Bram Beelaert strengthens CAVA as new coordinator

Bram was involved from the very beginning of the Red Star Line Museum in Antwerp. Even before its opening in 2013, he helped build the museum—first as a researcher and later as a curator—shaping a place that made migration stories tangible and open for discussion. “I mainly bring experience in team management,” he explains. “But also experience of working in a strongly values-driven environment, within a distinctly learning organisation. That way of working is something I want to further develop here at CAVA as well.”

"A dull archive with paper and photographs? Think again"

What drew them to CAVA and the VUB is clear: free-thinking and independent minds, a critical spirit, and the courage to go against the current. “We are part of an academic tradition of free inquiry and shared knowledge,” Bram says. “That tradition is under pressure today. To actively protect it, we need to preserve sources that document this tradition for future generations — and make them visible already now.”

After three months at CAVA, one thing stood out in particular: the richness of the collections. “A dull archive of paper and photographs? Think again,” he laughs. “We work with art collections, cartoons, computers from the pioneering days of AI… and yes, even a full-sized pink guillotine.”

In the coming years, Bram wants to focus on three clear priorities: strong and open teamwork, further digital development, and a new policy and collection plan to prepare CAVA for the future. Always with the same goal in mind: positioning CAVA as a competent, driven and accessible partner for researchers, students and colleagues.