KIK-IRPA's news

Hilde De Clercq has been appointed general director of the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage (KIK-IRPA). She continues her work of the past six years with great enthusiasm and outstanding commitment.

Director Nina Degraeve had the opportunity to meet with our experts for a documentary film on the 75th anniversary of the Institute, with the help of Belspo. The film has been shot and is expected to be delivered in the summer.

On 2 and 3 March 2023, the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage opened its doors to nearly 1600 visitors who came to discover more about our unique interdisciplinary institute, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year.

Contrary to initial research assumptions, the fourteenth-century statue of Saint Catherine of Alexandria turns out to be made of marble and not alabaster. The statue has been recognised as a Masterpiece by the Flemish Community and is currently one of the highlights of the 'Alabaster' exhibition at M Leuven.

In 2023, the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage is celebrating its 75th anniversary. Come and join us for the anniversary celebration of this unique institution in Belgium. Visit KIK-IRPA during the open day on 2 March and expect many surprises!

The altarpiece from the church of San Nazaro Maggiore in Milan, attributed to the Brussels sculptor Jan II Borman, has been restored to its original magnificent polychromy by the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage.

The Holy Family, an authentic and rare work of Jacques Jordaens youth period, discovered in the town hall of Saint-Gilles (Brussels), unveiled in the museum after more than a year of restoration. The painting, which is more than 400 years old, has benefited from an extensive restoration campaign at IRPA, financed by urban.brussels, as part of its new competences in the field of movable heritage.

AGATO is an online decision support tool for heritage collection managers focused on properly preserving mixed-media historical objects. It guides the user in assessing the risks to which a collection item is exposed and provides recommendations to prevent future damage and improve conservation conditions.

The Grammont Breviary, a significant piece of Belgian heritage preserved in Maredsous, is now available online in three different languages on a special website. The Breviarium project is the result of a synergy between the Royal Institute of Cultural Heritage and the KU Leuven.

On Wednesday 7 September 2022, the painting "Virgin and Child surrounded by saints" by Pieter Paul Rubens was successfully transported to the Institute. An interdisciplinary conservation-restoration project will now begin at the Institute.

Our BALaT database offers more than 850,000 photos of Belgian cultural heritage free of charge. To better share our knowledge, various teams are tasked with collecting, preserving and digitising images from multiple supports. We met Sander Raes, digitisation expert in the DIGIT unit at KIK-IRPA.