Delen Private Bank x KMSKA: art as an essential part
When you enter a Delen Private Bank office, you step into a universe where homeliness, trust, aesthetics, and art are central. The warm interior, featuring carefully selected artworks, was a crucial condition for Marie-Alix Delen at the time. Her daughter Anne-Sophie continues this approach in a natural way. It is no surprise that Delen established an internal art committee to oversee the proper and consistent implementation of the bank’s art policy.
Today, we are sitting around the table with the Delen Art Committee: Anne-Sophie Delen (head of Interior & Art Projects and Marketing), Filips De Ferm (advisor to the executive committee and passionate art connoisseur-collector), and Marie Genicot (Art Director). The topic of discussion: the structural partnership between Delen Private Bank and what they fondly call the most beautiful museum, the KMSKA. But what makes this partnership so special for Delen?
Partnership brings dynamism
“Delen Private Bank chooses to engage in long-term partnerships rather than acquire a large art collection,” says Filips De Ferm. “A strong partnership creates dynamism and fosters continuous renewal and dialogue.”
“With the KMSKA, there is a strong, natural match. Delen’s art policy is not merely a function of our growth strategy. Art is an essential part of who we are. That passion is in our DNA, and we can clearly see it reflected at the KMSKA. The partnership with the KMSKA fits Delen perfectly,” explains Anne-Sophie Delen.
“People can feel that our passion for art is genuine,” she says. “By sharing that love with our clients, we strike a chord and create a sense of connection. This goes far beyond managing their wealth. They become part of a close-knit community.”
Anne-Sophie Delen, Filips De Ferm, and Marie Genicot
Dining in the Rubens Room
And that community can be taken quite literally. In the fall of 2023, the bank launched the Delen Art Circle, a select group of art lovers and connoisseurs who meet through inspiring masterclasses and exclusive events.
“For the launch of the Delen Art Circle, we gained access to the Rubens Room, where we hosted a dinner with our guests,” says Marie Genicot. “That evening resonated with everyone for a long time afterward. Unique experiences like this are invaluable, and that is exactly what makes the partnership with the museum so special.”
In recent years, Delen has also organized two exclusive evenings for Delen clients: at the opening of the KMSKA and during the Ensor exhibition. “Without the partnership, that would not have been possible,” says Marie.
Not a dusty place
Filips admires the museum’s approach: “The dynamism emanating from Carmen Willems and her team is impressive. Experience takes priority. Some might consider this approach too populist, but I see it as a positive evolution. Museums are no longer dusty places. As long as the expertise remains, it only enriches the experience.”
Marie also finds the innovative approach inspiring: “The dromedary in the Rubens Room or the beach cabin at the Ensor exhibition – such unusual elements increase interaction, especially among young people.”
Dialogues between artists
For Anne-Sophie, the thematic rooms are a bullseye: “Old masters and modern artists side by side – it surprises and sparks conversation. Why are these two placed next to each other? That’s how you discover art you might otherwise overlook.”
Filips spontaneously recalls the combination of Permeke and Verheyen: “That was phenomenal. I still get chills thinking about it. Dialogues like these between artists really bring art to life.”
Collective memory and entrepreneurial spirit
The link between the bank and the museum goes beyond a shared love of art. Both view art as a collective memory, a bridge between generations. “We see it as our social responsibility to help preserve heritage,” says Anne-Sophie. “Especially now, as public funding for culture continues to decline.”
The KMSKA’s entrepreneurial spirit is also met with enthusiasm at Delen Private Bank. Anne-Sophie adds: “KMSKA launches wonderful initiatives, such as KMSKA LAAT on Thursday evenings, or the techno event ‘Keinevision’ in the entrance hall for charity. There are initiatives with the Port of Antwerp as well. They truly reach out to all generations.”
KMSKA beyond the walls
The partnership will continue enthusiastically and without interruption in the coming years. In 2026, Delen will take the KMSKA “on tour,” beyond the museum walls, with its own space at the Delen stand, alongside other museum partners.
In this way, the partnership itself becomes an ongoing dialogue: between past and future, between art and society. And always with the shared commitment to experience art widely and preserve it for future generations.
