Wannes Wets (°2001) works as a student employee and free collaborator at Illuminare since 2020. His research interests lie in the intersection of art historiography, iconology and art theory.
He obtained his master’s degree in Art History at KU Leuven in 2023. His thesis examined the art historiographical reception of the morphologic methodology of the Dutch-German art historian and linguist André Jolles (1874-1946). During his studies, he was a committed student representative and served as president of the student council CORaaL at the Arts Faculty.
Wannes has worked as an intern in various institutions, including the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Belgium (2022), where he assisted with the two research projects FRIABLE and BePaper, or M Leuven (2019-2021), where he served as one of the youth advisors to the museum. In 2023-2024 he was a visiting student at the centro studi ClassicA (IUAV Università di Venezia) where he assisted in the daily activities of the centre, such as its peer-reviewed journal La Rivista di Engramma and its Seminario Mnemosyne.
In 2021, he participated in the Globalisation Program at the Venice International University. This program brings together talented students in a multicultural, international and interdisciplinary environment, in which they develop their capacity for critical thinking, working across disciplines, creatively embracing new ideas.
At Illuminare, Wannes was involved in the exhibition and publication Imaging the Universe (M Leuven) and the publication Taking Shape: Sculpture of the Low Countries, 1400-1600. He is currently responsible for Illuminare’s social media and website, as well as various editorial and practical tasks. He also assists with the activities of the Iconology Research Group, led by prof dr Barbara Baert.