as the scientist Albert Einstein and composer Irving Berlin, are told alongside the experiences of ordinary people. The museum also follows Antwerp’s history as a city and a major port.
American tourists, many of whom might be descendents of those who set off from Antwerp on a Red Star Line ship, are an important part of the audience.
The museum is part of a wider project to the renew the Montevideo district of Antwerp.
How did the idea for the museum come about?
Luc Verheyen: It was originally a way of saving the buildings of the Red Star Line in Antwerp. If they were to be safeguarded and open to the public, we thought we should tell people about the historical significance of the place and its importance now.
What were the main challenges of the project?
We had access to lots of collections from the Red Star Line such as artworks; advertising material, including vintage posters; shipping models; and so on but we had almost no stories of the passengers documented. So we have been working on trying to tell the story of the people who travelled on the Red Star ships. We now have more than 400 stories documented and this work will continue following the opening of the museum.
Were you inspired by any other museums about human migration?
We have been working intensively with Ellis Island Immigration Museum in New York and we are part of two networks [the Association of European Migration Institutions and the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience] where we have had discussions with colleagues. We want to continue these conversations.
Why was the architect Beyer Blinder Belle chosen?
The fact that the practice had done the Ellis Island museum helped them a lot but they were selected for their proposals for this site. The way Beyer Blinder Belle look at the project is that the buildings are the main collection item, which is true.
How did working with the exhibition designer Christophe Gaeta come about?
Beyer Blinder Belle had started work on the interiors and that is when we discussed with them the need to employ a European museographer to bring a European perspective to the project. I’m really happy with the result.
How are the personal stories told?
In a variety ways. Sometimes it is through an object or a few objects. One Belgian family emigrated to Canada along with a two-kilo iron that they used to make Belgian waffles. It’s funny to see that people brought such things. We also use a lot of multimedia, touchscreens and film. We have a large collection of letters and all of them can be accessed on touchscreens.
What is the most innovative element of the project?
To make the story relevant to today we asked three contemporary artists – a poet, a photographer and a visual artist – to interpret the historic story. They have created three ways of looking at the story from their personal viewpoint and we have given them quite a bit of space to do that.
The €16.9m development sees visitors follow in the footsteps of those who left Europe in search of a better life on the other side of the Atlantic. Two ships carrying up to 1,500 passengers each sailed every week in the heyday of the Red Star Line.
The stories of famous passengers, such as the scientist Albert Einstein and composer Irving Berlin, are told alongside the experiences of ordinary people. The museum also follows Antwerp’s history as a city and a major port.
American tourists, many of whom might be descendents of those who set off from Antwerp on a Red Star Line ship, are an important part of the audience.
The museum is part of a wider project to the renew the Montevideo district of Antwerp.
How did the idea for the museum come about?
Luc Verheyen: It was originally a way of saving the buildings of the Red Star Line in Antwerp. If they were to be safeguarded and open to the public, we thought we should tell people about the historical significance of the place and its importance now.
What were the main challenges of the project?
We had access to lots of collections from the Red Star Line such as artworks; advertising material, including vintage posters; shipping models; and so on but we had almost no stories of the passengers documented. So we have been working on trying to tell the story of the people who travelled on the Red Star ships. We now have more than 400 stories documented and this work will continue following the opening of the museum.
Were you inspired by any other museums about human migration?
We have been working intensively with Ellis Island Immigration Museum in New York and we are part of two networks [the Association of European Migration Institutions and the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience] where we have had discussions with colleagues. We want to continue these conversations.
Why was the architect Beyer Blinder Belle chosen?
The fact that the practice had done the Ellis Island museum helped them a lot but they were selected for their proposals for this site. The way Beyer Blinder Belle look at the project is that the buildings are the main collection item, which is true.
How did working with the exhibition designer Christophe Gaeta come about?
Beyer Blinder Belle had started work on the interiors and that is when we discussed with them the need to employ a European museographer to bring a European perspective to the project. I’m really happy with the result.
How are the personal stories told?
In a variety ways. Sometimes it is through an object or a few objects. One Belgian family emigrated to Canada along with a two-kilo iron that they used to make Belgian waffles. It’s funny to see that people brought such things. We also use a lot of multimedia, touchscreens and film. We have a large collection of letters and all of them can be accessed on touchscreens.
What is the most innovative element of the project?
To make the story relevant to today we asked three contemporary artists – a poet, a photographer and a visual artist – to interpret the historic story. They have created three ways of looking at the story from their personal viewpoint and we have given them quite a bit of space to do that.
Project data
- Cost €16.9m
- Main funders City of Antwerp; Flemish government; CMB
- Project coordinator City of Antwerp
- Architect Beyer Blinder Belle
- Exhibition consultant Christophe Gaeta
