WIPCOOP Ghent is an excellent opportunity to peep into what Ghent based artists are cooking and developing!
Anne Kuit, Nadia El Hassanat, Bilge Arkaç* and David Labi each each show a maximum of 30 minutes of their WORK IN PROGRESS in NTGent Minnemeers. Followed by a conversation with a group of dramaturges, workshops, producers and programmers about the work shown and possible support. During these breaks, other artists talk about new work, new initiatives or projects in Artist Talks with the audience.
*Due to medical reasons Bilge can’t show her Work In Progress. We will look for another date to present her work.
LEO is a nuanced activist solo performance about what it means to embark on a quest for your own gender identity; a journey that leads from the algae that heralds the beginning of life on earth to the gender-affirming shop around the corner. But above all, LEO is an invitation to celebrate that quest. Because if there is one thing that Anne Kuit notices during their own journey: despite the fact that deviating from the gender norm entails the necessary bumps, it is above all a joy to discover who you can be and already are. Through personal stories, philosophical considerations, social reflections and drag king acts, Anne Kuit arrives at a theatrical plea for more queer joy and gender euphoria with LEO.
TEGENWOORDIG is a monodrama about solidarity and migration. Mariam leaves her homeland and leaves behind the war in which she lost both parents. Among the remains of her ruined house is her bath, symbol of the grave in which she buries her missing parents. Her bath, as a symbol for the boat that took her to Belgium. Her bath, the place where she hides from people who exploit her under the guise of solidarity. With this story about Mariam, Nadia Al Hassanat takes a closer look at the term ‘Solidarity’. TODAY is a call for more empathy, not pity.
PIECES OF A MAN is an (auto)biographical monologue about David Labi‘s deceased father, Marcello: a Libyan Jew who survived the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp as a child, grew up in Israel and later settled in London. Marcello brought lifelong wonder, madness, joy and pain to those around him. PIECES OF A MAN delves into shifting pasts and a parallel present with photos, clips of Marcello’s testimony about the Holocaust, anecdotes about soldiers, gangsters and casinos… and five precious objects that David somehow lost.
Work In Progress runs during the day and entrance is free.
TIMING // 11:00 Welcome / 11:30 – 12:00 Anne Kuit / 12:00 – 13:30 Artist Talk + Soup Lunch / 13:30 – 14:00 David Labi / 14:00 – 15:00 Artist Talks / 15:00 – 15:30 Nadia Al Hassanat
Parallel to the Work In Progress day, Campo also presents finished performances – PLAYS – by artists who participated in earlier WIPCOOP editions >> 01.12 THE CHANCE TO FIND YOURSELF by Benno Steinegger & Jovial Mbenga.
