The art and architectural programme features performances, stage design, and a summer exhibition.
Horst Arts & Music festival returns for its 11th year this summer, taking place from 1-3 May in Vilvoorde’s Asiat Park.
As ever, the festival aims to merge forward-thinking art with experimental architecture and performance, with this year’s edition focusing on a range of themes including community, identity, and the democratisation of the dancefloor.
Key on the programme is the summer exhibition There Will Come Soft Rains, inspired by the poem of the same name by American lyric poet Sara Teasdale from 1918. Made up of installations and interventions, the exhibition will delve into the themes of evolution and rebirth. “In her poem, Teasdale reflects on how, despite the devastations of World War I and a flu pandemic, a gentle rain shower continues undisturbed, allowing spring to bloom,” said artistic coordinator at Horst Arts & Music Louise Goegebeur. “The art programme, named after this poem, challenges us to consider how we can evolve from conflict and decay to a harmonious future.”
This theme will also be explored in a series of high profile architectural interventions, including Dark Skies – a semi-permanent stage co-designed by architect Leopold Banchini and DVS1.
Elsewhere on the programme, Marilyn Minter will link up with Antwerp gallery Tick Tack to present a video installation that merges fashion aesthetics with feminist discourse, which will be projected monumentally onto one of the iconic cooling towers. The site itself will be also reshaped by a variety of artists as part of the summer exhibition, including fashion designer Kenza Taleb Vandeput, performance and installation artist Joshua Serafin, Belgian artist Maen Florin, and Bengali artist Sounak Das.
Elsewhere, previously announced musical guests include CCL & Objekt, gyrofield, Introspekt, Verraco and The Bug.
View the full programme and find tickets at the festival’s website.
