An art centre in Brussels for conservation, restoration, production and presentation of art film and video

Categories: Film, Video Art

• Scope || Mostly European
• Scale || Individual
• Residency program || Yes (short-term)
• Internship/volunteer program || Yes
• History || Since 1989

I visited the space for an video installation exhibition, but what amazed me most was their Media Library, which they have over 4,000 different film & video works, and also over 4,000 books. It was such a great archive and resources for researching on the film & video arts in Europe. The centre has also been delegated in complying a collection of 5,000 artists' films and video works over 45 years into digital version. Before, the visit, you can visit their online catalogue, to locate what you are looking for first, it helps to save your time searching there!

The centre is equipped with an exhibition space that showcases new media art and experimental video installation. At the same time, they also organising distribution of film & video works.

A multidisciplinary arts centre in Brussels for emerging artists

Categories: Film, Music, Performance, Theatre, Visual Arts

• Scope || Worldwide
  
• Scale || Small to medium production
  
• Residency program || No
  
• Internship/volunteer program || No
  
• History || Over 50 years

It is one of the major performing arts venue in Brussels, located right at the city centre. The venue supports both young and mature artists.

A multidisciplinary arts centre with 3 sites in Ghent and a "maker collective"

Categories: Dance, Theatre, Performance, Visual Arts

• Scope || European
  
• Scale || Individual to small production
  
• Residency program || No
  
• Internship/volunteer program || No
  
• History || No data

Emerged from a theatre for young audiences over decades ago, CMAPO developed into a centre for both mature and young artists nowadays. CAMPO has developed a close relationship with university in its neighborhood by providing residency and mentoring for emerging artists after their graduation.

There are theatres, studio space, workshop for artists to experiment cross-disciplinary productions. CAMPO is also a major venue presenter in co-production of many shows around Europe.

I was lucky to be there to visit their different spaces and theatre, and also to see their presented/co-produced programme - "Five Easy Pieces" in the Kunstenfestivaldesarts in 2016. Milo Rau, 'Theatre Director of the Year 2017' in a survey by 'Deutsche Bühne', a second survey of German-language critics, carried out by 'Theater heute', has honoured Rau's 'Five Easy Pieces' as 'Theatre Production of the Year'. The production has toured to Hong Kong in the BlackBox Theatre Festival in 2018. During my visit, I also met with three other Belgium artists who so happen to have residency at CAMPO before, and they were all well known artists in the cross-artform development, doing both visual and performance.

An art hub and arts campus with large-scale infrastructure in Antwerp

Categories: Dance, Music, Theatre, Performing Arts

• Scope || European
• Scale || Medium to large production
• Residency program || Yes
• Internship/volunteer program || No
• History || Since 1980

It is a huge performing arts venue in Antwerp. The venue has divided with 4 major sectors in programming, namely: Dance, Music, Theatre and Architecture. They have presented sophisticated and well-established artists/productions.

A venue of about 600m2 in Brussels for the meeting of artistic, scientific and industrial innovations

Categories: Digital culture, Media art

• Scope || European
• Scale || Individual to medium production
• Residency program || Yes
• Internship/volunteer program || No
• History || Since 1999

A small venue in supporting media art installation exhibition. There are short-term residency programme with fully equipped workshop space with technician in assisting artists to making their works for exhibition at the end of the residence.

A breeding ground of theatre talents located in Brussels

Categories: Dance, Music, Theatre

• Scope || Worldwide
• Scale || Small to medium production
• Residency program || Yes (long-term, only by invitation for Belgium-based artists)
• Internship/volunteer program || No
• History || Since 1977

A pioneering theatre on experimental productions. Its residency program supports artists to stay up to 5 years and offer them rehearsal space and office space as well. It is expectational helpful in supporting an artists/group for a long term development. Their relationship with residency artists are rather long-lasting term. They would constantly present and support their productions, and offer dramaturgy advice and assists on research to the artists/ groups during their residency period. They also plan with the artists together in expanding their audience base and production scale step by step. It is an institution that delegated to grow with the artists together.

KAAI also hosts a biennale of visual-cum-performance art, PERFORMATIK, that turns to open up the possibilities on contemporary performance, across visual art and performing arts. It cooperate/co-curate with a great many Brussels partners - from museum to various art spaces and galleries. To me, it is one of the most exciting cross-art form festival in Europe!

Once a year festival happened all over Brussels

Categories: Dance, Theatre, Visual Arts

• Period || Every year in May
• Locations || About 20 theatres, arts centres, public spaces that varies every year
• Scope || Worldwide
• Scale || Small to medium production
• Residency program || Yes (only by invitation)
• Internship/volunteer program || Yes
• History || Since 1994

It is one of the most exciting and inspiring contemporary cross-disciplinary performance festival that I have visited in my trip in Europe. One of the important feature of the festival is that, they are proud and keen to present over 90% new productions in the festival every year. People who are looking for new ideas, new trend, shouldn't miss this festival. That said, in the time when I visited, the festival was under the lead of Christophe Slagmuylder, as Artistic Director. But he has just left in 2018 after 16 years working in the festival. The new trio of directors have just on board and a new scene of programming direction of the festival would be seen in the 24th edition in 2019.

With the chance to meet with the Christophe, I found that their "residency programme" is very interesting. The residency is not a production oriented, nor providing a space for artists to create / rehearse their own works. Every year, the festival invites artists for the residency as observer, just to enjoy and engage in the festival. They don't have to produce any works, instead, they can suggest a page of simple proposal towards the end of the residency, to see if they can develop into real production in the future.

The festival has also well linked up with other like-minded European festivals / venues in co-producing productions that with lots of tours follow their premiere in the festival.

An artist-run platform in Brussels for research, production and distribution of sound art and media art

Categories: Media Art, Sound Art

• Scope || Worldwide
• Scale || Individual to small production
• Residency program || Yes
• Internship/volunteer program || No
• History || Since 200

They work closely with 20+ artists constantly to discuss on each others' ideas and works, and they serve as a production platform, to develop collaboration with artists in a long term. Usually, they produce around 4 production/works each year. They organise short and long term residency programme for artists to stay there to work, give feedbacks and advice to the artists, and also support them to source funding and venues for showing their works in Brussels. For some projects that with bigger funding, they can even offer engineer to support on the artwork development.

They also connect with curators around the world, to arrange works of their artists to be distributed /exhibit for touring.

An arts centre of the future located in Leuven by linking art with education, science, youth work, training and more

Categories: Dance, Film, Music, Sound Art

• Scope || Worldwide
• Scale || Individual to medium production
• Residency program || Yes (short-term, only by invitation)
• Internship/volunteer program || Yes
• History || Since 1970s

A sophisticated multi-disciplinary venue. They offer short term residency for selected artists, support with rehearsal studio, and also opportunity to do showcase after residency. Yet, also follow closely with the artist's development and to support full-length productions in the long run.

What interested me most is their festival - "Playground" that they been organising, which is a platform for artists who are not bound by one specific discipline but who work at the intersection of the performing and visual arts.

An international laboratory in Brussels for the creation and diffusion of contemporary art

Categories: Visual Arts

• Scope || Worldwide
• Scale || Individual to small production
• Residency program || Yes
• Internship/volunteer program || No
• History || Since 2007

Nice museum that presents contermporay works across visual to some performance art as well. They are been partnered with Kunstenfestivaldesarts as well as KAAI theatre in co-curating cross-disciplinary projects.