Ards is a network platform aiming to generate and promote knowledge about Western European medieval and Renaissance sculpture. Its goal is to increase the interest from both specialists and the broader public in this segment of Art History.
Ards is also a centre for expertise and documentation as well as a library on medieval sculpture based in M Leuven.
On this website, you can browse through information about museums, collections, research institutes, projects, publications,... that focus on medieval sculpture. You can also find exhibitions and events, in the past, present and future. The database will be continuously updated, so please check back regularly for up-to-date info.
Ards is a project coordinated and funded by M Leuven, with the support of the Flemish Government.
And last, but definitely not least, Willem Ards (ca.1415-1453) was a sculptor from Brussels. His surviving oeuvre consists of altarpieces, retable fragments and architectural sculptures for the city hall of Leuven.
Read the complete Ards mission and vision statement here.