Let’s move, be moved and move together
For two days, Monty will be taken in by the artistic imagination of artists who can draw from more than one world. They have created their own universe from it, or are happy to share their journey there for a while. All are co-supported by Mestizo Arts Platform, bubbling pot for the many artistic talents that each larger city gathers from all corners of the world. This weekend, the kitchen opens.
Come warm yourself like at a campfire with stories you haven’t heard before, dreams and memories you haven’t seen before. This takeover immerses Monty in a different vibe.
On Friday, after an after-work dinner, we welcome a double bill by Işıl Bıçakçı and Ping-Hsiang Wang. In Cage-free, Işıl stands on eggs to crack the compelling productivity of this society, a dance performance about the chicken and the egg. Ping presents his almost-finished lecture performance Retina Maneuver on his fascination with Alicia Keys’ famous pop hit ‘Girl on Fire’: what if that suddenly became a marching tune for soldiers? Two worlds, dozens of associations.
On Saturday, the evening starts with The chance to find yourself by Benno Steinegger & Jovial Mbenga. Both moved into Brussels years ago, from Italy and Congo respectively: what world can they share on stage together, with only their imagination? Then theatre, text and music makers Junior Akwety, Sesa and Jaouad Alloul will bring their inspirations together especially for the occasion in a concert with vocals, spoken word, marimba (Alex Smith), kora (Mamadou Dramé) and bass guitar (Daniel Menezes).
Behind the scenes, both Friday and Saturday things sparkle too. Thus for professionals it includes showcases from artists (via MAP and detheatermaker) who have been swapping places for three weeks in a residency triangle between Monty, Rataplan and Corso. And in a sharing practice work session, artists share their practice with each other. So not (yet) in front of an audience, sorry. But that will come. Cooking is safely breaking eggs first.
Mestizo Arts Platform (MAP) is the relaunch of the Mestizo Arts Festival, which celebrated every year between 2007 and 2017 what new artistic stories, languages and forms were emerging in our cities. Today, the focus is on developing new creators in Antwerp, Brussels, Ghent, Leuven and Mechelen – and recently even some other European cities. Through WIPCOOP, MAP is the spider in the web of a broad cooperation in the arts around ‘work in progress’ by emerging artists. In this take-over, we showcase some of the ripe fruits of that rich humus.
Feel the fire, feel the vibe.
