Ageas showcases its rich Belgian art heritage on the international stage

Ageas is Belgium’s largest insurance group. Next year the company will celebrate its 200th anniversary, a perfect occasion for a partnership with the KMSKA, according to CEO Hans De Cuyper. He explains why.

Why do you consider it important to engage in this kind of partnership?

Hans De Cuyper: “Our four core values are care, dare, share, and deliver. Most of the sponsorship within our group goes to sports, healthy living, and physical activity. For example, AG organizes the Coast Walk, a walking event along the Belgian coastline, and in India we host several marathons every year. Our company also has a strong cycling culture, with many activities and events. Recently, 120 colleagues from AG even climbed a mountain pass in France to raise money for Move For Cancer.

We don’t do any of this for marketing purposes; we want to contribute to society. We insure risks, but I believe we also have a societal role to fulfill.”

Why did you choose KMSKA?

“Our 200th anniversary in 2024 and the international story we are writing – we are now an international group with more than 44,000 employees in 13 countries across Europe and Asia – presented a unique opportunity to showcase our rich Belgian art heritage internationally. We are one of the few Belgian international insurance companies, and our roots lie in Antwerp, where we were founded in 1824. That local grounding is important to us. The KMSKA is therefore a perfect partner.

The museum opens its doors to the general public and reaches out to all segments of society. When I see everything being done to attract and excite children about this not-so-obvious form of art! I find the artistic intervention “The Ten” by Christophe Coppens, with its enlarged details from a painting in the museum, fantastic. You want to be there for the broader society, and that is exactly what we want as well.

As an employer today, you need to offer “a great place to grow.” Employees, especially young people, are no longer satisfied with just a job. They want to be able to grow in what they do, professionally but also personally. I believe that art, and cultivating sensitivity to it, adds enormous value in this regard. Being able to immerse your family in that rich heritage as well. And the KMSKA is a very large and beautiful bath for that.” (laughs)

Even when the museum was still completely empty, I could feel the potential of the renovation. But the decisive moment came when I saw the energy that thrives here. It’s a museum with a lot of tradition and a treasure trove of old works, yet approached in a fresh way. It reminds me of the museums in London, Paris, or New York, which I sometimes visit on business trips. Those museums are no longer static; there is always something new to experience. They are inspiring places you constantly want to return to.”

What is your favourite work from the collection?

“When I walked through the museum’s white galleries again before this interview, my eye landed on 'Snow in Flanders' by the Belgian painter Valerius De Saedeleer. The painting has a special light that immediately caught my attention. As I got closer, I saw a beautiful work: very Flemish, yet with some modernist touches, even though it dates back to 1928.

At the same time, I also recognized Asian elements in it. I lived in Asia for ten years to grow our business there. The snow reminds me of a typical Flemish winter landscape, but the warm sun evokes memories of the rising sun in the East. In that way, it fits perfectly with Ageas. The painting technique of the trees reminds me of Chinese painting, almost calligraphic.

I hadn’t known him before, but I discovered more works by De Saedeleer that charmed me: sober and basic, powerful without being overly grandiose. That also resonates with our company. We want to be there for everyone. Without much fuss, but always with quality.”

What is your company most looking forward to during this partnership?

“In 2024 we will be celebrating our 200th anniversary. In June, we will celebrate for an entire month. Leading up to that, we are offering our employees a daily challenge for 200 days to kick off the celebrations. It would be fun to link one of those challenges to the KMSKA.

We are present in four European countries and nine Asian countries. For our anniversary celebrations, we are inviting all our international colleagues and connections to Belgium to join in the festivities. I hope that together with the KMSKA we can organize many beautiful and inspiring activities for all our partners. I can already sense a lot of enthusiasm among our people. And for the museum itself, it’s of course great publicity to have all those international guests visiting. Among our partners in Asia, there are quite a few art lovers, collectors even. It would be fantastic to exchange ideas and bring that international art to Flanders.”

Text: Yurek Onzia