Watou Arts Festival 2024 makes room for imagination
Watou Arts Festival 2024
makes room for imagination
The city of Poperinge, inspirator Koen Vanmechelen and curators James Putnam and Michaël Vandebril present the 2024 edition of Watou Arts Festival. ‘Landscape of the Imagination’ will take place from July 6 to September 1. Artists and poets will showcase the power of the imagination, in dialogue with each other and with several unique locations in and around the village and castle De Lovie.
Imagination as an engine of change
The new edition of the Watou Arts Festival focuses on the power of the imagination. After two successful editions, Koen Vanmechelen and Michaël Vandebril assume their role, for the third consecutive time, as respectively inspirer and curator of poetry. James Putnam, who has previously (in 2022) assumed the role of visual arts curator, completes the three-member curatorial team.
Many of the artists developed their works in dialogue with Watou’s locality. In the spring of 2023, a record number of 200 artists registered for the open call ‘Patchwwwork’. An international jury – chaired by Koen Vanmechelen and consisting of Dirk Draulans, Jo Coucke, Marjan Doom, James Putnam, Edith Doove, Michaël Vandebril, Sabiha Keyif and Loes Vandromme – selected the participants for the summer camp. Their ideas ‘flow’ from the landscape, which resulted in some twenty new realizations. As a result, theartworks are sometimes playful, but at the same time thought-provoking.
A selection of participating artists*:
Pato Bosich (CL) – Cecile Broekaert (BE) – Monique Broekman (NL) – Linde Carrijn & Dijf Sanders (BE) – Mat Collishaw (GB) – Matthijs De Block (BE) – Lieze De Middeleir (BE) – Werner de Valk (NL) – Joost Elschot (NL) – Karolina Halatek (PL) – Mariko Hori (JP) – John Isaacs (GB) – Lafleur & Bogaert (HT & BE) – Ilya Kabakov (RU) – Carel Lanters & Lee Eun Young (NL & KR) – Mashid Mohadjerin & Jan De Vroede (IR & BE) – Daan Navarrete-van der Pluijm (NL) – Alice Obee (BE) – Mikes Poppe (BE) – Roundhouse Platform (US) – Marina Resende Santos (BR) – Anila Rubiku (AL) – Sanne van Balen (NL) – Lieke van der Meer (NL) – Lie van der Werff (NL) – Laura Vandewynckel (BE) – Koen Vanmechelen (BE) *more to be announced
A selection of participating poets*:
Benno Barnard (NL) – Moya De Feyter (BE) – Dominique De Groen (BE) – Paul Demets (BE) – Al Galidi (NL) – Ingmar Heytze (NL) – Doina Ioanid (RO) – Frank Keizer (NL) – collectief Letterzetter (Imane Karroumi – Loeke Vanhoutteghem – Veronica Schmalz – Alice Boudry – Maite Vanthournout) (BE) –Jens Meijen (BE) – Carl Norac (BE) – Maria van Daalen (NL) – Marjolijn van Heemstra (NL) – Anke Verschueren (BE) – Billie Vos (BE) – Daniëlle Zawadi (NL) – Emma Zuiderveen (NL) *more to be announced
KUNSTENFESTIVAL / ARTSFESTIVAL / WATOU 2024
06/07 TM 01/09/2024
More on website:
https://www.kunstenfestivalwatou.be/
& https://www.poperinge.be/
fleursdumal.nl Magazine for Art & Literature
https://fleursdumal.nl/
More on website:
www.fleursdumal.nl
magazine for art & literature
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