<br/>Photo: Russell Gera / The townhouse in which HoMu BKLYN occupies the top floor 
The townhouse in which HoMu BKLYN occupies the top floor
Photo: Russell Gera

HoMu BKLYN (2005-2007)

In early 2005, Filip Noterdaeme and his partner Daniel Isengart created a showcase for the Homeless Museum in their two-bedroom rental apartment located on the top floor of a brownstone in Brooklyn Heights. The two artists outfitted their home with all the trappings of a fully functional cultural institution, including a guided audio tour, a museum café, and a shop. To lampoon the name the Museum of Modern Art had been using for its outpost in Queens (MoMA QNS), Noterdaeme named his home-museum HoMu BKLYN.

HoMu BKLYN was officially inaugurated on March 13, 2005, as part of a special event sponsored by the Armory Show and co-hosted by the Swiss Institute Contemporary Art. For the opening, Noterdaeme took on the role of his alter ego, the madcap Museum Director, while Isengart portrayed geisha Madame Butterfly, the museum's hostess and official Director of Development.

For the next two years, Noterdaeme and Isengart held monthly openings at the live-in museum. In March 2007, Noterdaeme, pressured by his landlord, agreed to close HoMu BKLYN to the public. He subsequently installed two mannequins in the apartment to make up for the lack of real visitors.

Noterdaeme continues to use his residence as HoMu's headquarters and private showcase. Affiliates from cultural institutions and members of the press may request a visit by sending an email to info@homelessmuseum.org.

See how Noterdaeme and Isengart transformed every inch of their fifth-floor walk-up into a museum:

This is HoMu BKLYN ( a video impression of HoMu BKLYN, 2007)
Main Hall
Morgue & Library
Wurlitzer Atrium
Café Broodthaers
Curatorial Department
Staff and Security Department
Chicken Wing
Archives and Meteorology Department
HoMu Shop
Membership Department

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