Jeni x KMSKA: building a legacy and an experience
Anyone who meets Geert Van Stappen immediately senses his entrepreneurial drive as well as his fascination with art and aesthetics. As CEO of Jeni Invest, he leads a family-owned investment group with roots in the Kempen region. In what appears to be an intuitive manner, he is building a diversified enterprise together with his eldest sons, Jens and Niels, including activities in real estate. “In my entrepreneurial journey, I have always wanted to create, not just advise,” Geert says. “Turning a dream into something tangible is what gives me energy.” And it is precisely there that the seed of the partnership with KMSKA lies, as becomes clear from the conversation.
Complementary energy
“With Jeni Real Estate, we have a strong affinity for SMEs and family-owned businesses. It is fantastic to create spaces where SMEs and entrepreneurs can grow,” Geert explains. “At the same time, a society only truly comes alive when—alongside that economic energy—there is also emotional and spiritual energy,” Geert believes.
And that energy, for him, is tangibly present in and around the museum. “The KMSKA is an architectural marvel. The old and the new, everything comes together and is united there in a unique way. No two visits are the same; you always discover new perspectives,” he says.
Light brings insight
Geert lives in Antwerp, within walking distance of the KMSKA. He passes by it at all times of day and never grows tired of looking at the building. “At dusk, you see the full moon rising to the left of the museum, and when you walk past it during the day, the museum is always bathed in a different light.”
He is fascinated by light, by sunrise and sunset, and by moonlight. “Light is vision; light brings insight,” he explains. When asked whether he has a favourite artwork in the museum, he unsurprisingly chooses 'The Great Sun' by Otto Piene. “The fact that the work also contains the colours of the Jeni logo only adds to my love for it,” he says with a smile.
Parallel values
The choice to enter into a partnership with the KMSKA came naturally to Geert. “Art, like entrepreneurship, is about legacy. You preserve something valuable for the future and share it with the community.” The business partners Geert has worked with over the past years are almost without exception art lovers. “Art offers calm, inspiration and beauty. That is what we also want to convey through our company. More than that, we want to actively support it. Thanks to the support of partners, the KMSKA can achieve things that would otherwise not be possible.”
In addition, he sees clear parallels between the values of Jeni and those of the museum: craftsmanship, the pursuit of excellence and refinement. “Art is the most explicit form of craftsmanship. An artist gives everything of themselves and excels. At the same time, through its partner programme, the KMSKA brings people together in an original and stylish way. That is the achievement of the entire team under the leadership of the tandem Carmen Willems and Luc Lemmens. They do so in a particularly refreshing and creative manner.”
Connection and sensuality
For Jeni, the partnership with KMSKA is not symbolic. It is a form of social commitment to support the museum in the democratization of art. As a partner, Jeni also wants to use the museum as a place of encounter and inspiration. “We introduce our team, our clients, and our partners to art, culture, and to one another in a unique way there,” says Geert.
At the same time, he highlights the encounters at Club Fouquet events as a major added value: “Art connects. A work of art sparks conversations you don’t have elsewhere, with people and entrepreneurs you would not otherwise meet. In a time when AI and digitalization are taking up more and more space, encounters, experience, connection, and sensory engagement are becoming increasingly important.”
