Michel Draguet
[7] Between August 2010 and February 2014, Michel Draguet was also designated by the Minister in Charge of Federal Science Policy as Acting Director of the Royal Museums of Art and History.
[12] In 2023, Draguet stepped down after staff raised allegations that he had cultivated a toxic work environment, marked by harassment, sexism, racism, and other issues [13].
From the beginning of his studies till 1990, he worked closely with Philippe Robert-Jones, Chief Curator of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, initially as an assistant and, from 1990, as a colleague.
With Philippe Roberts-Jones, Michel Draguet published books and catalogues[17] and managed exhibitions dedicated to Abstract Art in Belgium and to a famous Belgian sculptor André Willequet.
[20] In 2005, Michel Draguet is designated as Chief Curator of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium for a first mandate of 6 years.
[42] Draguet is also the author and curator of shows dedicated to contemporary artists like Thierry de Cordier,[43] Hiroshi Sugimoto[44] or Andres Serrano.
He published a large number of exhibition catalogues and a wide spectrum of other writings on modern and contemporary art, on museum management, and lectured extensively on these subjects as well.
Since its creation, this museum, measuring 2500 m2, has welcomed more than two million visitors and thus contributed to the economic and cultural development of the Belgian capital.
Famous visual artists like Constantin Meunier, James Ensor, Henri Evenepoel, Fernand Khnopff, Léon Spilliaert and Georges Minne testify to the effervescent activity of this period, reflected also in all other creative fields: literature, opera, music, architecture, photography and poetry (Maurice Maeterlinck, Emile Verhaeren, Octave Maus, Victor Horta, Henry Van de Velde, Maurice Kufferath, Guillaume Lekeu and others).
Located at the heart of Brussels, where between 1884 and 1914 the exhibitions of Les XX and La Libre Esthétique made the city one of the artistic capitals of the late 19th century, this museum is distinguished by its multidisciplinary nature, through a partnership formed with the Royal Library, the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, the Royal Museums of Art and History, Cinematek, the Bibliotheca Wittockiana, the King Baudouin Foundation and the Brussels Capital Region for housing the Gillion Crowet collection, which is one of the museum's highlights.
Michel Draguet also initiate a highly popular yet challenging exhibition program from ancient masters to contemporary art mounting up to eight major shows per year.
He placed permanent installation of contemporary artist inside the OldMasters department like David Altmejd or Jan Fabre.
While the artist and his paintings are instantly recognizable worldwide, every composition also depicts a whole host of characters - some surprising, others familiar - and vignettes that provide the subtext of history, which are masterpieces worthy of exploration in their own right.
Drawing on a wide spectrum of virtual and on-site experiences, this unique initiative offers everyone the chance to immerse themselves in Bruegel's works by honing in on the details of each painting and accessing expert knowledge.
By delving deeper into the artist's world, the viewer will discover the unexpected elements in Bruegel's works which constitute the pinnacle of the Flemish master's craft.
The Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium launched this project jointly with the Google Cultural Institute in anticipation of the 450thanniversary of Bruegel's death, in 2019.
Unseen Masterpieces virtual exhibitions' can be accessed on the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium's interactive screens, on their mobile app and on the Google Cultural Institute platform.
The home of the former would house collections of a more universalist nature, on the model of the Louvre and British Museum, and that of the latter would offer a more "national" foundation that broadens to embrace a European dynamic comprising the very future of Brussels as the capital of what is today a common space.
Merged, the two institutions would increase their attractiveness to the public: by reorganizing the presentation of the collections between the different institutions; by creating poles of scientific excellence based on the strong points of the collections; by creating new museum entities that offer a new dimension for marketing the city of Brussels; and by rationalizing the teams and practices employed.
[54] Without initiative from the politics and considering that his Secretary of State was not supporting the reforme led by him and by the chairman of Belspo Philippe Mettens, Michel Draguet decided to step down in April 2014.
