(UN)COMMON VALUES: The contemporary art collection of the National Bank of Belgium is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a joint exhibition with Banco de España

After the successful exhibition "Building a Dialogue" (2019) that brought together pieces out of the National Bank of Belgium and the Deutsche Bundesbank's art collections, the NBB's contemporary art collection is celebrating its golden jubilee with a new exhibition: (UN)COMMON VALUES. Two Corporate Collections of Contemporary Art.

International, Spanish and Belgian artists

In (UN)COMMON VALUES, we will explore how the artworks reflect the changes in society, mirror the various perceptions of generations and embrace the kaleidoscopic world we live in.

Internationally renowned artists like Wolfgang Tillmans, Helena Almeida, Candida Höfer and Jonathan Monk will be joined by Spanish classics such as Rogelio López Cuenca, Sara Ramo, Daniel García Andùjar and famous Belgian artists among which Michaël Borremans, Peter Buggenhout, Jacqueline Mesmaeker, Jacques Charlier and Emmanuel Van der Auwera.

The exhibition will be inaugurated in May and run throughout the summer. Entrance is free.

The NBB's collection: more than 2 000 artworks

The interest our exhibition back in 2019 attracted - visited by no less than 7 000 people - confirms the public's curiosity regarding corporate collections. Created as part of the National Bank of Belgium's patronage policy, which provides permanent support for artistic creation in Belgium, the collection regularly seeks opportunities to open its doors to the public.

50 years of art collecting is a milestone for the NBB's art collection. The consequent development of a collection that evolves with its company and over time, is a long-term task. Today, the collection gives an interesting oversight of artistic creation over a period of five decades on Belgian soil with more than 2 000 works of art from exceptionally talented artists.