Aside from being virtually an artists’ colony for painters and writers staying either full or part time, Ostend hosts many cultural events that other cities of its size (69,000) and location (at the far end of the country) would hesitate to take on: an annual theatre festival, dance festival (pictured) and film festival. The city is partially able to support them because of summer tourist trade – but it’s also partly pride: a city that wants to keep its reputation as welcoming to artists had better offer them a cultural platform.

To that end, the city is renovating its old post office building, first constructed in the late 1940s, as a new cultural centre. This will include two new theatres and fill a huge gap in the city’s performance art space. Currently, the only stage in the city is the Kursaal auditorium with 2,200 seats. “This has caused us to have a lack of cultural partners, particularly socio-cultural associations and schools,” says Nancy Bourgoignie, the city’s alderwoman for culture. “With the renovation of the post office, we are actively doing something about that.” Work begins this year and is set to finish in mid-2012.

Bourgoignie says that she is “not really surprised” that Ostend was chosen as the region’s first City of Culture. “For years, Ostend has been the home base for many artists, and in the last 10 years there has been an increased attraction to artists, singers, writers and various other creative people. We always believed we had a strong case to be the first City of Culture.”

Echoing the residents of the city, Bourgoignie explains that the city as a whole is open minded and accepting of alternative arts and lifestyles. “It’s like a free state for open minds,” she says. “Creativity is encouraged here. And naturally, the closeness to the sea and the unique light also plays a big role.”

The City of Culture was launched to recognise and encourage the cultural endeavours of smaller towns and cities in Flanders. “It was not the intention to explicitly leave out the larger cities,” explains Gerda Van der Plas of the Flemish Culture Ministry, “but to encourage residents of smaller cities to take part in their cultural activities and to emphasise the offerings in these cities.”

The budget for the year is €1,000,000, with €400,000 in support from the Flemish Region and the rest provided by private sponsors.

Ostend, meanwhile, has a wealth of activities planned and will add some extra mileage to their annual activities already on the schedule. City of Culture officially kicks off on 12 February with a special exhibition and runs through the end of the year.

www.oostende2010.be

You name it, they’ve got it this year in Ostend

February: Opening Weekend No doubt, one reason the Flemish Region chose Ostend as the City of Culture for 2010 is because it is the 150th birthday of its most famous son, James Ensor.

• On 13 February, Ostend’s museum of fine arts, Mu.Zee, opens not yet another show of Ensor’s work but the much more intriguing Bij Ensor op Bezoek (Visiting Ensor), a multi-media exhibition of work by visitors of the painter who would forever change expressionism. Welcoming them into his famous “blue salon” in Ostend, he hosted artists from near and far, who came to meet him – and sometimes to paint him, film him or write about him. The exhibition lasts through the summer, but this is the only day you’ll also see the Spanish theatre group Les Rates Mortes’ spectacular parade through the centre of the city, which begins at 19.00.

March:

• Milk, Inc. If you missed this electronic duo at their big concerts in Antwerp last autumn, here is your second chance. On 13 March, they turn the Sleuyter Arena into one big dance party.

April:

• 5 Days of Circus Six circus acts in five days means you’ll have to double up one day, but that probably won’t be a problem since this takes place from 7 to 11 April, the Easter vacation.

• Later in the month, on 22 and 23 April, Canada’s Les 7 Doigts de la Main comes to town with PSY, Mad Circus. It’s not an exaggeration: this theatre/circus bunch is known for its surreal displays of a dream-like underworld. Just right for the city of Ensor.

May:

• Quarters: this month is given over to neighbourhood groups in Ostend, who every weekend hold markets and other outdoor activities: live music, open-air theatre and plenty for kids.

The summer is possibly the most exciting time in the calendar of Ostend 2010. Stay tuned.