Agenda
FESTIVAL
Doomsday
Summer is officially over and with it the festival season. Still there are kicks to be had, be they in the immediate wake of this past weekend’s autumnal equinox or even on that shortest day of the year, the winter solstice. That is precisely when Antwerp’s clubbing community celebrates the end of the world. The “alternative” dance music festival Doomsday brings together several electronic genres in four of Antwerp Expo’s massive rooms. This second edition features international names like Hazard, Pendulum and veteran German minimal DJ Sven Väth. This last is a true analogue purist who has resisted the encroachment of CDs and laptops on the vinyl record’s sovereign territory. Last month Doomsday organisers reportedly sold out a limited clutch of early bird passes, so get those regular tickets while you still can. Georgio Valentino
21 December
Antwerp Expo
More festivals this week
Antwerp
Anthem Festival: Free music festival featuring reggae, dance and dub on two stages
SEP 28 14.00 at De Coninckplein, De Coninckplein 25
www.permeke.org/nl/event/4355/anthem-events
Brussels
Bozar Electronic Arts Festival: Electronic culture at its finest, featuring top acts, audiovisual
installations, workshops and digital creations
SEP 26-28 at Bozar, Ravensteinstraat 23
www.checkthis.com/beaf2013
Fêtes Romanes:Street theatre festival featuring more than 20 companies, plus exhibitions,
workshops and more
SEP 28-29 at CC Wolubilis, Paul-Henri Spaakplein 1
www.wolubilis.be
FILM
Dames Draaien
Inspired by the 2010 Compostela Declaration, a collective statement calling for an end to gender
bias in the boy’s club that is the European audiovisual sector, the organisers of Dames Draaien put together an annual programme celebrating women’s contributions to the field, here in Brussels and worldwide. Indeed, some of this year’s cinema comes from as far afield as Iceland, India, Georgia and China. Some two dozen shorts, features and documentaries are screened across four days. Special events include q&a sessions with the directors, after-parties, a student film prize, a master class with Belgian producer Arlette Zylberberg and a retrospective of the work of late Swiss video pioneer Carole Roussopoulos.GV
26-29 September
Botanique, Brussels
More Film this week
Brussels
Family Friendly Films: Magical films for the whole family on occasional Sundays, including
The Polar Express, Charlie Chaplin’s The Kid and The Little Polar Bear 2, plus a monthly
cinematography workshop for kids
Until FEB 2 at Bozar, Ravensteinstraat 23
www.bozar.be
Animazaterdagen: A series of animated films selected for a young audience on occasional
Saturdays, followed by performances and workshops on animation techniques
Until MAR 15 2014 at Flagey, Heilig Kruisplein
www.flagey.be
VISUAL ARTS
Transformation
Gene Roddenberry was right, in a sense: space is the final frontier. No,
De Markten’s current exhibition doesn’t follow the crew of the Starship
Enterprise where no man has gone before, but rather explores the
spaces in which we live and work every day. Six contemporary Flemish
and international artists present new work that explores space from
different angles. Swiss painter Niele Toroni provides the theoretical
frame by applying French philosopher Roland Barthes’ concept of
the pure “zero degree” of expression. Flemish artist Gertjan Bisschop
explores the abstract geometry of space. Paul Gees of East Flanders
plays with two of the basic raw materials used to create and divide
human space: wood and stone (pictured). Appropriately enough,
this exhibition can’t be contained by the space of the gallery, and
encompasses installations in several Brussels metro stations (guided
tour on 19 October). GV
Until 27 October
De Markten, Brussels
Bruges
Guido & Cordelia: Donated works that shed light on the relationship between influential Flemish writer and poet Guido Gezelle and his personal assistant Cordelia
Until JAN 19 at Gezellemuseum, Rolweg 64
www.museabrugge.be
Brussels
Sculpture After 1945: A selection of sculpture that reflects important developments in the genre
Until MAR 9 at Royal Museums of Fine Arts, Museumstraat 9
www.fine-arts-museum.be
Will Eisner: From The Spirit to the Graphic Novel: A collection of documents that pay homage to one of the founders of the modern comic strip, American illustrator Will Eisner
Until MAR 2 at Belgian Comic Strip Center, Zandstraat 20
www.stripmuseum.be
Hingene (Antwerp province)
Vrouwen met Stijl (Women with Style): Work by four amateur painters of noble blood: Antonine de Mun, Duchess of Ursel, her grandmother Emilie, her mother Pauline and her daughter Henriëtte
Until NOV 24 at Kasteel d’Ursel, Wolfgang d’Urselstraat 9
www.kasteeldursel.be
SPECIAL EVENT
Eilandfestival
Antwerp’s Eilandje, once a busy port zone and now a trendy urban neighbourhood, is the site of the inaugural edition of the Eilandfestival. The event coincides with the grand opening of the Red Star Line Museum (see cover story) so the theme is what was on the mind of the passenger boats’ emigrants: “The Pursuit of Happiness.” Literature, performance and gastronomy are the festival’s triple focus. Cult American author Donna Tartt presents her new novel The Goldfinch. Flemish musician and filmmaker Tom Barman (pictured) discusses his latest book and his grandfather, who was a captain on the Red Star Line. Dutch author Tommy Wieringa and others read from their work. Theatremaker Bart Van Nuffelen and his troupe MartHa!tentatief perform a special piece Dinska Bronska inspired by the Red Star Line’s transatlantic crossing. Without forgetting the nosh: American burgers, Japanese yakitori, French wine and more. GV
28-29 September
’t Eilandje, Antwerp
More special events this week
Bassevelde (East Flanders)
Ezelsstoet (Donkey Parade): Traditional parade in honour of the nickname ezels used to describe residents of Bassevelde, who used to bring the grain from their many windmills to Ghent by donkey
SEP 29 13.00 across Bassevelde
www.ezelsstoet.bassevelde.com
Bruges
Kookeet: Culinary festival featuring star chef Geert Van Hecke of De Karmeliet and 29 more of Bruges’ top chefs who give you the chance to taste their hapjes and watch cooking demonstrations
SEP 28 11.00-21.00 at ’t Zand
www.bruggeplus.be
Brussels
Career and Baby: Discussion to address challenges facing working mothers, co-ordinated by Waterstones book store and Nina Peacock, author of The Brussels Baby Book (in English)
SEP 29 14.00 at Le Meridien Hotel, Europakruispunt 3
www.tinyurl.com/careerandbaby
