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APRIL 8, 2015 \ newsweekLy - € 0,75 \ rEad morE at www.flandErstoday.Eu currEnt affairs \ P2

Political tragedy

Former SP.A party president Steve Stevaert’s body was found in a canal last week after it emerged that he was being charged with rape \2

Politics \ P4

BusinEss \ P6

innovation \ P7

Models of industry

UHasselt students are getting hands-on experience in the business community, while industry gets the input of the city’s best and brightest \9

Education \ P9

art & living \ P10

a Private life

Peter-Paul Rubens sold paintings to Europe’s wealthiest patrons, but it’s his private portraits of family that are now on show in Antwerp \ 11

Fashion on the edge

fashion designer dries van noten talks flanders today through his new momu exhibition catherine Kosters More articles by Catherine \ flanderstoday.eu

Following a hugely successful run in Paris, the prolific Antwerp designer Dries Van Noten shares his inspiration in a new exhibition at MoMu. He talks to Flanders Today about how his love of culture in all its forms has informed his work and this new show.

n its latest exhibition, Antwerp fashion museum MoMu focuses on one of the city’s best-loved designers. But don’t think of the show as a retrospective. Instead of celebrating an already prolific career, Dries Van Noten decided to delve head-first into his own imagination and reveal the inspirations behind his work. A month after opening, Dries Van Noten: Inspirations has had 20,000 visitors. It’s an overwhelming success, according to

MoMu director Kaat Debo, but hardly a surprise. The exhibition premiered last year at Les Arts Décoratifs in Paris, where it attracted a staggering 160,000 people. The key to this popularity is likely to be found in the original combination of fashion and art. Rather than zooming in purely on Van Noten’s designs, the exhibition shows the links between his work and the paintings, statues, music, movies and dresses that inspire it. Van Noten is a lover of culture in all its manifestations, from Flemish Primitives to punk rock, and he’s quite the collector. For Dries Van Noten, he looked to museum archives as well as personal acquisitions. A visit to the museum thus becomes an invitation to discover his creative process as well as a journey through the universe of the fashion house.

Was designing an exhibition about your work a dream come true? For me, it wasn’t really a dream because I never thought it possible. But four years ago, Pamela Golbin, the chief curator of Les Arts Décoratifs, contacted me to talk about the possibility of working together. At first, the idea was to do a confrontation between the archives of Les Arts Décoratifs and pieces from my collection. We also mused on doing a retrospective exhibition, but I didn’t feel ready. For me, a retrospective rounds off a certain period in one’s life and heralds the start of something new. I’m not there yet; it’s too early. So we circled back to a confrontation, to arrive finally at the concept of inspiration. continued on page 5

\ CURRenT AFFAIRs

Former SP.A party president Steve Stevaert found dead limburg politician’s body found in canal following news of rape charges alan Hope Follow Alan on Twitter \ @AlanHopeFT

ormer socialist party president, minister and provincial governor Steve Stevaert was found dead last Thursday by police divers dragging the Albert canal near Hasselt in Limburg. Stevaert, 60, had gone missing earlier in the day, shortly after news broke that he was to be sent for trial on rape charges. After serving for several years on Limburg’s provincial council, Stevaert became mayor of Hasselt in 1995, then Flemish minister for mobility and town planning. In 2003, he became the president of SP.A and two years later the governor of Limburg. After his resignation as governor in 2009, he announced that he was leaving active politics in favour of serving on a number of company boards, including insurance company Ethias, electricity network manager Elia and culinary guide Gault Millau. In 2013, Stevaert was accused of raping a woman two years previously. Last week it emerged that the investigation was complete and that he was to be sent for trial. The alleged rape took place after Stevaert and his accuser had appeared on

steve stevaert in 2011

a talk show. Stevaert admitted having sexual relations but denied rape. Shortly after the news became public, Stevaert was reported missing. His bicycle was found beside the canal, and police

soon found two of his jackets in the water. A boat equipped with sonar and divers spent the afternoon sounding the canal, and in the early evening found Stevaert’s body. SP.A issued a statement saying they were “deeply affected” and “devastated” at the loss of their former party president. “We remember him as not only a politician but as a warm and committed person, a friend, unique in the only true sense of the word.” “This is much too intense,” fellow ex-chair Johan Vande Lanotte told VRT. Former Flemish minister and fellow Limburger Ingrid Lieten said, “We have lost a great friend and a comrade, and that is a crushing blow.” Lieten had spoken to Stevaert by phone the day before. “He was full of the joy of life, with lots of plans and ideas.” The woman who made the rape accusation expressed her sympathy with Stevaert's family, her lawyer said. “For her, this is extremely difficult, and she is seriously traumatised,” he said. “She is receiving psychological counselling.”

Federal police to strike on 24 April Mobility minister plans end to three-year Police unions have called on members to join a demonstration in Brussels on 24 April, in protest at the lack of progress on the question of pensions for police officers. In the week leading up to the demonstration, from 20-24 April, police will repeat a protest action taken in September last year, when they stopped writing tickets for minor traffic offences. Police are protesting a ruling of the Constitutional Court that threw out a decade-long agreement allowing police officers to retire at 58, ruling that the principle of equality meant they should respect the same minimum retirement age as everyone else, which is 62 years. Talks have been ongoing with the new government formed after last May’s elections. The timing of the action also means that a planned flitsmarathon – a 24-hour marathon of speed checks –

delay for driving test

will be postponed. “If the interior minister and the government cannot agree to our demands, then we will take action,” said the unions in a joint statement. They also pointed out that a recent decision by the government to recognise police work as “heavy employment” was an argument in favour of their demands. “The life expectancy of a police officer is 72 years,” Vincent Houssin of the VSOA union told De Morgen, which is eight years less than the Belgian average. \ AH

According to Parys, the rule, which was introduced by the last federal government last year, is particularly hard on those who obtained their provisional licence prior to that time. “If you’re 20, and you get your provisional licence but decide to put off the test until after your studies, then you would have to wait until you’re 26 before you can take another theory exam,” he said. “That’s an obstacle for young gradu-

€93,270,000

1.67 billion

electronic payment transactions carried out in Belgium by Worldline in 2014, an increase of 7.22% on the year before. The average value of a transaction was down by 4.4% to €85.31

Flemish mobility minister Ben Weyts said he plans to change the law on driving licences, which imposes a lengthy waiting period on those who fail their practical test. At present, on passing the written exam, learners are given a provisional driving licence and have 36 months to pass the practical driving test. If they fail, they have to wait three years before being allowed to take the written exam again. Questioned in the Flemish parliament on the “absurd rule” by member Lorin Parys, Weyts agreed that the wait was too long. He promised to review it as part of a broader reform of driver training, which became a regional responsibility this year.

people depending on food parcels in 2014, an increase of 7% on the year before, the largest increase in 15 years. Food is distributed to families living on less than €740 a month

requested by the Flemish parliament as the annual allowance it receives from the Flemish government for its operations. The figure is almost €100,000 more than the sum already approved

ates to start working.” There is one exception to the three-year rule – take a minimum six hours of lessons with an approved driving school. “But then you can’t go on the road to practise without the driving school because you no longer have a provisional licence,” Parys explained. “That’s why young learners don’t have enough experience when they take the practical test and go on the road. That’s unsafe.” Among the other changes Weyts plans are improvements in the training of instructors. One in 10 driving schools is not up to standards, according to the sector federation Federdrive, but there is little inspectors can do in the way of sanctions. \ AH

3,522

calls to the Flemish suicide helpline in 2014, 29% more than in 2013 and an all-time record. Part of the increase is attributable to the internet chat option, which came online at the end of 2013

homeless people given shelter in Brussels during the winter, for a total of 106,801 overnights, Samu Social reports. The figure includes 2,619 men, 386 women and 517 children

aPril 8, 2015

WeeK in brief Vilvoorde train station is an “architectural ruin,” according to the public transport users’ organisation TreinTramBus (TTB). Last week the group organised a guided visit to the station to highlight its many structural problems. It dates back to 1883, became a protected monument in 1975 “and apparently since then hasn’t seen even a paintbrush,” said guide Stefan Steynen. “It looks like a scientific experiment. Or maybe they’re waiting until the building collapses to save on demolition costs.” Vilvoorde mayor Hans Bonte has lobbied for urgent renovations, but a promised budget had to be suspended because of budget cuts. After meetings with Belgian and EU authorities, internet giant Google has signed an agreement to comply with the data protection laws of EU countries. The agreement commits Google to being more transparent in its terms of use and no longer use hidden access channels to obtain user data. The hotly contested new flight paths to and from Brussels Airport have been scrapped. The two routes, introduced by former federal mobility minister Melchior Wathelet, were intended to ease noise nuisance in north and east Brussels communes by concentrating flights over the centre of the city. But the plan was seen to have shifted the problem rather than solved it. The current mobility minister promised “structural measures” to help the areas where increased traffic is now restored. Insecta, the range of food products made of insect protein, was chosen as the most innovative food product of the year by a jury of Belgian retailers. The range, madeupofschnitzels,nuggetsand burgers made of buffalo worms, is produced by Damhert Nutrition Heusden-Zolder in Limburg. The company said it would be adding to its range in the coming months.

face of flanders VTM News has launched an interactive platform to allow whistleblowers to leak documents to the news service safely. NieuwsLeaks.be aims to gather information on “sensitive, socially relevant subjects”, which will be handled by a team of investigative journalists. “We want to reach people who have information about irregularities, cheating, fraud or corruption but are not always able to come forward,” said head of news Kris Hoflack. The federal government is to introduce security screenings for personnel at Belgocontrol, including air traffic controllers, mobility minister Jacqueline Galant announced. The screening will be carried out by the National Security Administration and will be valid for five years. Galant denied the decision was related to the Germanwings air crash. Dutch supermarket chain Albert Heijn has opened its first supermarket in Flemish Brabant, on Engelsplein in Leuven. The 1400 square-metre store is the 29th opened in Flanders by the chain since it first crossed the border to Brasschaat in 2011. New stores in Deinze and Antwerp will open in the coming weeks, with a target of 50 stores in the region by the end of 2016. Festival-goers will be served beer by drones at this year’s Lokerse Feesten. A vacuum cleaner that sucks up fine particulates could add a year to your life and Steven Spielberg is to move house to Belgium, which won his heart while he was making his Tintin movie. None of this is true, of course, but just some of the April Fool gags appearing last week in the Flemish media. Brussels water authority Vivaqua has refused to introduce a central water-softening process to tackle hard water problems in large parts of the Brussels-Capital Region because it would cost too much.

Brussels water comes mainly from calcium-rich soil; the calcium residues are damaging to pipes and installations such as washing machines and water heaters. Vivaqua, while arguing that hard water is healthier because it is a source of calcium, says the price of water would have to go up, affecting those who can least afford it. Manufacturers should be obliged to state the origin of fruit and vegetables on the labels of processed foods, consumer organisation TestAankoop said. At present, European rules only call for the declaration of origin of unprocessed produce. Correct labelling would allow consumers to make an informed choice, the organisation said. Brussels-City has selected three consortia to go further in talks over the construction of a conference centre on the Heizel plateau. Two of the consortia involve worldfamous architects: Rem Koolhaas with BAM-Ghelamco, which has already been chosen to build the new national stadium; and Jean Nouvel with CFE-Cofinimmo. Koolhaas is best known for the CCTV headquarters in Beijing and the Central Library in Seattle. Nouvel designed the Arab World Institute in Paris and the Torre Agbar in Barcelona. The third consortium involves CIT Blaton and Willemen, with the Danish Henning Larsen Architects, creators of the Copenhagen Opera House. The conference centre will be the “economic heart of the Neo complex,” Brussels region minister-president Rudi Vervoort said. “It must become the eye-catcher of the Heizel plateau.” The public health ministry issued warnings to 55% of the tattoo parlours inspected in Belgium last year, mostly for a lack of signage regarding risks, walls and/or floors that were not washable and needles and ink that had become too old. In addition, 21 of the 163 members of staff inspected did not have the necessary qualifications to work as a tattoo artist, the report said.

offside snakes on a train It might have been the perfect deterrent for thieves out to steal copper from the railways, but in the end it only trapped Infrabel employees: a family of snakes living under the tracks in Kuringen, a district of Hasselt. “One of the reptiles reared up hissing and seemed to want to attack a worker,” reported Dries Damiaans of the Natuurpunt help centre in Opglabbeek. “The man was so shocked he killed the snake with his shovel.” The reptiles in question are Elaphe taeniura ridleyi, the cave-dwelling rat snake (pictured). They are native to east and south-east Asia

and grow to a length of 1.5 to 2.1 metres. They kill their prey – rats and other small mammals – by strangulation and crushing, but they are little danger to humans. They are, in fact, often kept as pets – although they can be considered

swen vincke All the categories of the Flemish Culture Prize used to be awarded at once in a big ceremony; now they’re slipped out one at a time, making much less of a splash. Last week the 2014 prize for cultural enterprise went for the first time to a games developer: Swen Vincke of the Ghent-based software company Larian Studios. Last summer saw the release of Larian’s computer game Divinity: Original Sin, and it became an immediate hit: In the first month, it was the most downloaded game on Steam, the huge online games distribution platform. By the end of the second month, it had sold half a million copies at €29.99. The game is described as a “backto-the-roots RPG adventure” offering turn-based combat and solo or team play. Nearly 10,000 people have posted reviews for an average of Very Positive. The professional reviewers were equally breathless: “an incredible title”; “utterly great”; “many hours of entertainment”. But the high point came with the title Game of the Year on popular

gaming website GameSpot. The prestigious award has recently gone to blockbusters like Grand Theft Auto III and World of Warcraft. Vincke and Larian raised the funds needed to develop the game, more than €1 million, on the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter, which means the initial backers were most likely games enthusiasts, who now get to share in some of the company’s success. Vincke is also behind the game KetnetKick, made for the VRT’s children’s channel, licensed versions of which have been picked up by the BBC, Jeunesse TV in France and NRK in Norway. “Swen Vincke has shown that Flemish games developers have the potential for international success,” said culture minister Sven Gatz in his award presentation. “His success story with Larian will bring a new positive dynamic to the Flemish games sector.” The prize includes €12,500 and a bronze sculpture made by the Antwerp-based artist Philip Aguirre y Otegui. \ Alan Hope

flanders today, a weekly English-language newspaper, is an initiative of the flemish region and is financially supported by the flemish authorities.

temperamental. The Infrabel workers retreated to a safe distance while aid workers from Natuurpunt were called to the scene. Two snakes were recovered and the third pronounced dead. They had set up house in a cable inspection pit; Natuurpunt said they could be part of a breeding group in there, so other encounters may be expected to follow. There have been about a dozen sightings of similar snakes in the last two years. “Harmless creatures,” Damiaans said. “But if one of them comes out of a pipe unexpectedly, then of course everyone is startled.” \ AH

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\ POLITICs

5tH coluMn The man who was God

Steve Stevaert, minister of state, former minister in the government of Flanders, former party leader, former mayor of Hasselt, former governor of Limburg province and one of Flanders’ most remarkable politicians, took his own life last week. Earlier the same day, he had been informed that he would stand trial for rape. Flashback to 2003. “Steve is God” read one newspaper after the federal elections, in which Stevaert led SP.A to electoral victory – no small feat after years in the doldrums for the socialists. How did Steve – usually known by his first name – achieve this? One explanation is the alliance with three other socialist leaders, which ended an era of internal party dissent. When the four of them, dubbed the Teletubbies, went on a tour of Flanders, they were cheered on by teenage girls as if they were a boy band (a fate that has yet to befall any other group of politicians). Stevaert believed socialism should cater to all classes rather than be narrowed down to “miserablism”. As a former pub owner, he knew how to reach out to the public, using plain language and an incontestable logic. “Flanders is full of socialists. They just don’t know it yet,” he once famously said. His ideas were undeniably original, making him the most talked-about politician of his era. The multitude of solar panels on Flemish roofs goes back to Stevaert’s energy policy. His biggest achievement was altering the public’s attitude towards speeding, but he’s most remembered for his gratis policy. Gratis, or free of charge, was Stevaert’s trademark. He made watching television gratis – scrapping the TV licence tax. He also made public transportation gratis, first in Hasselt (“I prefer buses transporting people rather than air”), then for the elderly in all of Flanders. The gratis policy, an ingenious redistribution mechanism at its core, embodied everything his critics disliked about Stevaert. There is no such thing as gratis, they said. In spite of all his indisputable charm as a man of the people, Stevaert was also a ruthless politician, a real player in the corridors of power. Health problems forced him to quit national politics, boredom made him resign as provincial governor. In recent years, only his business dealings and sordid details about his personal life made headlines. In the end, the man who once was God could not live with the prospect of becoming the Flemish DSK. \ Anja Otte

Transfers to regions reduced

flanders gets €400 million less than expected from federal government alan Hope More articles by Alan \ flanderstoday.eu

lemish government coalition members and opposition alike are condemning a decision by the federal government that will see Flanders facing a €400 million shortfall in the funding it receives from the state. N-VA, which sits in both administrations, had tough criticism for the previous federal government, which put the new rules in place. After the federal government carried out its budget audit, it came to the conclusion that Flanders was to receive €400 million less in transfers than previously announced. The Brussels-Capital Region is to receive €105 million less. Flanders was already facing a deficit of €700 million, after the EU Commission said it would not accept Flanders spreading the cost of public-private investments, including the Oosterweel connection, over several years. The High

Council of Finance has given Flanders permission to go €750 million into the red this year. Because of a combination of low growth and inflation, the three regions this year receive €700 million less in transfers from the federal budget, with Flanders getting the lion’s share.

“As we prepared our budget, we were told another figure,” said Flemish minister-president Geert Bourgeois (N-VA). “It seems they only recently got hold of the tools and software needed to make the calculations. I will approach this in a serious and correct manner.” N-VA fraction leader Matthias Diependaele (pictured) took aim at the parties who developed the reforms. “Either you had no idea what you were doing or you deliberately shifted the burden to the levels where the needs are greatest,” he said, addressing CD&V. “In the first instance, we’re talking about incompetence, in the second about negligence.” Flemish budget minister Annemie Turtelboom, meanwhile, was more pragmatic. While the timing of the review of Flanders’ income was troublesome, she said, “everything will be worked out”.

Federal government agrees on budget

Gatz warns arts organisations to rely less on subsidies

The federal government announced an agreement on budget cuts early last week. Prime minister Charles Michel announced that they had achieved their goal of closing a €600 million gap in the budget, which brings them within the deficit limits allowed by the European Commission. “Mission accomplished,” Michel told the press. “We worked constructively and discreetly and reached agreement in the space of a single weekend, which is a record.” The federal financial package will generate €230 million in revenue by tackling tax and welfare fraud. A further €50 million will be generated through the introduction of a tax on offshore companies, known as the Cayman Tax. The diamond sector is also due to be taxed more heavily, which will bring in a further €50 million. The federal government is also reducing its transfers to the regional governments, a move much criticised by the governments affected (see related story, same page). \ Derek Blyth

Arts organisations in Flanders are going to have to rely less on subsidies in the future, according to culture minister Sven Gatz. “The role of culture policy has to involve more than just doling out subsidies,” he said. The culture minister (pictured) set out his vision for the arts last week in the Flemish Parliament, saying that he wants to strengthen cultural organisations across Flanders, particularly those at the top and the bottom. He called on major institutions to work together, including the theatre companies Toneelhuis in Antwerp, KVS in Brussels and NTGent in Ghent, as well as the Flemish orchestras deFilharmonie, Brussels Philharmonic and Opera Vlaanderen. The 36 subsidised cultural publications were also asked to collaborate more efficiently, and all institutions were told to look to the private sector for partnerships. “Via partner projects, art can optimise and improve its role as a catalyst in other domains,” he said. The minister announced a new form of interest-free loans for artists that would have to be repaid over the course of their careers. The government would also buy contemporary art by young artists while their works

One in four disturbed by traffic noise at night

One in four people living in Flanders is disturbed at night by traffic noise, according to the annual report of the Flemish ombudsman. In presenting the report, ombudsman Bart Weekers said that 881,900 Flemish residents had to put up with traffic noise averaging 55 decibels during the night – five decibels above the limit to guarantee a peaceful night’s sleep. “There is a maximum noise level for everything,” Weekers (pictured) told De Morgen. “For cars, motorbikes, festivals, you name it. In most municipalities, you can’t even mow the lawn on a Sunday. But for those who live on busy roads, there’s no protection.” Weekers has now called for the government to bring in legislation to keep road traffic noise within limits. The ombudsman’s office dealt with 6,735 complaints last year. An average investigation takes 112 days to complete, but one complaint involving an unpleasant smell from a composting firm had still not been resolved after 20 years. \ DB

were still relatively affordable. As well as supporting established cultural organisations, Gatz also wants to promote more small-scale niche areas such as world music, non-fiction books, children’s theatre and documentaries, he told parliament. In an attempt to gain a global audience for Flemish culture, the minister is introducing a one-off payment to promising artists to help them gain a foothold in the international art world. Gatz also said that he plans to use Ghent’s opera house on the Kouter square for a broad range of activities, such as contemporary dance and musicals, rather than just opera. He also issued a warning to Kunsthuis, which represents the opera and Royal Ballet, that it had to put on a minimum number of performances or face sanctions. \ DB

Hasselt to open Children’s House for advice and support Hasselt city council is looking for a suitable location to open a Huis van het Kind, or Children’s House. “We want to create a place where people can get advice on issues like children’s welfare, healthy eating and education,” explained the city’s welfare alderwoman, Nadja Vananroye, who also serves as the chair of the city’s welfare services (OCMW). “Twenty-four organisations have joined forces to provide support and information to local parents from

conception until their child reaches the age of about 25,” she continued. “Parents will no longer have to pick their way through a confusing maze of different organisations. Everything will be in the one place.” Hasselt started working on the project last year following a new regulation that allows local councils to apply to the government for subsidies to fund a Huis van het Kind as long as it met certain criteria. \ DB

\ COVeR sTORy

aPril 8, 2015

Fashion on the edge

dries van noten’s hometown show is a journey through his creative processes continued from page 1

www.momu.BE

How did you decide which sources of inspiration to include? I didn’t want people to think I only draw inspiration from beautiful dresses by Balenciaga or Dior, because there is so much more. That’s how we came up with the idea to mix fashion with art, with music, with movies – all these influences that are the real inspirations behind my collections. We started by going through the archives of Les Arts Décoratifs, which are truly incredible. Taking garments alone, they have 150,000 pieces, from shoes and accessories to fabrics. There are a lot of similarly great museums in the world, so I thought about my most important collections and started making combinations.

You’re inspired by great artists past and present but also use pop music as a soundtrack to your catwalk shows. Do you make a distinction between high and low art? For me, there is no high and low art. I can play around with different things without dismissing them as cheap or commercial. There are so many things that can inspire me, from the really beautiful to the ugly. When something is too beautiful, it gets boring. You need an edge.

Systems kill creativity. For me, inspiration works in all directions

The exhibition also includes work by other designers. Who inspired you as a young designer? Growing up in the late 1970s, early ’80s, I looked up to Thierry Mugler, Jean-Paul Gaultier. They were our heroes because not only did they create great fashion, they invented a completely new concept. It was a time when prêtà-porter became more important than haute couture. The Italians began to have an impact: Versace, Armani... and these designers became accessible to a larger audience. Prêt-à-porter was more affordable and more modern than couture. Finally, fashion reached young people.

Do you also look at what women wear every day? Not really; I try to stay one step ahead. So I look at street photography, but without dwelling too much on the past and present. As a designer, I try to look towards the future.

Inspiration shouldn’t only be understood in the literal sense. Sometimes I made post hoc associations. My Butterfly collection, for example, was created in 1999 and is shown with a work by Damien Hirst that only dates back to 2011. The inspiration in the name of the exhibition is hypothetical; it illustrates the way I think. The exhibition in Antwerp is not identical to last year’s in Paris. What are the most significant differences? The two last Spring/Summer collections, in particular the women’s collection. The latter was inspired by Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and takes up the last room of the exhibition [in Antwerp]. The silhouettes are flanked by a Giuseppe Penone sculpture, a Ryan McGinley print and a small film of John Everett Millais’ painting of Ophelia. The combination of these works perfectly shows where we started when designing the collection: There is the conceptual idea of the Penone, the youth of the McGinley and the ethereal beauty of the Ophelia painting. I am really happy with this combination. Some alterations were made out of purely practical concerns. We thought it would be fantastic to show my Francis Bacon collection in Antwerp as well. In Paris, we had a Bacon painting to accompany it, but here we couldn’t find one. So we dropped that part of the exhibi-

The exhibition comes to Antwerp after a first run in Paris, where it attracted 160,000 visitors

tion and went with pieces inspired by the Flemish Masters instead. So there are a lot of reasons for including or excluding a piece. I didn’t say to myself: “Those are my best collections, and we’re not going to talk about the rest.” The works of Shakespeare and Francis Bacon provided direct inspiration for two of your collections. Is that how it always works, or can inspiration also work in more subtle ways? There isn’t really a system. Systems kill creativity. “One plus one equals two” is a sum everyone can arrive at. For me, inspiration works in all directions. Sometimes the process is straightforward. The collection

until 19 july

The Piano was clearly inspired by a certain part of the movie of the same name, in which the protagonist almost drowns at sea. This scene was the incentive to explore what clothes look like when they’re wet and then translate that into my collection, with the darkness of the sea and the dramatic ending of the movie. In other instances, I start with a single idea or combine different elements. The Punk collection, for example, is based on a general rebelliousness, but without the safety pins, and mixed with the revolutionary aesthetic of Dior in the 1940s and ’50s. We show pieces from the collection next to a video of Yves Klein asking women to

MoMu

Nationalestraat 28, Antwerp

paint their bodies blue and pressing them against a blank canvas, which also constitutes a rebellious process of creating art.

With the exhibition, you also inspire others with your work. Are you aware of this? Of course! It’s always nice when young designers tell me they look up to me and see my work as proof that it’s possible to create fashion in a different, more personal way. I always enjoy talking to the new generation. And, as I inspire them, they inspire me.

about dries van noten 1958: Born in Antwerp 1977: Enrols at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts to study fashion design 1986: Starts his own company and presents his first menswear collection at London Fashion Week alongside fellow students Walter Van Beirendonck, Dirk Van Saene, Marina Yee, Ann Demeulemeester and Dirk Bikkembergs. Together they are known as the Antwerp Six 1989: Opens his now-famous flag-

ship store Het Modepaleis in what used to be a Belle Epoque department store in Antwerp’s Nationalestraat 1993: Moves his shows to Paris, where he has presented his collections for women and men twice a year ever since 2014: The exhibition Dries Van Noten: Inspirations draws 160,000 visitors to Les Arts Décoratifs in Paris in eight months 2015: The exhibition opens at MoMu in Antwerp

\ BUsIness

WeeK in business Bio-tech Galapagos The Mechelen-based biotech company is seeking $100 million on the Nasdaq in New York as soon as the results of its recently tested drug against rheumatism are released later this month. The fresh funds will be used to further develop the company’s research activities.

Catering Pain Quotidien

The Brussels-based bakery and eatery chain plans to open up to 15 outlets in the Sao Paulo area of Brazil over the next four years. The company, which has 225 outlets worldwide, including 35 in Manhattan, also expects to open up to 15 stores in Belgium soon, including in Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp.

energy Deme

The Antwerp-based dredging and offshore solutions provider is developing a wind farm 45 kilometres off the North Sea coast of Germany in partnership with the local Nordsee Offshore company.

Food AOR

The Antwerp-based producer of cooking oils has been acquired by the US Archer Daniels Midland food conditioning group for an undisclosed amount. AOR is a leader in Europe with activities in Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy and the Baltic states.

Pork Belgian Pork group

Two of the leading players in the Flemish meat sector, Westvlees of Staden and Covalis of Leuven, are considering a merger to create the Belgian Pork group, which would see sales of some €600 million annually. The new company would provide about 30% of Belgium’s total pork consumption.

Railways nMBs

The French Agos Soditic investment fund is to acquire 66.6% of the Belgian national railway’s ailing freight affiliate for €20 million. NMBS had been looking for a buyer after years of losses. Agos expects to redevelop the company and turn it into a leading European freight operator.

steel Bekaert

The Zwevegem-based steel wire producer has received a €75 million loan from the European Investment Bank to co-finance the company’s research and development programme on wire insulation and energy control. The loan is to be repaid in stages linked to product development.

Drone legislation introduced new laws cover commercial and private use of drones in Belgium alan Hope More articles by Alan \ flanderstoday.eu

he federal government has proposed legislation governing the commercial operation of drones, which include exams and a practical test to demonstrate flying ability. The proposals come from the desk of federal mobility minister Jacqueline Galant, faced with the explosive growth of drone ownership: 1,000 new drones are sold in Belgium every month. Many are being bought by business in sectors like real estate, architecture, photography and security. Until now, the only law that applied to the sector was a 1954 royal decree on model aeroplanes. “I am aware that the sector continues to evolve and that Belgium has to move in line with that evolution,” Galant said. Private owners will not require a licence to operate a drone, but it can only be operated up to a height of 30 metres.

Commercial operators have to undergo a medical examination and take a test with questions relating to aviation. Operators will be required to pass a practical flying test to show their steering aptitude. Once a licence is obtained, operators will have to log at least two hours of airtime a year, with a minimum of six flights. The rules also require drones for professional use to be registered and to carry some mark of identification to prevent users from circumventing the rules by posing as private users. A height ceiling of 90 metres is being applied to commercial users – a limit considered safe for other air traffic, while also allowing the large majority of professional tasks to be carried out. Exceptions to the ceiling can be obtained for particular jobs. The Belgian Unmanned Aircraft System Association said it was happy with the proposals. “Although we would have preferred to see a

plan that was drawn up in consultation with the sector, this is a major step forward,” said chair Koen Meuleman. “We would also have preferred a higher maximum height; heights of 100 to 120 metres are ideal for surveyors.” The proposals now go to the regional governments for advice before being submitted for approval of the Council of State.

Former CEO of De Tijd named head of Voka

Contractors and officials found guilty of corruption

Former journalist Hans Maertens has been selected as the new managing director of Voka, the Flemish chamber of commerce, to succeed Jo Libeer. Maertens, 52, studied communications and law and worked as a journalist before becoming editor of business daily De Tijd and later the company’s CEO. He then became director of magazines for Roularta Media Group before joining Voka West Flanders in 2010. Maertens (pictured) takes over from Libeer in July. Libeer, 60, has been with Voka for 32 years and at its head for six. He is considered to be largely responsible for taking the organisation from its beginnings as Kortrijk chamber of commerce to a merger with the Flemish Economic Union and from there to become the representative network for Flemish enterprise. Libeer has expressed a wish to get back into the field. “It’ll be something at the intersection of culture and economy,” he told De Tijd, “exactly what I can’t say because the final details have not yet

A group of officials at the highest level of the federal government’s buildings agency maintained a system of organised corruption over the course of years, a court in Brussels found last week. Junior officials were made to understand who should be awarded what building contracts, so that “the sun would shine for everyone,” the court said, in delivering verdicts in the case against 12 officials and more than 60 contractors accused of corruption. The court heard how the officials would demand bribes in the form of cash, restaurant meals and holidays, as well as private renovation work on their homes. Contractors who refused were blacklisted, while junior officials who refused to take part were sidelined or transferred. The officials in question were given sentences ranging from three months to two years, all suspended; three were found guilty but given no sentence. The contractors, meanwhile, received suspended sentences of three months to one year, and a ban on professional activity of three years, also suspended. Several contractors, as well as the companies charged, were given no sentence. “Officials and contractors cannot be allowed to hold the free market to ransom by making price-fixing agreements for government contracts,” the court said in its judgement. “Not only were honest businesspeople victims; so were the finances of the state.”

been worked out. I’ll be able to say more after the summer.” Maertens’ first job will be to coax Voka into a new structure. “Hans Maertens has the job of strengthening Voka both in its mission and in its communications, and to work with the different sectors on regional social consultation,” said Voka chair Michel Delbaere. \ AH

Thalys becomes independent company The French and Belgian railway authorities, SNCF and NMBS, have completed the formalities to hive off the high-speed train service Thalys as a separate and independent company. The two authorities will continue to own the service, 40% to the NMBS and 60% to SNCF. The goal of the move is to allow faster and more efficient decision-making, the two authorities said in a joint statement. Thalys will be responsible for its own rail infrastructure, rolling stock and personnel. When it was set up in 1996, Thalys was a consortium, which also included the Dutch NS and the German Deutsche Bahn, with each country responsible for Thalys traffic within its territory. The system proved complicated: Thalys was, for example, not allowed to contact its drivers directly but had to go through the rail authority

where the train was currently located. Germany and the Netherlands have now stepped out of the Thalys holding, though German ICE high-speed trains, as well as the French TGV, continue to operate in Belgium under NMBS licence. Thalys will now increase its personnel from 200

to 550, taking on about 150 staff of the NMBS who will be seconded to the service, while retaining their status as NMBS employees. NMBS will receive €75 million a year from Thalys for maintenance of trains at its Vorst depot in Brussels, for ticket sales and for the seconded staff. At the same time, the rail authority is now relieved of €12 to €15 million a year in investments. “Thalys is starting a new chapter,” said CEO Agnès Ogier. “Manoeuvrability and efficiency will be improved, thanks to this simplified structure. That will allow us to reach new heights.” Ogier also announced that Thalys intends to increase the frequency of its journeys on the Brussels-Amsterdam route to 14 a day by 2016. It will also add Dortmund to its destinations in 2017, as well as introducing a lower priced lastminute ticket for groups of passengers. \ AH

\ InnOVATIOn

aPril 8, 2015

All in the mind

WeeK in innovation

flemish neurologist calls for more funding for brain disease research senne starckx More articles by senne \ flanderstoday.eu

www.BElgianBraincouncil.BE

ue to an ageing population and better treatment for all kinds of diseases, brain disorders are likely to be the number one health problem of the 21st century. According to estimates by the Belgian Brain Council, one in three Belgians is at risk of being incapacitated this year as a result of a brain disease. “These diseases range from stroke to severe depression to rapidly progressive dementia,” says Steven Laureys, a Flemish neurologist at the Coma Science Group based at Liège’s university hospital. Public health costs related to brain disease rose by more than 40% between 2004 and 2010, to a staggering €18.4 billion. This figure only accounts for the direct costs. Indirect costs for society like absence from work through illness, unemployment and social exclusion take it higher. The rising costs don’t correspond with the money spent by the federal government to find a way to tackle brain diseases – both on a fundamental, scientific level and in the clinical, applied area – according to the Brain Council. Only 11.8% of the total funding for Belgian research goes to neuroscience. That’s way too little, says the organisation, which rang the alarm bell at a colloquium last month in Brussels dedicated to the question: What’s the future of brain research in Belgium?

If we had a campaign against brain diseases like we have against cancer, we might be able to treat the disorders According to Laureys, a graduate of the Free University of Brussels (VUB), the lack of funding is connected to the complex distribution of federal and regional competences. “The federal government recently decided to drop the Interuniversity Attraction Poles Programme, which was part of the Belgian Science Policy Office,” he says. The programme, Laureys continues, “brought

The growth of tumours could be battled by impeding the burning of fatty acids by cancer cells. The discovery was made by scientists from the University of Leuven and Flemish life sciences research centre VIB. To grow, cancer cells need food substances that are supplied through blood, and produce proteins that encourage the formation of blood vessels. Therapies aim to prevent this by focusing primarily on proteins, but the cells can still find ways to stimulate blood vessel formation. Impeding the burning of fatty acids should be more efficient. By blocking the breakdown of fatty acids in the endothelial cells, the cells are starved, resulting in the prevention of new blood vessel formation.

UGent team wins prize with wooden toy © Belpress

neurologist steven Laureys thinks better collaboration, funding and campaigning could lead to actual cures

together different networks of research groups from both sides of the language border. This decision is difficult for the neurosciences in particular, as in both regions our field has a strong presence in academia and at the university hospitals.” The complex Belgian structure also makes it more difficult to secure European funding, he says. “This system determines when it’s Flanders’, Wallonia’s or Brussels’ turn to apply for funding.” As a consequence, he says, in the Human Brain Project – the European Commission’s €1 billion flagship project that aims to simulate an entire human brain on a computer – “we were only able to get some crumbs.” A more solid collaboration between Walloon universities and the Flemish Research Foundation (FWO), says Laureys, would also be welcome in order to reinforce existing networks of Flemish and French speakers. “There’s no language boundary in Belgian neuroscience. Our lingua franca is English.” Ideally, Belgium would have a proper federal institute for neurosciences, he continues. “This institute would allocate funding on an independent and peer-reviewed basis, just like the FWO does in Flanders for fundamental science,”

says Laureys. “The UK, which also has regions with a high degree of autonomy, has the National Brain Council – an organisation that functions thoroughly cross-border.” The problem, he continues, “is not the government alone. In Belgium, and more generally in Europe, we lack funding from private partners. There are fields that get money from pharmaceutical companies – like Janssen Pharmaceutica, which has put €5 million into the University of Leuven’s Stellar project to boost research into Alzheimer’s disease – but in general we still suffer from what I call therapeutic nihilism.” Laureys likes to make a comparison with the battle against cancer. “Cancer research receives huge amounts of funding – with good reason. Thanks to this, the perception of cancer has changed dramatically over the years.” This could happen with brain research, as well. “Not so long ago we used to say that somebody has cancer. Now we mention what particular type of cancer they have, as the chances of survival differ so much now. If we were able to launch a similar campaign against brain diseases, we might someday end up with disorders we can treat.”

Q&a

www.Q-Biologicals.BE

Martine Vandermarliere is chief operating officer at biotech company Q-Biologicals, which recently launched the first Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) infrastructure for the production of biologicals in Flanders. First of all, what exactly is a GMP facility? It’s a special lab that meets all the requirements to produce candidate medicine for testing on humans. One essential requirement is the air quality in the lab: There should be a minimal amount of dust particles and micro-organisms in the air. Secondly, the technological devices must have the highest possible reliability, so that they always carry out their task perfectly and identically. And the different steps of the production process have to be completely traceable, so we can be sure

Leuven scientists starve cancer cells

the right procedures are always followed. What is the importance of the new facility? For the company, it’s important because we can deliver a more complete service to clients now. But this is also the first service GMP facility in Flanders, so it’s an important addition to the expertise and reputation of the Flemish biotechnology sector, which is booming. It’s also convenient that we work with SEPS Pharma, a company that, just like us, is in the VIB’s bio incubator, at the Tech-

nology Park of Ghent University in Zwijnaarde. We produce and purify biologicals – substances like vaccines, therapeutic proteins or antibodies used for treatments or diagnostic tests – and SEPS Pharma specialises in ascertaining the right dosage of medication.

You recently received the award for fastest growing start-up in East Flanders Our smooth progress since the start in 2011 can partly be explained by the collective experience of our team. All the co-founders, like me, gained extensive expertise in this field at the biopharmaceutical company Innogenetics – now called Fujirebio Europe. The support and infrastructure of VIB at their incubator has also been advantageous for us. And the market for biologicals is growing substantially. They are increasingly used for diagnosing cancer tumours and as an additional cancer therapy, together with chemotherapy.

Five Ghent University (UGent) industrial design students have won the sixth Start Academy competition. An initiative of the non-profit Flemish Young Enterprises and ING Belgium, Start Academy offers students experience in setting up an enterprise and creating a business plan. The final took place last week. Six teams presented their business plans to a jury, led by Wim De Waele, the CEO of Flanders’ digital research centre iMinds. UGent team Woodyou won with its plan for the production of a sustainable wooden toy car called Wili. The car is sold in a kit, so children can make it themselves and personalise the toy. Children could also use an app, which would provide ideas for designing the car. Their design would then be manufactured in wood. Via the app, children could also follow the production process of their own toy.

“Make ICT courses obligatory”

Computer science studies, including lessons on programming, should be a required subject in primary and secondary education, according to the Royal Flemish Academy for Sciences and Arts in an advisory report to the government. “Every child has to have good ICT skills,” wrote working group chairs Giovanni Samaey and Jacques Van Remortel in De Standaard. “Youngsters should acquire computational problem-solving skills at school, not just learn how to work with a computer.” ICT knowledge will also help youngsters to participate in social and ethical discussions on technology. \ AF

\ Interview by Andy Furniere

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\ eDUCATIOn

aPril 8, 2015

In the field

WeeK in education

uHasselt students put theory into practice to help local businesses Bartosz Brzezinski More articles by Bartosz \ flanderstoday.eu

asselt University has launched a unique business modelling programme with the city of Genk and local businesses. The initiative aims to give students hands-on management experience while boosting economic activity in the region. Over the next two months, 21 students from the Master’s of management programme will work with six family-owned companies to improve their business plans. With the help of the Business Model Canvas, a template designed for use on existing enterprises, the students will take a closer look at how each company operates and analyse their customer relationships and revenue streams. According to Matty Paquay, a visiting professor who supervises the programme, the goal is to “provide the students with professional experience and competitive advantage when they enter the labour market”. Before approaching the companies, the students learned how to apply the canvas method in a class taught by Paquay from September to January at Hasselt University. Paquay is one of only 30 consultants in the world certified in the programme. The template is essentially a board divided into segments showing different aspects of a company. Unlike other plans, which tend to be very abstract and span 30 to 40 pages, “the idea is to bring the business model to its essence, with

Piet Pauwels, dean of the business economics faculty at Hasselt University (left) and visiting professor Matty Paquay

the use of nine building blocks that help you look at your company in a very structured way,” explains Paquay. In designing the class, he wanted to combine academic material with real-life experience. “I had been working with the students for five months, not only teaching them theory, but also developing practical skills,” he says. “When I saw they were ready to function in a business environment, I opted to go out into the field.”

The first collaborative session took place at the end of March. Divided into small groups, the students spent half a day with the companies in an effort to better understand their operations. “It was quite successful,” says Liam Juan, one of the students. “Based on the information the company has given us, we framed what their business model looks like, and that's something businesses often lack to begin with.” The students were asked to provide a step-bystep overview of the companies’ structures, from manufacturing and distribution to research and development, and organised each aspect into categories. “The group provided a very fresh look at our company,” says Stijn Lemmens, CEO of Euroserre, one of the Genk companies taking part. “Their suggestions don’t necessarily have to generate more profit, but if they provide a better understanding of how our company operates, and of our customers, that is beneficial enough.” In recent years, Genk has experienced economic downturn, culminating with closure of the Ford manufacturing plant last December. According to Paquay, the city is now hoping to strengthen entrepreneurship in the region, where most businesses are still family-owned. “They are supporting initiatives like ours because they see the value we bring in helping overcome the negative economic effects of recent foreclosures,” he says.

Recognition of eight Brussels schools should be revoked, say inspectors In its annual report released last week, inspectors of the Flemish education system were very critical of the quality of Dutch-speaking education in Brussels. One of the biggest problems is how few teachers remain in the system for a long period of time, it said. The inspection services advised the government to withdraw the recognition of eight Dutchspeaking primary schools in Brussels. A further 66 primary schools were given three years to deal with a number of issues. Only a minority of schools received an unconditionally positive evaluation. In secondary education, only one out of five schools received a positive evaluation. The situation, the inspectorate admitted, can

be partly explained by the challenges posed by Brussels’ student population. Less than half of the students come from a family where Dutch is spoken at home. The number of students with a non-Western cultural background has increased to about 60%. “Teaching in Brussels demands an expertise not all teachers possess,” said inspector-general Lieven Viaene. “We noticed that few teachers in Brussels stay in the same position for an extended period.” Viaene feels that there is a need for a more stable body of teachers and more focused assistance for schools that face the most challenges. For schools located in Flanders, the inspectorate’s evaluations were mostly positive and in

line with last year’s results. It advised the withdrawal of recognition for 15 schools, while 226 were asked to make adjustments. \ Andy Furniere

Q&a

www.aftlEuvEn.BE

focused on entrepreneurship, but until a couple of years ago it didn’t really offer it as an alternative to getting a job. Our aim is to tell students: “Look, you can also become an entrepreneur. You don’t have to go to a careers fair and look for a job there.”

Later this month, student group AFT Leuven will take three dozen students on a behind-the-scenes tour of accelerators, incubators and start-ups in Berlin, the heart of Europe’s tech scene. Member Miriam De Wolf explains the group’s purpose. What does AFT Leuven do? AFT stands for “Academics for Technology”. This is our second year and our aim is to encourage and support tech entrepreneurship among students, for now mainly in Leuven. We organise lectures about, for instance, how to launch a start-up and IT innovations of the future. In addition, we have workshops where we teach Leuven students technical skills like app programming. Finally, we have two big events that are open to students from across Flanders – the Student Startup Trip and a hackathon for students.

Why are you organising the Student Startup Trip Berlin? Ourgoalistoimmersestudentswho have heard about entrepreneurship and who are considering it on some level in the start-up culture of a city where it’s really strong. This way, we want to persuade those people to start companies here, during their studies or after. Why is it important that students be encouraged to consider entrepreneurship? Entrepreneurship is what continues to stimulate our economy and what will create a lot of jobs

– especially in the long term. Students often have entrepreneurship in them, but are missing that little incentive, that little something, which means they need to be persuaded to really consider it and make that move. The University of Leuven is very

What was the outcome of your trip to London last year? One person left to work in London. A number of people who joined the trip realised their start-up plans in Leuven and joined accelerators here in Belgium. We also got interesting contacts out of the trip. For instance, we visited London-based accelerator Entrepreneur First, whichwenowworkwithtoorganise our hackathon Apps for Students. \ Interview by Linda A Thompson

Failing students turn to teaching studies

Teacher training in Flanders is increasingly becoming the study discipline that students choose after failing elsewhere, with about half of teaching students falling into this category, education minister Hilde Crevits told the Flemish parliament last week. “From the 10,000 students who start the Bachelor’s degree in teacher training for secondary education, about half have first tried another discipline,” she said. “In 2007, only 30% of students had first tried something else.” According to MP Vera Celis of N-VA, many teaching students later choose a job other than teaching.

Mechelen school prohibits long skirts

The Catholic school of Ursulinen Mechelen has prohibited girls from wearing long skirts, according to the Antwerp intercultural association Kif Kif. It says the measure is directed at Muslim girls, who are asked to roll up their skirts when they arrive at school. Headscarves were banned by the school previously. According to Kif Kif, the school responded to student complaints by emphasising that all forms of religious expression are banned at school. The school released a statement saying that Kif Kif was spreading “incorrect information” and referred to its regulations, which have been approved by the school council. The regulation states that students should not wear clothing that impedes their freedom of movement and that can cause them to “stumble”.

Inspections cause stress and anxiety

Inspection evaluations are very stressful for school staff, without leading to much improvement, according to PhD researcher Maarten Penninckx at Antwerp University. Penninckx surveyed 2,668 members of staff in 137 schools across Flanders; 45% reported feeling stress and anxiety anticipating the arrival of inspectors. One in four school directors and teachers also said they suffered from “strongly damaged professional enthusiasm” up to two weeks after the evaluation. About 53% of schools indicated that they made changes based on findings by inspectors. The study showed that 87% of staff are in favour of concrete advice after the evaluation. Inspectors are only allowed to examine whether learning goals are being achieved, not how schools can improve day-today functioning. \ AF

\ LIVInG

WeeK in activities koksijde kids A weekend of active fun for kids of all ages: for the little ones, bouncy castles and face painting. For the older ones, challenge courses and crazy bikes. And for the daredevils, a zip line, laser tag and miniquads. 11-12 April, 10.3018.00; Zeelaan, Koksijde; free \ www.bezoekers.koksijde.be

Tram tunnel On 18 April, a new tram line will connect Astridplein in Antwerp with the nearby Wommelgem. The week before the opening, the public can buy tickets to walk through the underground tunnel, guided by light installations. 11-16 April; premetro station Astrid; €5 \ www.tramstad.be

Discovery ride The first of five bike rides in Limburg takes you through Haspengouw and the South Kempen. Starting and ending in Aarschot, it goes through Lier, Heist-op-den-Berg, Tremelo and Werchter. The five routes range from 57 to 126 kilometres. 12 April, 10.00; Sportcentrum Demervallei, Demervallei 8, Aarschot; free \ www.love2bike.org

Firepot evenings A guided evening walk with a storyteller through fruit orchards, lit by firepots that keep the budding trees warm through the night. The walk ends around a fire with a bowl of hot soup. Register via info.toerisme@sint-truiden. be. Until 2 May, 19.30; Jacobsfruit, Heide 114, Sint-Truiden; €8 \ www.jacobsfruit.be

Harbour tour Take a boat tour in Nieuwpoort, the only natural harbour on the Flemish coast, during the Easter holidays. Includes the IJzermonding nature reserve, yacht haven, fish market and Albert I monument. 9-18 April, 15.00-16.00; Seastar, Robert Orlentpromenade 2, Nieuwpoort; €9.50 \ www.seastar.be

smoefelen en roefelen

I can’t translate it, but I can tell you that it’s a self-guided 30k bike tour in West Flanders’ gorgeous Heuvelland with stops along the way to sample local specialities, with a simultaneous market of local products in Wijtschate. 12 April, departures 10.00-16.00 from three possible locations; free. \ www.heuvelland.be

\ 10

Lights out

Poetry event takes red-light district approach Katrien lindemans More articles by katrien \ flanderstoday.eu

www.PoEZiEBordEEl.BE

f all the literary genres, poetry has got to be the one with the worst rep. People often find it too arty, too convoluted, too much like strings of difficult words without meaning. In New York, fans of the genre have found a way to bring poetry closer, ahem, to the people by placing poets and listeners together in the same room. In a dimly lit, brothel-style venue to be exact. “A couple of years ago, I interviewed Stephanie Berger in New York,” Ineke Van Nieuwenhove tells me. “Together with Nicholas Adamski, she founded the Poetry Brothel, and I immediately loved what they were doing.” Van Nieuwenhove, a creative entrepreneur, saw the potential of such an event in Flanders. She enlisted the help of Michael Vandebril, himself a poet and co-ordinator of the Antwerpen Boekenstad initiative, to develop a local programme. “The evening develops as a visit to a regular brothel would,” Van Nieuwenhove explains. “I am the madam and invite you to spend some time with my poets.” The first Poeziëbordeel was organised during the Poeziënacht (Poetry Night) event in Bruges last summer. It proved so popular that two more were scheduled – one in a castle outside of Ghent, another in Antwerp’s Huis Happaert. All sold out. So now organisers are gearing up for the fourth edition at a 1930s hotel in Brussels’ Elsene district. While you might find the idea of sharing a room

Visitors to the Poetry Brothel are treated to a one-on-one poetry reading

with a Don Juan or a femme fatale a bit awkward, the Poeziëbordeel sessions have turned out to be incredibly popular. “We have some regulars who show up for every edition,” Van Nieuwenhove laughs. Fortunately, every Poëziebordeel comes with a bar and entertainment in the main room for

those who might need a cool down. Oh, and feel free to dress up to match the atmosphere. After all, you might need an alter ego to step out of your comfort zone, too. 11-12 april, 21.00

Flemish theatre group crowdfunds Brussels shows A Flemish theatre project that brings together non-native speakers of Dutch and a four-piece ensemble to sing Flemish classics is currently in the middle of a 30-leg tour. But one place you won’t find them is central Brussels. Fast Forward is based in Vilvoorde and stages easy-to-understand Dutch-language theatre to give learners of the language a fun experience outside the classroom. The

players in the current production Gelukkig zijn (Being Happy) are a strikingly diverse group, from Rwandan refugees to French-speaking Belgians. Many of the players live in Brussels, but none of the capital’s venues have booked the group. The problem, explains Fast Forward director Peter Schoenaerts, is that, while the show plays in cultural centres across the country, the majority of the centres

run by the Flemish Community in Brussels are too small, and the larger ones have declined to respond. “We haven’t been booked by anyone, even though Brussels really needs cultural initiatives for people learning Dutch,” Schoenaerts says. In his view, it’s important for a production like Gelukkig zijn to be staged in the heart of the city. “Schools and adult education centres are crying out for it, but it’s too difficult for

www.fast-forward.BE

them to organise by themselves,” he explains. In response, the group has launched a crowdfunding campaign. If Fast Forward can raise €6,500 by the end of April, they’ll be able to fund three shows in the capital themselves. “Anyone can support us and get something back right away,” says Schoenaerts. “Whoever donates €10, for instance, gets a ticket to a show in Brussels.” \ Alan Hope

bite growing your own With a growing interest in sustainable living and healthy eating in Flanders comes a rise in the number of people keen on growing their own food. Some turn a corner of their garden into rows of beans and squash, while others choose to till a fertile plot in a community or urban garden. Backyard chicken runs are also growing in popularity. It’s easy to see why gardening is a growing trend, as it’s economical and even healthy. Studies show that people who grow their own fruit and veg tend to eat more fruit and veg in general. Not to mention that rooting around in the soil is a meditative and low-impact form of exercise. And yet there are more people, still, whose dream of growing their own food remains just that: a dream. What’s stopping these would-be farmers from planting a few seeds out back? Because there’s more to it than that. For starters, is the soil optimal? Is the plot next to a busy road or other pollutant? Is there a patch of grass available for the chickens? What do the plants

Hotel Le Berger

Herdersstraat 24, Brussels

www.gEZonduitEigEngrond.BE

need to thrive? To answer these questions, among others, and provide a wealth of information on the subject, the government of Flanders teamed up with several partners to launch the new campaign Gezond uit eigen grond (Healthy Homegrown). Presented recently by Flemish environment and agriculture minister Joke Schauvliege, the initiative includes a new website and practical guide. The Gezond uit eigen grond site lists the most important rules of thumb for healthy

gardening and raising happy, organic-egglaying hens. Start by filling out an online questionnaire to quickly determine the state of your soil and get advice on making it garden-ready. There are even instructions on how to take a sample of your soil and find out the results online. Should the soil turn out to be too contaminated, raised garden beds provide a great alternative. Next, pick out the best possible location for your garden, taking into account sunlight, shelter from rain and wind and distance from buildings or traffic. When it’s time to start sowing seeds, learn why it’s important to plant lettuce next to carrots, for example, or tomatoes next to strawberries. The right combinations of plants are important, but so are correct watering schedules and disease prevention. Gezond uit eigen grond might just be the impetus needed for those still hesitant to turn the dream of a backyard garden into reality. \ Robyn Boyle

\ ARTs

aPril 8, 2015

Behind closed doors

new exhibition collects personal portraits that Peter Paul rubens made of his family ian mundell More articles by Ian \ flanderstoday.eu

www.ruBEnsHuis.BE

Peter Paul Rubens was a highly successful painter who worked for royalty and other wealthy patrons across Europe in the 17th century. But there was also a private side to his art, which is explored in Rubens in Private: The Master Portrays His Family, a new exhibition at the Rubens House in Antwerp.

ubens in Private brings together paintings and drawings of Rubens’ family, works that were intended to remain in their home – the very space where they are now exhibited – rather than go on display. When he died in 1640, his will specified that the portraits he painted of himself and of his wives should remain in the family. While these images lie outside Rubens’ formal oeuvre, they still played an important role in his life. “They were meant to serve as memories,” explains Rubens House director Ben van Beneden. “They served as examples to follow, and, in a very subtle way, they created the image that the artist wanted to present of himself and of his family.” In a self-portrait dated between 1623 and 1630, for example, Rubens casts himself as a kindly head of the household,

This is not just someone sitting for a portrait painter; this is a woman posing for her husband implausibly youthful for a man in his 50s. Go forward to the self-portrait of 163839, and Rubens appears to have aged dramatically, becoming a heavyweight man of substance. In neither painting, nor in a self-portrait commissioned by the future Charles I of England, does he identify himself as an artist. While these self-portraits make an impressive trio at the centre of the exhibition, the star of the show is undoubtedly Isabella Brant, Rubens’ first wife. We first meet her in a large, formal portrait by Anthony van Dyck. The precocious young artist worked in Rubens’ studio, and this portrait may have been painted as a parting gift before van Dyck left Antwerp for an extended journey to Italy in 1621. Brant shares the frame with the massive portico that links the two wings of the Rubens House, rooting the image in this location. But compare Brant’s cool gaze in this formal portrait with her impish look in Rubens’ private portrait of her from the same period. “This is not just someone sitting for a portrait painter,” van Beneden says. “This is a woman posing

Rubens’ “Portrait of Isabella Brant” (above), dated 1620-25, and his “Helena Fourment with Her Children”, painted 1636-37 (left)

for her husband. They must have been joking or talking to one another – about what we don’t know. It is so full of vitality.” The rapport is equally strong in a chalk drawing of Brant, the lightness of the lines and subtlety of colour quite unlike Rubens’ heavier formal portraits. “Many of Rubens’ family portraits are very simple, very sketch-like,” says van Beneden. “They are informal, direct and honest.” A final portrait of Brant is more sombre and was probably completed after she died in 1626, a victim of the plague. Rubens also made private paintings of his children, and there is something of Brant’s look in his portrait of the fiveyear-old Clara Serena. The exhibition’s main coup is that it has another portrait of the girl, previously attributed to a follower of Rubens, which restoration and research now indicate to be the work of her father. “We are presenting it to the world and to international scholarship as being by Rubens, and we look forward to all the reactions that will bring with it,” van Beneden says. The painting used

to belong to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York but was sold in 2013 as a minor work, to a private collector. Now restored, the painting has a beguiling lightness of touch. It may also be a posthumous portrait, painted after Clara Serena died in 1623, aged 12. Rubens married for a second time in 1630 when he was 53, and his bride, Helena Fourment, just 16. Whatever else might be said of the match, it gave Rubens a new lease of life as an artist, prompting a move into landscapes, for example. The exhibition’s earliest image of the couple is a rough sketch by Rubens on the back of the chalk portrait of Brant. This act of recycling seems even more scandalous than the difference in their ages. Subsequent paintings show Fourment alone and with a growing family. Even though she was reputed a great beauty, these pictures do not have half the feeling of Rubens’ portraits of Brant. One painting that would have redressed

until 28 june

the balance is the sexually charged “Het Pelsken”, which shows the nude Fourment barely covering herself with a fur coat, gazing provocatively out at the artist. Once again, this was not a painting intended for the public. “It probably hung in the bedroom of Rubens’ house, either here or in Elewijt on his country estate,” says van Beneden. “Het Pelsken” resides in Vienna’s Kunsthistorisches Museum. Naturally, van Beneden would have liked it to appear in the show, but the painter’s methods make this impossible. “Rubens had the terrible habit – and I hate him for it – of painting on panel,” he explains. “Wood is incredibly fragile, and, on top of that, Rubens also often constructed the panels on which he painted from several planks of wood joined together. That makes these portraits even more fragile, and they can never travel.” The exhibition makes up for this with a large facsimile of “Het Pelsken”, showing the wood joins. It also presents the results of newly commissioned research that reveals that the painting’s plain background conceals the image of an antique fountain, complete with the figure of a urinating boy. “That’s not just a reference to fertility but also to male ejaculation, making the painting even more erotic.” The exhibition is the result of loans from museums and private collections across Europe and the US. Even without “Het Pelsken” and several other paintings that were too fragile to travel, van Beneden thinks the works assembled provide a new view of the artist. “They show a completely different Rubens,” he say. “Not the Rubens that the public knows, but Rubens in private.” And as a champion of the Flemish painter, he cannot resist drawing a parallel with a Dutch rival. “We hear a lot about how intimate and emotional Rembrandt is, but forget Rembrandt; just go and look at Rubens.”

Rubenshuis

Wapper 9-11, Antwerp

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aPril 8, 2015

A life in music

flemish singer stijn meuris looks back on 25 years of bands, albums and adaptation christophe verbiest More articles by Christophe \ flanderstoday.eu

www.stijnmEuris.BE

Though he was never a full-time musician, not even at the height of his career, music has been the through line between 25 years of music-making and multiple bands for Flemish singer Stijn Meuris. “I sometimes think that in another life I would have been a great tour manager.”

xactly a quarter century ago, Noordkaap won Humo’s Rock Rally, then the only local rock contest with any influence. Singer Stijn Meuris was only 25, but he was already a veteran of sorts. Eight years earlier, he had made it to the Rock Rally final with Gruppenbild, a teen cold wave band, heavily influenced by Joy Division and the likes. Still, according to a new vinyl box set, Meuris’ official music career began in 1990. The luxury set contains three of the artist’s albums recorded over the last 25 years with different bands – Gigant by Noordkaap, Grand by Monza (the band Meuris started when Noordkaap folded in 2000) and Mirage by Meuris (the band he has played with since 2005). Also included are recordings of Gruppenbild’s first song “Maatschappij” (Society) and the new Meuris track “Kommer & kwel” (Sorrow & Misery). “Maatschappij” was created in a different century, both literally and metaphorically, and is it separated by 33 years from the other track on the single. Over that time, Meuris grew older and wiser and exchanged his blond mane for white. But it’s still unmistakably the same artist expressing himself. “From a young age, I knew I wanted to make music,” he tells me just ahead of his anniversary concert at Brussels’ Ancienne Belgique. “It helped that as a teenager I met some people who guided me.” Meuris grew up in the Limburg town of Overpelt, near the Dutch border, in an environment where people had set ideas about pathways to musical careers. “At that time, the north of Limburg was a cultural wasteland,” he says. “The dominant idea was that to make music you should first go to school for years. It was a revelation when I realised that wasn’t true.” Throughout Noordkaap’s run, Meuris worked as a journalist for regional newspaper Het Belang van Limburg. After the band pulled the plug, he mainly worked as a TV reporter and director, though he did some occasional writing here and there. In fact, even if he managed to record 13 albums in the last 25 years, he was never a full-time musician. “I find that weird, also,” the singer says. “But I still think it’s been a wise choice. When Noordkaap was really popular and played a few times every week, it wasn’t always easy to combine the band with my job as a journalist. But I was young and could handle it.” Meuris says he later found a better balance between music and work, but he was always guided by one simple question. “With everything I did – making music, writing, television, now also giving lectures – I always thought: ‘Why not? It sounds like a cool thing.’ But I never saw them as ‘jobs’. I’m like Woody Allen in Zelig – put me in a new environment and I’ll adapt.”

Meuris, fronted by the man of the same name (second from right) play in Brussels this week and sint-niklaas in May

But music has been the nucleus of Meuris’ life. “Not only making music but also listening to it and everything that goes along with it,” he says. “I sometimes think that in another life I would have been a great tour manager.” According to the artist, it’s a coincidence that each of the bands he has played with is represented with one vinyl album in the box. “I know that I have made a few records too many, certainly with Noordkaap, without being able to precisely pinpoint which ones,” he says. “I chose the best three, and they happen to be one by Noordkaap, one by Monza and one by Meuris. The consequence of the choice of these three albums is that there are a bunch of great songs missing, but I preferred this box to the usual compilation.” Meuris sings in his mother tongue rather than the more popular choice of English. That remains a choice of a minority of musicians in Flanders – even more so 25 years ago. Yet Meuris never doubted his choice. “I think my English is good enough to write song lyrics, but I think and live in Dutch,” he explains. “I have the utmost respect for Flemish artists who write great lyrics in English. But when I hear the others, and they’re the majority, I think:

‘Come on!’ And that’s not a conservative, nationalist reflex.” Meuris is marking his silver jubilee and birthday (he turned 50 at the end of last year), with the new song “Kommer & Kwel” (Gloom & Doom), the first track from the new Meuris album that is nearly finished. Still, the song doesn’t exactly strike an upbeat note. “Het is niet altijd kommer en kwel, maar meestal wel,” he sings. (Things aren’t always gloom and doom, but mostly they are.) “I admit that it’s simple doggerel, but I believe in what I’m singing. I cherish optimism and dynamism, but I also believe that life ain’t no party. And if it ever was, I never attended it, and it’s certainly over now. I cannot pinpoint what is precisely going wrong, but for a few years now, we’ve been living in strange times.”

8 april, 20.00 Ancienne Belgique

Anspachlaan 110, 1000 Brussel

More neW albuMs tHis MontH selah sue

Reason • Because With her second album, the Leuven singer who has sold more than one million albums and EPs has firmly positioned herself in the genre of contemporary R&B. The rough edges have been smoothed out on Because and even her soulful voice sounds less raw than on her amazing, eponymous 2011 debut. That’s a shame, but it doesn’t make this album bad; it just means it’s lacking in identity at times. Standout tracks like “Sadness” – dark soul with a ragamuffin touch – demonstrate that Selah Sue is still an excellent singer who writes great songs – just not all the time.

reymer

Thrill My Soul • Norma Tine Reymer used to front Flowers for Breakfast, the unsung Antwerp band that released two great albums in the second half of the 1990s. In the mid-2000s, she followed up with a stellar album with the group Billie King. And now she has finally broken another years-long silence with her first solo album. Thrill My Soul marries folk with country, though a poppy touch is never far off. Sometimes, she also veers into rock, but my favourite track is the bluesy “Hammer and Nail”, which gracefully moves to a slow-burning rhythm. My soul was definitely thrilled.

mad dog loose signs from the lighthouse • 62 TV Nineteen years after their first and only album, Mad Dog Loose are back, albeit minus one of the four original band members. Nothing much has changed, although Signs from the Lighthouse does sound a bit more acoustic than its predecessor, to sometimes good effect, such as the charming “Western Corner”. The band still excel at jagged rock songs with surprise violin appearances. Just as surprising are the liberties singer Alain Allaeys takes with the English language. Still, it’s a welcome comeback.

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\ ARTs

WeeK in arts & culture De keersmaeker receives Venice’s Golden Lion

Flemish choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker has been awarded a Golden Lion by the Venice Biennale. She was chosen to receive the lifetime achievement award for the “original synthesis between formal rigour and pathos,” embodied, said the jury, in her 1983 piece Rosas danst Rosas. “Her poetic gestures had a significant impact on Western cultures towards an understanding of the body in theatre as a medium for experimentation with language,” said Virgilio Sieni, the director of the biennale’s dance section. De Keersmaeker presented her piece Rain at the Dance Biennale in 2001, her dancers performing under a shower of silver strings. The Golden Lion will be awarded on 27 June. Following the ceremony will be a presentation of Fase, Four Movements to the Music of Steve Reich, De Keersmaeker’s breakthrough piece from 1982. She will dance one of the parts herself.

Four Flemish films at Visions du Réel

Four Flemish films have been selected to screen at the influential Visions du Réel documentary film festival in Nyon, Switzerland. One of them – Twilight of Life by Sylvain Biegeleisen – will open the festival on 17 April. Biegeleisen’s film (pictured below) documents the final two years in the life of his mother, who, at the start of the film, was given just a few weeks to live by her doctors. The other Flemish films to screen at Visions du Réel are Battles by Isabelle Tollenaere, a look at world conflicts through the traces they leave behind; The Rabbit and the Teasel by Els Dietvorst, which mixes fiction and reality to create a modern parable about agriculture and never-ending rain in the Irish countryside; and On Difference as Such, a short film by Christina Stuhlberger, in which French philosopher Alain Badiou’s theory about love – “a unique trust placed in chance” – is brought to life.

\ 14

Mind games

flemish artist joris ghekiere scrapes, spins and drowns his paintings christophe verbiest More articles by Christophe \ flanderstoday.eu

www.smaK.BE

oris Ghekiere loves to play games. “I like to create confusion, which makes my work difficult to pinpoint,” the Flemish painter tells me as we walk through his exhibition at SMAK, the contemporary art museum in Ghent. “I have no ‘branding’; nearly every painting serves a different goal.” Tomorrow marks the Kortrijk-born painter’s first solo exhibition in a Flemish museum. As he’s nearly 60, it would appear to be a recognition long in coming, but Ghekiere doesn’t seem the least bit bothered.

paint on it – a colour gradient from light in the centre to dark at the edges,” he explains. “I let the painting dry and after a week I repeat the same process with another colour.” Using his fingers and a piece of rubber, or sometimes a brush, he then scrapes the paint from the second layer to create the image. “Sometimes I do add some extra paint to complete the image. I might even spray some extra paint, or sometimes I blow the paint away with the empty spray gun. I’ve become highly experienced in different ways of treating the paintings.” In some cases, he has finished a painting without touching a single brush. Other times, he “blinds” an image, as it were, by spraying it with a layer of white paint without entirely covering it. For his more abstract works, he uses templates or covers parts of the canvas with paper, which scrapes some of the paint away when removed. Or, he uses his fingernails to scratch paint away. And had I mentioned that Ghekiere once put a painting out in the rain? “I’m like a cook who, with a playful approach, makes the most diverse dishes,” he says. “I’m always questioning the medium. Starting a new painting is like going on a blind date.” Still, Ghekiere’s works don’t often look like paintings that have undergone unusual treatments, since both his figurative and abstract paintings hint at classical and modern examples. Perhaps it’s precisely this combination that gives most of his canvasses their haunting, uncanny character.

Starting a new painting is like going on a blind date The exhibition brings together works created in the last eight years and shows Ghekiere to be a nomadic artist. “I don’t stick to one reigning principle,” he says. “I’m more of a wanderer who moves from one theme to the other.” The balance between orientation and disorientation is one of those themes; another is the tension between watching and being watched, one that is especially strong in Ghekiere’s portraits of webcam girls. The artist doesn’t give any of his works titles. “I’m can’t come up with good titles,” Ghekiere says with a smile. “A title should add value. The problem with a title, also, is that it guides the spectator. With-

A naturally untitled Joris Ghekiere painting from 2010

out it, you can have an unhindered look at my paintings.” Ghekiere, who lives in Willebroek, Antwerp province, likes to travel, and his globetrotting has proven a steady source of inspiration. Sometimes those influences show up in fairly straightforward ways. A big bauble the artist saw in a Buddhist temple in Tibet, for instance, led him to create a painting of a mirror ball. But more often, his travels abroad impact the artist in more indirect ways. “Being dropped in a foreign environment

sharpens your senses,” he says. Ghekiere paints in a very idiosyncratic way, which he explains using one of his webcam girl paintings as an example. “I could paint the nose, the lips, the hair etc, but that’s a very classic, illustrative approach – you put paint on the canvas until it resembles the model.” His approach is exactly the opposite. “I put the canvas on a potter’s wheel and, while it turns, I spray oil

until 24 may

sMAk

Jan Hoetplein 2, Ghent

Pioneering films and obscure treasures in Cinematek’s Africa series

www.cinEmatEK.BE

Following celebrations in its hometown of Leuven, the Afrika Film Festival marks its 20th anniversary this year with a retrospective of its favourite films at Cinematek in Brussels. The programme makes for an excellent introduction to African cinema and is a chance to discover films that rarely make it onto our screens, big or small. Ousmane Sembène and Djibril Diop Mambety, both from Senegal, are among the better-known directors on the programme. Sembène’s Moolade (2004) is a powerful condemnation of female circumcision, typical of the director’s lifelong stance as a militant and also his final feature in a 40-year career. Mambety’s Hyenas (1992) is more cosmopolitan, taking its inspiration from a play by Friedrich Dürrenmatt. It concerns an old woman who returns to her village 30 years after being banished, intent on revenge. Among the obscure treasures in the selection is Taafé fanga (1997) by Adama Drabo (pictured), a lighthearted satire about a traditional village

where the women overthrow the men. The film is also worth seeing for its setting, among the strange cliff dwellings of Mali’s Dogon people. There is also a rare chance to see Sambizanga (1972) by Sarah Maldoror, a film about the Angolan resistance movement that effortlessly combines a political message with poetic images and a moving personal story. A contemporary of Sembène, Maldoror is only now getting the recognition she deserves as a pioneer of African cinema. Other figures from the early years of African cinema are mainly represented with later films.

These include Idrissa Ouedraogo from Burkina Faso (Samba Traoré, 1992), Henri Duparc from Ivory Coast (Bal poussière, 1989) and Haile Gerima from Ethiopia (Teza, 2008). The next generation of directors includes Mahamat-Saleh Haroun from Chad (Daratt, 2006) and Salif Traoré from Mali (Faro, la reine des eaux, 2007). In parallel with this African programme, Cinematek is revisiting the work of pioneering African American filmmaker Charles Burnett. The timing is perfect, since Burnett studied alongside Gerima at the University of California, Los Angeles film school in the 1970s, where both men looked to African directors such as Sembène for inspiration. Don’t miss Burnett’s debut feature, Killer of Sheep, a portrait of ghetto life that puts social realism above the clichés of blaxploitation. \ Ian Mundell

8 april to 5 may Cinematek

Baron Hortastraat 9, Brussels

\ AGenDA

aPril 8, 2015

Painting with light

concert

Luc Dondeyne until 3 may

an one be more painterly than Luc Dondeyne is in his new show This Town Ain’t Big Enough at Galerie Transit? Painterliness is an art term that refers to the presence of clear brushstrokes, Vincent Van Gogh probably being the most striking example. Most of Dondeyne’s 10 new canvasses are whirling with short brushstrokes. Seen from a distance they emanate a calmness, albeit a melancholic and, at times, even eerie one. “Dazzle”, for instance, shows a woman from the back, staring at a window covered with a folio. Or the square (Trafalgar, to be exact, seen from the main

Ghent Sam Amidon & Leo Abrahams: American countryfolk duo perform traditional songs, religious hymns and murder ballads. 15 April, 20.15, Handelsbeurs, Kouter 29

Galerie Transit, Mechelen www.transit.BE

entrance of the National Gallery) in “Static World” (pictured). The people seem to flee from its centre, being pushed to the side by an invisible yet overpowering force. Or the most striking example, “Next Nature”. Trunks lie in the water, amid the reflection of trees. Is it a gentle nature scene? Or is it post-apocalyptic? Though green is the dominant colour of “Next Nature”, an up-close study of the painting reveals how one of the tree trunks is a swarming coalescence of greys, blues, whites, browns and beiges. In the end, Dondeyne’s paintings are about light. The light

\ www.handelsbeurs.be

dance Antwerp

that reflects in the window of “Dazzle”, in the splashing saturated blue water on a ship’s starboard side in “Drifting” or that mirrors the bubble that is “Wolk” (Cloud). It’s light, too, that bathes the square of “Yellow Shade” or

visual arts

festival

the universe of thorgal

Kermezzo(o)

until 6 september

Belgian Comic strip Center, Brussels

10 april to 2 may

www.comicscEntEr.nEt

In 1977, readers of Belgian strip Tintin were introduced to a young Viking warrior named Thorgal Aegirsson. The character, created by Polish illustrator Grzegorz Rosinski and Belgian writer Jean Van Hamme, would soon prove a boon for publisher Le Lombard, spawning a lucrative multimedia franchise that’s still very much alive and kicking. This exhibition features original sketches and prints by Rosinski and fellow noted Thorgal artists Giulio De Vita and Roman Surzhenko. It’s also a celebration of Thorgal’s writers throughout the years. The list includes not just Van Hamme and fellow Belgian Yves Sente but also mononymous Spirou penman Yann. \ Georgio Valentino

Spring has sprung, and hybrid arts festival Kermezzo(o) has chosen the quintessential springtime location for its inaugural edition. The three-week programme unfolds against the leafy backdrop of Brussels’ Jubelpark, with tents hosting comedy, cabaret, burlesque, magic and concerts. Opening night sees the Belgian

visual arts Brussels

Jubelpark, Brussels www.KErmEZZoo.BE

premiere of the sultry, internationally acclaimed cabaret Limbo (pictured), which will be staged every night. Anglophone audiences will enjoy the slapstick of Kiwi stand-up Sam Wills, also known as the Boy with Tape on His Face. There’s plenty for kids too, including a dinosaur zoo with lifesize animatronic dino cubs. \ GV

Portaels and the Call of the Orient: Thematic exhibition focussing on the early days in the career of the 19th-century Belgian artist Jean Portaels, highlighting the impressions made during the painter’s travels through Greece, Syria, Palestine and Egypt. Until 31 May, Royal Museums of Fine Arts, Regentschapsstraat 3 \ www.fine-arts-museum.be

festival Lommel (Limburg)

\ www.daydreamfestival.be

concert

Hopla Circus festival Hopla takes to the streets of Brussels every spring. Several venues from downtown to the canal district to suburban Laken join forces to bring you the best tumblers, jugglers, daredevils, fire-breathers, comedians and brass bands that the capital has to offer. Many of the performances are free, and some are open-air. This year the big tent is sending a troupe of young performers out among the people to serve as ambassadors. Every day from 13 to 17 April, Bardaf Circus occupies a different Brussels neighbourhood for an entire afternoon. \ GV

\ www.operaballet.be

Daydream Festival: Annual electronic dance music festival with on-site camping, featuring top DJs specialised in house, electro, hardstyle, techno, dubstep, dirty house, disco, ’90s and more. 10-12 April, Festival Park, Gerard Mercatorstraat

faMily 13-19 april

dances through another (the one in front of Tate Modern) in “Alibi”. Without ever copying the style of his 19th-century predecessors, Dondeyne has become a true impressionist for this day and age. \ Christophe Verbiest

Celebration!: The Swiss Tanz Luzerner Theater company, with its 10 dancers from nine countries, presents a large-scale triple bill featuring three of the dance world’s most innovative choreographers. 10-12 April, ’t Eilandje, Kattendijkdok-Westkaai 16

nana mouskouri Across Brussels www.HoPla-cirK.BE

27 september Beloved Greek schlager singer Nana Mouskouri has for years been threatening to retire from the stage, but never quite followed through. We’re glad her past farewell concerts turned out to be rather farewell-for-now. She’s back at summer’s end to observe her 80th birthday. It’s been a busy eight decades. Before she became a global sensation in the 1960s – with pop hits sung in German, English, Dutch, French and even Chinese – she was already a fixture on the Hellenic music scene thanks to the patronage of “Never on Sunday” composer Manos Hadjidakis. \ GV

Ghent get tic

kets n

Capitole, Ghent www.caPitolE-gEnt.BE

BombarZondag!: Sculpture festival featuring the works of local sculptors, in addition to entertainment by favourite Ghent magician Damasco and live jazz and accordion music. 12 April; 19.00, Bombardon, Kliniekstraat 68 \ www.facebook.com/ bombardongent

activity Ghent

Haven Gent Loopt: Second edition of the run through Ghent’s port area, with the choice of 21km run, 21km bike/run (one runner and one biker who switch freely), 5km or 10km run, 1km kids’ run. Register now to secure a place. 19 April, start and finish at Sifferdok \ www.havengentloopt.be

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\ BACkPAGe

aPril 8, 2015

Talking Dutch ready or not, here i come

In response to: What’s on in Flanders this Easter So Brouhon Not sure but can I become a princess too ..?

derek Blyth More articles by Derek \ flanderstoday.eu

t was one of those things that appears out of nowhere. People were organising games of hideand-seek all over the world, mainly in Ikea stores. Then people in Antwerp came up with an even stranger location. Duizenden willen verstoppertje spelen in Antwerpen-Centraal als protest tegen staking – Thousands want to play hide-and-seek in Antwerp Central Station in protest at the strike, read a recent headline in De Morgen. It started, like all modern revolutions, as a Facebook event. Omdat een of andere vakbond vindt dat hij een algemene staking moet organiseren en omdat dan het station Antwerpen-Centraal zowat leeg is – Since some union or other has decided they have to organise a general strike, and since the station will be more or less empty as a result, is de stakingsdag het ideale moment om met z’n allen verstoppertje te spelen – the strike day is the perfect time to get together for a game of hide-and seek.” The event was organised for 22 April, when the strike was planned. It quickly gathered support –5,000 people said they were attending. But then it started to look as if it might not happen. “Hoogstwaarschijnlijk annuleer ik binnenkort dit evenement en distantieer ik mij ervan” – I will almost certainly cancel this event shortly and cease to be involved, said the organiser. “Ik kan niet de veiligheid van een mensenmassa garanderen” – I can’t guarantee the safety of such a huge number of participants. Now it’s been officially called off. Het station Antwerpen-Centraal wordt op 22 april geen strijdtoneel van een massaal spel verstoppertje – Antwerp Central is

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In response to: Limburg alt rock scene flourishes against all expectations Jimmy Hendrickx Belgium’s Detroit In response to: 3D printing from Leuven helps dogs walk again Liz Duffy Great!

not going to be the setting for a mass game of hideand-seek on 22 April, reported Het Gazet van Antwerpen. A day later, another event was cancelled in Ghent. De organisatoren van de wereldrecordpoging ‘kussenvechten’ in Gent annuleren het evenement om veiligheidsredenen – The organisers of an attempt to break the world record for pillow fighting in Ghent have cancelled the event on safety grounds, reported De Redactie. Daarvoor hadden ze meer dan 4.201 deelnemers nodig, maar de teller stond intussen al op ruim 5.200 – They needed more than 4,201 people to participate, but the number shot up to around 5,200. So it, too, was cancelled.“We vinden het zelf vreselijk jammer maar voorschriften moeten worden nageleefd” – We were gutted, but rules are rules, said a pillow fight spokesperson.

Tweet us your thoughts @FlandersToday

Poll

a. Yes, they learn self-reliance and how to fit into the workplace, and they can help pay their own fees

73% b. No, college is the last chance to let your hair down before entering the workforce forever. Let them stay young a little longer

9% c. No, they should concentrate on their studies. Too many first-years are failing as it is

18% More than half of all students have part-time jobs, the Youth Research Platform reveals, and a jolly good thing too, almost three-quarters of you think. Student jobs are character-building, teach young people the value of money and remind them they can’t loaf about for the

\ next week's question:

rest of their lives, sponging off of their parents. For a small minority, jobs distract from the core business of learning. For an even tinier minority, work is a debilitating disease that should be caught and eradicated as early as possible.

The Flemish ombudsman has revealed that one in four people in Flanders are bothered by traffic noise at night. What noises keep you up at night? Log on to the Flanders Today website at www.flanderstoday.eu and click on VOTE!

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garethharding @garethharding One of my Missouri students made this neat film about the being an intern in Brussels. @mojonews #mubxl http://youtu. be/z-TWHxMCc3c Graham Watson @grahamwatson10 Crashes were the order of the day in Ghent-Wevelgem, serious stuff but no major injuries… 30 @MartinioD One of my favorite hangouts in the city. Best double latte’s in town! When in Antwerp... #goodmorning… https://instagram. com/p/1AeNwiFmgI/ poppycoburn @poppycoburn Train is about to depart St Pancras, Bruges I’m coming for you! #inbruges

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tHe last Word

Half of all students in secondary and higher education have a job, according to the youth research Platform. is this a good thing?

One thing is clear about Flanders Today readers: They have their heads screwed on. Perhaps even a little too tightly. Not for them the long, lazy hours of hanging around into the night with fellow students, discussing art and philosophy and putting the world to rights.

voices of flanders today

Expert witness

“I was happy we were able to talk about football. Women are often asked to comment on the show going on off the field: the Red Devils’ haircuts and the colour of their shirts.”

Imke Courtois, who has represented Belgium on the pitch, became the first female football analyst on Sporza for the match against Israel last week

K3 out, K9 in

“Xena sang her song live for them. The whole crew had their smartphones out to film her.”

A Japanese TV crew travelled to Ostend to meet Xena, the singing dog sensation of Belgium’s Got Talent, owner Mick Depreytere explained

least we can do

“We realise they must have enough expenses.”

Taco van der Poel, director general of the Dutch travel agent Dreamlines, which is picking up the bill of around €3,000 for the cancellation of a cruise booked by Marina Tijssen, who was attacked with acid while working at an Antwerp-area Delhaize store in February

unwelcome guests

“We see that a good many people are renting in the black, and our view is that everyone should meet the same conditions. The government should oblige Airbnb to hand over a list with all of its renters.”

Danny Van Assche of Horeca Vlaanderen on news that more and more Flemish people are renting out rooms to tourists

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