Dogs turn Park Spoor Noord into an open-air art studio for an Antwerp charity project

The dogs did not simply have their paws dipped into open pots of paint. According to AAP vzw, each animal walked with its owner across a protective plastic layer covering one of Vanvoorden’s canvases, adding an individual trace to the composition underneath. An exercise surface let owners see how their dog reacted before taking part, while the animals remained on a lead and entered the working area one at a time.

AAP said water-based paint, water and wipes were available in case any paint reached a paw, although direct contact was not intended. Participants could separately make a small paw-print canvas under supervision; for that activity, a little paint was applied with a roller and cleaned off immediately afterwards. The €35 participation fee also included a professional photograph and a goodie bag, according to the organisation’s booking information.

That controlled format explains why an undertaking that sounds like instant chaos could proceed calmly. Het Nieuwsblad reported that animal-behaviour specialists were present and that dogs unwilling to participate were not forced. AAP’s own guidance had warned owners that a session involving up to 50 dogs, unfamiliar people, movement and a plastic surface would not suit every animal, particularly those that become stressed in busy settings or require considerable personal space.

KMSKA initiated the collaboration as part of its World Animal Day programme, while AAP organised the dog-painting sessions. The museum will exhibit the three completed works on Sunday, 4 October, during “AAP meets KMSKA” at Leopold de Waelplaats 1 in Antwerpen. Afterwards, the large compositions are due to be divided into smaller pieces and sold or auctioned to support AAP’s work, according to the project and museum pages; the exact sales procedure and timing have not yet been published consistently.

AAP, short for Animal Assistance Practice, describes its purpose as bringing people and animals together in care settings, schools, homes and neighbourhoods. Its involvement gives the playful spectacle a social purpose: the dogs’ marks become both a public artwork and a fundraising vehicle for projects intended to foster contact and wellbeing.

The museum programme on 4 October is scheduled from 10:00 to 16:00. KMSKA says the meeting square and activities in its garden will be free, while entry to activities inside the museum will require a valid museum ticket. A separate culinary dog walk will be paid, with proceeds going to AAP. Registration information is being handled through AAP’s website, and prospective visitors should check the current programme before travelling because the museum says further details will be added.

English-speaking residents have a straightforward route through the practical information: KMSKA publishes an English-language World Animal Day page, while AAP’s detailed registration material is primarily in Dutch. On local websites, Antwerpen is both the city and its gemeente, the Dutch term broadly corresponding to the French-speaking Belgian commune. The museum is in the Zuid district rather than at Park Spoor Noord, so visitors should not return to the painting venue on 4 October.

The painting session was an organised event, not a relaxation of the park’s ordinary rules. The City of Antwerp describes Park Spoor Noord as a heavily used urban landscape park serving the Den Dam, Schijnpoort and Seefhoek areas. City guidance says dogs must remain on a lead outside the designated hondenloopzone, or off-lead dog area, and owners must always collect their animals’ waste. Dogs are also excluded from the water-play area.

Those rules matter in a park shared by families, runners, cyclists and sports clubs. Anyone planning a similar public activity must use the City of Antwerp’s event-organisation portal rather than assuming that an informal gathering can occupy part of the park. Questions about its public space can be directed to District Antwerpen’s public-space team through the contact details on the official park page.

The wider significance of the project lies less in whether canine footprints qualify as fine art than in what museums now ask public programmes to do. Here, KMSKA is using participation and humour to lower the threshold around a major cultural institution, while AAP is using the same encounter to introduce its work with people and animals. The result sits comfortably between art project, neighbourhood gathering and charity fundraiser.

There is nevertheless a sensible animal-welfare boundary. Organisers and owners may see a carefully supervised creative activity that offers stimulation and social contact; owners of anxious or reactive dogs may reasonably decide that a crowded session is unnecessary stress. AAP’s instructions place that decision with the person who knows the dog and explicitly treat withdrawal as acceptable.

The next confirmed date is 4 October, when visitors can inspect the collective works at KMSKA and join the World Animal Day programme. What remains unclear is the precise final attendance on 6 September, the size of the completed canvases and the mechanics and prices of the later sale. KMSKA and AAP are the best sources for those updates.