A Nomadic Museum
The core tool of the Museum of Capitalism is the pedagogical itinerant exhibition on our cultural-economic system. This interactive exhibition allows the visiting citizens, alone or in groups, to explore societal issues, to become more aware and to express themselves. Though the exhibition is politically engaged, it is not partisan. It’s a tool at the service of the active citizenship, open to the public from 15 years onward.
This bilingual exhibition (French-Dutch) offers an original space for learning about our society through its four thematic rooms; the origins, hopes, limits and alternatives of capitalism. Touching upon themes such as food, health, culture, consumption and finance, this exhibition attempts to spark debate on complex economic issues that shape our lives.
In order to foster spaces for reflection, we recommend visiting the exhibition with a local guide trained specifically to work with the content of the exhibition. Questioning oneself and acquiring keys to understanding the capitalist system is necessary in order to be able to take action. However, we would like to emphasize that there is no linear path. Some people will reflect before taking action, while others will do both at the same time. The same applies to learning.
Given that the exhibition has been conceived to render a visit interactive and participative, the role of the guides is one of accompanying the visitors through the exhibition by means of an ongoing discussion, to help understand the content, and to provoke reflection and animate the visit.
Visiting the exhibition
Visiting the Museum is an excellent opportunity to explore the economic system and its many dimensions, in order to understand its mechanisms and challenges. To do so, four themed rooms are open to you: Origins, Hopes, Limits, Alternatives. These spaces invite you to discover the factors and influences that have contributed, directly or indirectly, to the emergence and development of capitalism as we know it today, while also providing food for thought.
Want to prepare for your visit?
Take a look at the educational file (French only).
Upcoming Stops of the Nomadic Museum
Edition Brabant Wallon
From January till February 2026
Location : Centre Culturel Nivelles
Edition Ath
2026 (dates à confirmer)
Lieu : à confirmer
THE ROOMS
1/ Origins
2/ Hopes
3/ Limits
4/ Alternatives
Origins Room
There is not a single well determined origin to capitalism. Capitalism did not suddenly spring into existence at an exactly definable instance, it is the result of long series of factors, events, theories… Just as for the definitions of capitalism multiple points of view exist regarding the origins of this system.
Hopes Room
Welcome to the room of hopes and expectations. This room present different hopes aroused by capitalism, all in a context of industrial revolution and union struggles.
We explore these hopes through a focus on food, health, work, quality of life, social mobility and globalization. Going back to the aspiration of that time, we get infected by the revelry of the “Trente Glorieuses” where, in the west, everything seemed possible.
Limits Room
Here you are in the Limits Room. Like the Hope Room, various themes are explored through the elements displayed throughout the space. But this time, we are dealing with the price to be paid, the flip side of the promises of the capitalist system.
From agribusiness to climate change and structural inequalities, it’s not uncommon to feel short of breath here. Feel free to explore the topics that intrigue you, and to enrich your thinking by opening up the discussion to those around you!
Consumption Corridor
On the walls: 500 words. Words of things. Things which we possess or desire, which ones do we have few of, and which a lot? Are there any we share? That we offer? Things used and reused?
Alternatives Room
It is important not to stop there, at remarking all the limitations of the system that surrounds us. This last room is different: more airy, it features a large fresco of alternatives in front of which it is possible to gather oneself and take a deep breath.
While the mural presents a series of concrete, small-scale alternatives by sector, the room also mentions other organizational systems. Do we aspire to changes? Which one? How can we implement it? On what scale?
Let’s debate and exchange ideas!