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march 9, 2016 \ newsweekly - € 0,75 \ read more at www.flanderstoday.eu current affairs \ p2

Flemish trifecta

Three politicians from Flanders are heading up the EU committee investigating ‘Dieselgate’, Volkswagen’s emissions scandal \4

politics \ p4

BUSiNESS \ p6

Eye on you

Belgium’s first certified eyeglasses stylist is helping customers to stop making bad choices from her shop in Destelbergen \ 10

Man on a mission

innovation \ p7

education \ p9

art & living \ p10

Spiritual passions

Passion, compassion and Christianity are explored at this year’s Klara Festival, with the world premiere of a music theatre production of St John Passion \ 13

Flemish missionary Pieter Jan De Smet and a group of Native American tribal chiefs in 1859

The Fleming, the Native Americans and the Wild West explored in Ghent exhibition Andy Furniere More articles by Andy \ flanderstoday.eu

Curators toured the Rocky Mountains to put together a show in Ghent’s Caermersklooster that tells the story of Pieter Jan De Smet, a Flemish missionary among Native Americans, a young romantic turned crucial peacemaker.

n the middle of the 19th century, Pieter Jan De Smet made his home among the indigenous people of America’s Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies. The exhibition The Call of the Rockies in Ghent showcases the remarkable life of the Flemish missionary, who played a crucial role in the struggle of Native Americans in the Wild West. There is a statue commemorating De Smet in his birthplace, Dendermonde in East Flanders, but he isn’t so well known

by people elsewhere in the region. The University of Leuven’s Documentation and Research Centre for Religion, Culture and Society (Kadoc) and Antwerp’s MAS museum want to bring him out of the shadows of the past with their collaborative exhibition. The project is supported by the province of East Flanders and the Flemish government. During the preparation of the exhibition in the Caermersklooster, curators Luc Vints of Kadoc and Mireille Holsbeke of MAS retraced De Smet’s steps on a tour in the west of the US, during which they kept a blog. They convinced authorities in Saint Louis, Missouri, and others to provide important archival pieces. De Smet’s own belongings are included, and various European institutions lent materials.

“What we found on our trip was that De Smet is still well known and respected by the tribes in the Rocky Mountains region,” says Holsbeke. One sign of this is the permanent exhibition on his life and work set up by the Coeur d’Alene tribe in Cataldo, Idaho. De Smet’s mission in the US started in 1821, in a way that was entirely in keeping with his enterprising character. At the age of 20, he sneaked away from Flanders without the consent of his well-off family to become a missionary for the Jesuit congregation of the Catholic Church. He was a young romantic who was curious about the “exotic” people on the other side of the Atlantic. After a difficult start, De Smet set up a successful mission continued on page 5

\ CURRENT AFFAIRS

Disaster plan comes into force Applying for relief following natural disasters becomes simpler under regional plan Alan Hope Follow Alan on Twitter \ @AlanHopeFT

he government of Flanders has approved a proposed disaster plan for the region. Responsibility for disasters was passed to the regions with the last round of state reform, and Flanders is now in charge of compensating for any damage that occurred as a result of a natural disaster after 1 July, 2014. Two recognised disasters have taken place since that date: Heavy rainfall caused severe damage in various provinces between 27 and 29 July 2014, and again on 7 and 8 August the same year. Two other cases are still being examined – heavy rain on 5 June and on 29 and 30 August last year. In the two recognised cases, 48 applications were rejected, and 174 are still being considered. The new decree differs from the old system in a number of ways. Only general disasters are included; agricultural disasters will be covered in a separate decree; the decree will only cover damage not already covered by fire insurance, which

One thousand more cameras planned for railway stations The federal government has agreed to budget €17 million to improve safety in the country’s railway stations. The money will go to funding the installation of about 1,000 more cameras in stations, as well as security gates similar to those used in the Brussels metro. Mobility minister Jacqueline Galant had originally asked for €58 million. The approved sum will also go towards baggage scanners in international stations such as Antwerp Central and the three main Brussels stations – something that was already planned at the time of the foiled terrorist attack on a Thalys train travelling from Brussels to Paris last summer. The incident led to joint police checks on trains travelling between the two countries. National rail authority NMBS is already drawing up the contracts for the procurement of the equipment, De Tijd reports, while the dossier has been delivered to the finance ministry for approval. \ AH

covers most sorts of damage caused by ice and snow pressure, lightning, storms and flooding. Applications for compensation must be filed within three months of the disaster being officially recognised, and

advance payments will not be made. Also, the cost of private experts will no longer be reimbursed. The procedure for applying for relief will also be simpler, with the Flemish Disaster Fund gathering data to determine recognition, taking the decision on recognition, deploying experts, determining the extent of compensation and deciding on applications. Since taking over in 2014, the Flemish disaster fund has paid out €2.9 million in 140 cases of compensation, minister-president Geert Bourgeois told a member of the Flemish parliament in a written answer. “With this proposal for a new decree, the Flemish government has improved the old federal law by reducing delays, cutting red tape and introducing a more efficient procedure,” said Bourgeois. The proposal must be approved by the Council of State and passed by the Flemish parliament.

Record number of complaints about public services Flanders’ government services were the subject of 57,433 complaints from members of the public last year, 12% more than in 2014, according to the Flemish ombudsman. Services include government administration, but also external bodies like transport authority De Lijn and public broadcaster VRT. Time-keeping on De Lijn was the single most common complaint. Each government service has its own customer complaints service, and the total results are gathered together every 1 March by the ombudsman, Bart Weekers, in what is known as the Flemish Complaints Book. Seven in 10 complaints last year concerned De Lijn, with more than

10,000 people complaining their bus or tram was too late, too early or missing entirely. Drivers passing stops, driving behaviour and lack of politeness were also cause for complaints. VRT received 925 complaints about its news division, accusing it of a lack of impartiality. The ombudsman pointed out that many complaints reflect more a difference of opinion than an actual problem with the service. Viewers also complained about programme choices, mistakes in quizzes, altered broadcast times and the number of repeats during the summer months. The Complaints Book praised the customer services department of De Lijn, where 70% of complaints are

resolved, and of employment and training agency VDAB, which saw 80% of its complaints resolved. The two services are setting an example for others, Weekers wrote, citing the roads and traffic agency and social housing services as lesser performers. \ AH

Heritage projects to get €6.85m funding Flemish minister-president Geert Bourgeois has announced a series of subsidies for heritage projects totalling €6.85 million. Bourgeois retained his old portfolio of heritage matters when he succeeded Kris Peeters as minister-president in 2014. The Flemish Fund for Letters receives €400,000 to allow Flanders to take part in the Frankfurt Book Fair in October, where Flanders and the Netherlands are invited as guests represent-

ing one language area. The fair is the biggest in the world, with 7,000 stands from 100 countries. The Netherlands and Flanders were previously present together in 1993. A subsidy of €4,154,204 is shared by renovation projects in two synagogues in Antwerp: €1,643,000 for the Orthodox Machsike Hadass synagogue in Oostenstraat, the only Art Nouveau synagogue in the city, which is now suffering water damage, and €2,510,000 for

the Shomre Hadas synagogue in Bouwmeesterstraat. The province of West Flanders receives €1,319,000 for restoration of the Hooghe manor house

6.4

€62,900

GDP per capita of the BrusselsCapital Region in 2014, double the average of the 276 regions studied by Eurostat, placing Brussels third after Inner London West and Luxembourg

in Kortrijk, dating from the mid19th century and built in the English landscape style. Now empty, the building will be used by the provincial administration. The slate roof of the Warande castle in Kemmel in West Flanders will be mended with a grant of €683,000. The building was constructed as a holiday home by Baron Jacques Bruneel de la Warande shortly after the end of the First World War but is now the town hall of the municipality

passengers of the Flemish public transport authority De Lijn subject to ticket inspections last year, of whom 2.4% were not in possession of a valid ticket. De Lijn imposed fines of €4.1 million

average temperature from 1 December to 29 February, compared to a norm of 3.6 degrees, making the winter “exceptionally mild”, according to the Royal Meteorological Institute

of Heuvelland. Still in West Flanders, the Weststraat stairs in Blankenberge (pictured) will be restored with a subsidy of €466,000. The stairs link the seafront with the town and date from the era when Blankenberge was being transformed from a fishing village into a fashionable resort. The neoclassical staircase, with counterparts in Bakkersstraat and Kerkstraat, was registered as a monument in 1987. \ AH

700

loaned to the luxury leather goods group Delvaux by the Brussels government to help stimulate the creative and craft economy. Delvaux employs 307 people, 136 of them in the capital

schools in Flanders took part in National Pyjama Day last Friday, with students dressed accordingly, to support Bednet, which provides contact between long-term sick children and their classmates

march 9, 2016

WEEK in brief The government of Flanders has agreed to provide €1.2 million in extra funding for personnel in schools that have a high percentage of non-Dutch speaking pupils. The sum brings the total extra financing for Dutch lessons for young children to €3 million this school year. Another 2,500 children under five are expected to join Flemish schools between now and June. Three cycling organisations have started a petition to protect a number of Fietspunt sites that are threatened with closure. The cycle-points, which are located at railway stations and provide parking as well as bike rentals and small-scale repairs, receive support from rail authority NMBS, but that is under threat because of budget cuts. About 15 points may have to close, including Vilvoorde, Halle and Asse. Federal unemployment benefits service RVA will spend €467 million less this year than earlier estimated, in news that will be welcomed by the federal government, which this week begins a difficult budget review. RVA is in charge of not only unemployment benefits but also bridging pensions and time credits. All three will contribute to the savings. The savings come in part as a result of some people being removed from the unemployed registers as their benefits are replaced by social aid from municipal aid agencies. The Flemish parliament is replacing most of the diesel-powered vehicles from its fleet of six service cars with petrol and electric. The parliament’s steering committee has also called on all members and staff to leave the cars in the garage as much as possible when travelling within Brussels. Brussels Airport plans major renovation works this summer on runway 01/19, which joins the two parallel runways 07L/25R and 07R/25L at an angle. The works

face of flanders are planned to take place between 26 July and 25 September, working 24 hours a day in the first month and between 22.00 and 6.00 in the second month. Flight departures and routes are unlikely to be affected. Claims that police were tipped off about the brothers Abdeslam and their terrorist plans in Molenbeek as early as 2014 are based on “untrue ghost stories”, according to Claude Fontaine, directorgeneral of the federal judicial police. “Terror police do everything they can to protect this country from an attack,” he said. “All I can do is call on certain media to be very careful how they handle such information as this.” Brussels finance minister Guy Van Hengel has proposed handing over the discussion of the planned new Eurostadium to one of the committees of the Brussels Parliament, to relieve him of the task of spokesperson for the project. The plan came in a reply to a question about a possible car park for the stadium, which would be the largest underground car park in the world. The Royal Belgian Football Association is being investigated for fraud relating to the payments made to staff and collaborators. Detectives are looking into allegations that some employees were paid twice, once via a normal employment contract and once again through an invoice from the person’s management partnership, allowing the association to avoid tax. No-one has yet been named as a suspect. Archaeologists working in Fontainas park in central Brussels have uncovered what appears to be the foundations of a 19th-century brewery – the Den Baert, which stood on the lane known as Baardgang until 1949. Between 1832 and 1950, there were no fewer than 63 breweries operating within the

OFFSIDE Life is like a box of chocolates It’s brown, shaped like a spiral, and it would be a shame to step in it. It’s a Sweet Reminder, and it’s a praline created by the Brussels chocolatier Laurent Gerbaud for the Foundation Against Cancer in support of a campaign to remind people to be tested for colon cancer. Colorectal cancer accounts for 13% of all cancers in Belgium, and the mortality rate is high because it is often advanced before it is diagnosed. In 2013, 2,973 people in Flanders died of colorectal cancer. The foundation designates March as colon cancer month, to promote screenings. In March, every resident of Flanders between the ages of 56 and 74 receives a kit to carry out a simple stool sample that can be mailed © Courtesy Stichting tegen kanker

inner ring road; now there is only one, and only three in the Brussels-Capital Region. The archaeologists are searching for medieval and Roman remains under the industrial level now opened up. The University of Leuven has started disciplinary proceedings against a professor who came to blows with a doctoral student in the university’s Higher Institute for Philosophy last month. The professor’s lessons have been suspended until after the Easter holiday. Rector Rik Torfs stressed that the procedure is not an indication that the professor is guilty. Both parties have filed legal complaints with police. © Courtesy VRT

Police in Limburg are investigating the existence of a possible serial arsonist, after the latest suspicious fire in a barn in Hasselt. It is the eighth fire to take place in the Mid-Limburg area since 18 January. A report is being examined to see if there are similarities between the cases. Police have ordered extra patrols and opened up a phone line where residents can report suspicious activity. Brussels brewers Brasserie de la Senne in Molenbeek will move its premises in two years to a site adjacent to Tour & Taxis next to the port of Brussels, following the signing of a convention last week. The brewery will have reached its full capacity, with no room left to expand on its current site beside Molenbeek cemetery. The brewery is seeing growth of 30% annually, and now produces 8,000 hectolitres a year, 70% of which is sold in Belgium. The new headquarters of the supermarket group to be known as Royal Ahold Delhaize will be in Zaandam, the Netherlands, with decision-making moving out of Belgium, two Delhaize directors confirmed to De Standaard. Director Patrick De Maeseneire was not concerned by the move. “Amsterdam is only a two-hour drive from here,” he said.

Rob Clijmans Bats do it. Porpoises do it. Anything using sonar at sea or radar in the air is doing it. Echolocation is the principle of determining objects in your path by producing a sound and then listening to the echo it produces when it encounters something solid. A 13-year-old boy from OudTurnhout in Antwerp province, Rob Clijmans, has taught himself to do it. Rob was born blind, and he was the subject last week on the VRT documentary Copy Beest. He can be seen, alone on his go-kart, scooting around the farm where he lives as if he knew the terrain by heart. But while there’s an aspect of that – we all manage to find our way to the toilet in the dark at home, but it’s stubbed toes in a hotel – Rob has added echo-location to his sensory arsenal. By making a constant clicking sound with his tongue, he finds his way around any terrain, familiar or strange. He’s exceptional, but he’s not alone. Daniel Kish from Long Beach in California has been the subject of attention from the medical world and the media for some years and now gives

lectures, including a TED talk you can find on YouTube. He describes perfectly what’s going on when he’s cycling or hiking in the hills: “You’re calling out into the environment, essentially asking the environment: Where are you and what are you? And you’re receiving those answers.” Teenager Ben Underwood from Sacramento, also in California, uses clicking and hand-claps, while 10-year-old Sam Oldridge from Poole in the UK started to learn about two years ago and became the subject of a BBC documentary. Rob from Oud-Turnhout is such an excellent example of the technique that he’s now helping professor Herbert Peremans of Antwerp University with his research into sonar technology, which could be used in the future by the visually impaired. The technology consists of an apparatus with 32 virtual ears that can interpret sonar signals to provide the wearer with detailed information on the surroundings – something Rob is currently doing with only two ears. \ Alan Hope

Flanders Today, a weekly English-language newspaper, is an initiative of the Flemish Region and is financially supported by the Flemish authorities.

kanker.be

back to a lab for testing. About half send the test back. In Brussels, a visit to the doctor is required, and participation is only 7.5%. There are now discussions in Flanders to reduce the target age to 50. “Age is a major risk factor for colon cancer,” said Matthijs Goossens of the foundation. “Screening has helped bring down the mortality rates. I can think of no reason not to bring the age down to 50 years.” The praline, meanwhile, is chocolate filled with a plum ganache. The idea is to give one to someone you know to remind them to be screened. The pralines are available from Gerbaud’s shop on Ravensteinstraat in Brussels, or online. \ AH

The logo and the name Flanders Today belong to the Flemish Region (Benelux Beeldmerk nr 815.088). The editorial team of Flanders Today has full editorial autonomy regarding the content of the newspaper and is responsible for all content, as stipulated in the agreement between Corelio Publishing and the Flemish authorities.

Editor Lisa Bradshaw DEPUTY Editor Sally Tipper CONTRIBUTING Editor Alan Hope sub Editor Linda A Thompson Agenda Robyn Boyle, Georgio Valentino Art director Paul Van Dooren Prepress Mediahuis AdPro Contributors Rebecca Benoot, Bartosz Brzezi´nski, Derek Blyth, Leo Cendrowicz, Andy Furniere, Lee Gillette, Diana Goodwin, Clodagh Kinsella, Catherine Kosters, Toon Lambrechts, Ian Mundell, Anja Otte, Tom Peeters, Senne Starckx, Christophe Verbiest, Denzil Walton General manager Hans De Loore Publisher Mediahuis NV

Editorial address Gossetlaan 30 - 1702 Groot-Bijgaarden tel 02 467 23 06 editorial@flanderstoday.eu subscriptions tel 03 560 17 49 subscriptions@flanderstoday.eu or order online at www.flanderstoday.eu Advertising 02 467 24 37 advertising@flanderstoday.eu Verantwoordelijke uitgever Hans De Loore

\ POLITICS

5TH COLUMN Accumulating power

In the Flemish and federal parliaments alike, there is no shortage of mayors. So many MPs are also mayors that it almost seems like a pre-requisite. Mayors have a special place in Flemish politics. It is the one job that most politicians dream about. Flanders’ most influential politician, Bart De Wever (N.VA), is also a mayor, as well as party leader and MP. De Wever’s socialist counterpart, John Crombez, wants to put an end to what is known as cumul: the combining of the roles of mayor and MP. Crombez himself quit as an MP when he became party president. And his party has some influential and popular mayors: Daniël Termont of Ghent and Johan Vande Lanotte, a national political figure for decades, now mayor of Ostend. The idea is reminiscent of a trend in the 1990s and early 2000s called “political renewal”. As the extreme right rose to extreme popularity, political parties began some serious introspection. What had gone wrong? What had caused what became known as “the gap between citizens and politics”? Were the political mores of the time to blame? Banning cumul was often mentioned as a solution. Cumul, it was believed, concentrated power in the hands of a small number of politicians. This estranged voters, who felt powerless and resorted to a vote for the extreme right. In the end, nothing much came of political renewal, and the extreme right lost its appeal for other reasons. Crombez’s proposal also echoes the “rotation rule” the greens once used, which stated that MPs should serve just two terms. This, however, proved to be counterproductive: As soon as politicians had gained a name for themselves, they were finished. So now Crombez has plans to ban cumul again, if only within his own party. Forcing mayors to choose between city hall and parliament will give new party members a fairer chance, he believes. SP.A has been struggling with this for years. At the turn of the century, the party had a golden generation of figureheads (known as the Teletubbies), but, apart from Crombez, the party has produced very few new politicians since. Whether Crombez’s move will change that remains to be seen. It is not even clear whether his proposal is being accepted by his own party, which still has a number of hopefuls to become MPs – or mayor. Or both, if possible.

Flemish MEP Van Brempt will lead ‘Dieselgate’ hearings

Three politicians from Flanders head EU committee on emissions scandal Alan Hope More articles by Alan \ flanderstoday.eu

athleen Van Brempt, member of the European parliament (EP) representing SP.A, has been chosen to chair the investigative committee looking into

ment completes the committee’s Flemish trifecta – her vice-chairs are Ivo Belet (CD&V) and Mark Demesmaeker (N-VA). “It looks like the Flemish parliament here,” Belet commented.

lines on vehicle emissions, so if the basic data was false, authorities conclude, then all conclusions based on those data were also false. The EP committee is composed of 45 members from all member states and has one year to look into how and why the EU let the fraud go unnoticed; the situation was initially revealed in the US. “The EU presumes that it has the legislation in place to protect consumers, but if that legislation is not enforced, then its value is less than nothing,” Van Brempt said. “It serves no purpose to have strict limits if in practice cars are emitting four to seven times more than they’re allowed to.”

If EU legislation is not enforced, then its value is less than nothing “Dieselgate”, the software that Volkswagen (VW) installed in its cars to manipulate emissions measurements. Van Brempt is a well-respected member of the EP, and her appoint-

The committee will hold hearings on how emissions figures were falsified by VW’s software. The figures provided by VW were used by national governments and the EU to determine guide-

Homans rejects Thiéry as mayor-designate of Linkebeek

Flemish parliament’s climate commission holds first meeting

Liesbeth Homans, Flemish minister for home affairs, has rejected the nomination of Damien Thiéry as the new mayor of Linkebeek. Homans (pictured) had promised to strike down the nomination if the municipal council should put Thiéry forward again. Linkebeek is a municipality in de Rand, or the Flemish periphery around Brussels, where the majority French-speaking population has returned a French-speaking council for some years now. Thiéry was originally nominated as mayor following the municipal elections of 2006, but his appointment was turned down after it was found he had been in breach of the language laws when he approved mailings inviting citizens to the polls that were written in French. Such elections literature must be written in Dutch in Flanders. Subsequent attempts by the council to nominate him, including after the 2012 elections, were turned down by the Flemish government. Last October, Homans designated her

The Flemish Parliament’s new climate commission held its first sitting last week, chaired by parliament speaker Jan Peumans (pictured). The commission’s job is to oversee the implementation of the Flemish government's climate policy, leading to a resolution containing “concrete, measurable recommendations,” parliament spokesperson Dirk Nuyts said. “The commission is tasked with getting off the beaten path and developing a long-term vision on the issue,” Nuyts said in a statement. There are five main areas of policy to be addressed by the committee: agriculture, energy, mobility, housing and industry and innovation. The focus is on the long term, as far as 2050, but the commission will also produce objectives for the shorter term. The group will begin by taking a “helicopter view”, he said, with particular attention to the decisions of the recent climate summit in Paris, the monitoring of the current climate and energy situation and EU

own candidate, Eric De Bruycker, as the new mayor of Linkebeek. He resigned in November, claiming it was “impossible to govern with the French-speaking majority”. Thiéry, meanwhile, argues the situation has changed since 2006. “I am convinced that we have a better chance this time, with an appeal before the Council of State against the refusal to recognise the nomination. During the run-up to the last elections, we followed the rules precisely that the Council had laid down in its last ruling.” \ AH

Gatz launches Citizen’s Cabinet for young people Flemish youth and culture minister Sven Gatz has launched a new Citizen’s Cabinet initiative, this time focusing on youth in the region. The goal, he said, is to bring together a group of 150 people to discuss youth affairs and policies. “I am calling on everyone to come and discuss the youth work of the future,” he said. The initiative echoes the call made by Gatz last summer for a Citizen’s Cabinet to give people a voice in culture policy. That initiative produced a document containing 36 ideas for general discussion and 17 concrete recommendations, including more lessons on culture in schools and the creation of a Flemish cultural ombudsman. Youth work in Flanders is admired worldwide,

Gatz said. “But we must not rest on our laurels.” One of his priorities is diversity, which is reflected in the criterion added just last month to applica-

energy regulations. After that, it will invite academics and other specialists to take part in hearings concentrated on the situation in Flanders. The commission will also ask for advice from official bodies in Flanders relevant to the climate and energy fields. The job of producing the final report goes to members of parliament Bruno Tobback (SP.A) and Wilfried Vandaele (N-VA). Reports and mandates should be ready by the summer recess, after which matters may still be pursued by the various standing committees concerned. \ AH

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tions for government subsidies: looking at how youth organisations approach their own urban contexts to address social challenges. “The more socially vulnerable groups live in cities and are often from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds,” Gatz said. “An average of one in four children in Flanders has a migration background. That presents youth workers with exceptional challenges.” The Citizen’s Cabinet for Youth is gathering ideas and feedback online until 15 April. Leading contributors will be invited to the Flemish parliament on 6 May to debate proposals and make recommendations to the minister. \ AH

\ COVER STORY

march 9, 2016

A drawing of the Sint-Ignatius mission in the Salish reservation at the foot of the Mission Mountains in Montana, 1863. Although missionary work among the Native Americans is now seen as having been invasive, many missionaries were useful in negotiating treaties between Indian tribes and government authorities

Man on a mission

Exhibition brings remarkable life of missionary out of the shadows

CAERMERSKLOOSTER.BE

continued from page 1

among the Salish people. “He gained the trust of the Native Americans thanks to his openness towards them and his sincere admiration for their culture and traditions,” says Holsbeke. This attitude meant that many tribespeople considered him “one of them” and gave him the honorary title Blackrobe of the Indians. Blackrobe was a general nickname for Catholic missionaries. What the native peoples also respected in De Smet was that he led a nomadic life – just like them. He was always on the road, trying to create new Catholic missions in the region and expanding the Kingdom of God in the US. By establishing isolated missions based on an agricultural way of life, he tried to convert Native Americans while protecting their traditions against the white settlers from the east of the country. De Smet proved himself to be a decent amateur scientist and geographer. In his letters and reports, he describes the landscape, plants and animals he encountered and mapped areas that had rarely been seen before by white people. Although they now turn out to contain some mistakes, the maps are very detailed and provide an insight into the relationship between the indigenous population and the landscape. In the first place, however, De Smet wrote about the culture of Native Americans, describing their appearance, clothing, housing, villages and

customs. He also witnessed how the busy boat traffic, fur trade and colonisation introduced diseases to which the Indians had no resistance and how the illegal sale of liquor took its toll. The threatened culture of the Native Americans in the 19th century is extensively shown in the exhibition through clothing, weapons and tools, including decorated robes made of bison hide, a feathered headdress, snow shoes, knives and tomahawks. Also on view are several tools with which the Catholic missionaries tried to convert the Native Americans. The Jesuits rewarded interested natives with illustrated prayer cards and summarised the Catholic view on human history through a print with a timeline – in the form of a ladder – with images and symbols. You can also listen to and read De Smet’s story via audio fragments and through travel reports on e-readers. Drawings by De Smet’s fellow Jesuit Nicolas Point, a Frenchman, provide an insight into the daily customs of Native Americans. You can also explore a digital map that features information and images of the numerous places De Smet visited. While this nomadic lifestyle was appreciated by the Indians, it led to increasing criticism from De Smet’s fellow missionaries, who felt he was leaving them to deal with the many practical issues in the missions. Around 1840, De Smet lost

his supervisory position and had to stay in Saint Louis to work, as an accountant among other roles. After this setback, he dedicated much of his time and efforts to fundraising campaigns for the missions in the Rockies. He sought funding among wealthy American citizens and especially in Europe, which gained him an international reputation. He also travelled back to Flanders

ing and shelter. The native people fought back with guerrilla attacks. No longer a naive romantic, by then De Smet believed the natives could only survive if they accepted living in separate areas, which later became land designated as Indian reservations. Thanks to his ability to gain the trust of the natives, he played an essential role in important peace treaties, like the two treaties of Fort Laramie in 1851 and 1868.

De Smet didn’t foresee that the migration of settlers would be so massive and the greed so immense and became a celebrity in his home country. “He definitely had a talent for PR,” says Holsbeek. The exhibition includes an Indian robe that De Smet gave as a present to Belgium’s Queen Maria Henriëtta – the wife of King Leopold II – and a portrait of De Smet with his decoration of the Order of Leopold, the country’s highest order of knighthood. After 1848, when gold was found in California, De Smet had to take on the role of peace mediator between the American government and the Native Americans. During the gold rush, masses of adventurers threatened their land and chased away the bison on which they largely depended for food, tools, cloth-

De Smet succeeded in involving the most combative tribe, the Sioux, and one of the most illustrious chiefs – Sitting Bull. The exhibition features several copies of the ceremonial pipe, an important tool used during meetings with native chiefs. Although the government promised to protect the Native Americans in their designated territories, the tribes quickly fell victim to the greed of the colonists for land and the cruelty of army generals. “You could say in hindsight that De Smet was abused by the government,”

Until 1 May

says Holsbeke. “He didn’t foresee that the migration of settlers would be so massive and the greed so immense.” In the years before his death in 1973 in Saint Louis, De Smet was pessimistic about the future of the Native Americans – and with good reason. The exhibition tells how children were forced to assimilate in boarding schools and how the population fell prey to discrimination and poverty. Since the 1970s, there has been increasing attention to and activism around the cause of America’s Native Americans. As videos in the exhibition show, several Flemish TV directors and journalists have taken up this cause. Last year, De Smet was in the news in the US. In the aftermath of the racial tension caused by police violence against African Americans, the Jesuit Saint Louis University removed a statue of De Smet praying over two Native Americans, following complaints that it “represented white supremacy”. The statue has been moved to the university’s art museum, where additional information puts the story in its proper context. The Call of the Rockies is mainly in Dutch, but an information brochure in English is available

Caermersklooster

Vrouwebroersstraat 6, Ghent

\ BUSINESS

week in business Pharmacy Fagron The pharmacy products supplier, based in Nazareth, East Flanders, is getting a €220 million capital injection to stave off bankruptcy. An investment group, led by Flemish billionaire Marc Coucke, will supply €131 million, while new shares will be issued for €89 million.

Nappies Ontex The Aalst-based manufacturer of nappies and hygiene products has finalised the €314 million acquisition of Mexico’s Grupo Mabe. The move will open the South and Central American markets to Ontex.

Cars Volvo Ghent’s Volvo assembling plant is investing €200 million to launch the production of the XC40 small SUV from 2018. The factory, which produces the Volvo S69, XC60 and V40 models, employs 5,500 workers in three shifts.

Components VCST The designer and supplier of engine driveline technology and gears, based in SintTruiden, has been sold by the Flemish government’s investment fund GIMV to the Luxembourg-based BMT industrial group, owned by the West Flemish Seynaeve family. VCST operates five production units worldwide.

Trains Thalys The high-speed rail service linking Brussels to Paris and Amsterdam is introducing a low-cost, low-speed service to Paris on 3 April. Called Izy, the new line will offer tickets as low as €19 one way, while transport time will be 2h15 compared to 1h22 on the high-speed option.

Banking Belfius The financial institution owned by the Belgian state following its €4 billion rescue during the banking crisis is expected to be floated in part later this year. The bank, which made profits of some €500 million last year, is valued at €8.7 billion.

Air Brussels Airlines The carrier, based at Brussels Airport, is launching 12 flights a week to Nantes in western France next month. The new service brings the airline’s number of destinations in France to 13.

Harbour pilot strike resolved

Marathon talks in Antwerp resolve dispute, but stoppage cost ‘millions’ Alan Hope More articles by Alan \ flanderstoday.eu

strike by river pilots in the port of Antwerp was resolved late last week when unions won the right to extra premiums for the pilotage of a new generation of mega-ships. The agreement came after some 20 hours of talks with Flemish mobility minister Ben Weyts, who had to cancel a trip to New York to take part in negotiations with the pilots’ union BvL. The pilots were demanding higher premiums for pilotage of container ships measuring more than 340 metres. As a result of their actions, ships longer than 339 metres could not enter the harbour, and five such ships were kept waiting at anchor as the dispute went on.

E-cigarettes legal but cannot contain additives, says health minister Electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes, sold in Belgium cannot contain vitamins or stimulating substances such as caffeine. The coloured smoke offered by some brands is also prohibited, according to a new federal decree from public health minister Maggie De Block. The electronic cigarette is relatively new in Belgium, and there was no legal framework to regulate its use. The royal decree now sets out regulations. De Block based her decisions on the advice of the Superior Health Council, which indicated that e-cigarettes shouldn’t be treated more strictly than regular cigarettes, as they don’t contain carcinogenic tar and are thus significantly less harmful. E-cigarettes will be sold at regular shops and newsagents as well as chemists. There are no excise duties imposed on them. Just like regular cigarettes, e-cigarettes cannot be used in public spaces such as restaurants. They are illegal to sell to anyone under the age of 16. If they contain nicotine, a warning must appear on the package. \ Andy Furniere

KU Leuven leads the field in attracting private financing The University of Leuven is the most successful of the country’s universities in attracting private-sector financing, and the 14th in the world, according to rankings compiled by the Times Higher Education supplement. According to the paper, the university attracts €151,000 per member of academic staff from private sources. Belgium as a whole attracts €78,000 per member of staff on average, putting the country in eighth place in the national rankings. “Funding from the business world and industry is a crucial indicator of a university’s ability to pay for research and innovation in a fiercely competitive world market,” the Times said. “It is no longer enough for a university to consider its relations with the world of business as a third mission, after education and research. In this competitive world, links with industry are essential to a university’s success.” The list is headed by LMU Munchen in Germany at €358,000 per member of staff, followed by Duke University in the US and Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology in South Korea. \ AH

Qualified pilots are required to guide ships from the open sea to the port. For a large part of the approach to Antwerp, that is done by Dutch

pilots. Their Flemish colleagues take over once the ship arrives in Belgian waters. According to port CEO Eddy Bruyninckx, the four-day strike cost “millions of euros” in shipping delays and lost business, with super-ships being diverted to other ports where they could be handled. He and other port concerns were “greatly relieved that this nightmare is over. We hope this will never happen again”. “The minister sent me a text this morning saying that an agreement had been reached,” said Marc Beerlandt, CEO of MSC, one of the biggest shipping companies in the port and one of the main victims of the action. “That is excellent news.”

Top chef in New York to promote Flemish arts and cuisine Flemish representative in the US Geert De Proost attended the opening of an exhibition of the work of Flemish Baroque master Anthony van Dyck last week in New York. Tourism minister Ben Weyts had to cancel his trip to the same event at the last minute to negotiate with striking river pilots (see story, above). The exhibition Van Dyck: The Anatomy of Portraiture is hosted by The Frick Collection and pays tribute to the painter and diplomat who was one of the most sought-after portraitists of the 17th century. The exhibition includes 100 works from both private and public collections, including Palazzo Pitti in Florence, the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna and the National Gallery in London. Some of the works on display come from Antwerp’s Fine Arts Museum and Rubens House. Van Dyck is co-curated by Flemish curator Stijn Alsteens, who is based at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and is supported by the government of Flanders and Flanders House in New York. Later in New York, a select group of guests were able to enjoy the art of another Flemish Master: three-Michelin-star chef Peter Goossens. The chef was in the city to promote Flanders as a culinary tourist destination. Goossens is the leading figure in Weyts’ Flemish Food Faculty, launched in December to promote local cuisine abroad. He hosted an event in the New York restaurant of star chef Daniel Boulud. According to Goossens, chef of Hof van Cleve in Kruishoutem – one of Flanders’ three restau-

“Mary, Lady van Dyck, née Ruthven” by Anthony van Dyck, circa 1640

rants with three Michelin stars – more and more tourists are coming to the region specifically for gastronomic reasons. “The idea is to work with Toerisme Vlaanderen to promote our outstanding Flemish cuisine,” Goossens told VTM News from New York. “To tell the world that in Flanders we have the best chefs in the world. We have the highest concentration of Michelin stars per square kilometre. You have to come and try it out.” \ AH

AB InBev deprived of world’s most popular beer Leuven’s AB InBev, the world’s largest brewer, will not be able to get control of the world’s best-selling beer when it takes over London-based SABMiller. Competition authorities in China have ordered Miller to divest itself of China’s Snow brand before the deal can go ahead. SABMiller owns 49% of brewer Snow, which it is now forced to sell to joint venture partner China Resources Beer. The price has been set at €1.47 billion, roughly half the price that analysts had valued the company. The takeover by AB InBev of SABMiller is the fusion of two of the three biggest beer groups in the world. The deal was never going to be approved by competition authorities without substan-

tial divestments aimed at protecting competition in the beer market. AB InBev has two major brands in China already: Sedrin and Harbin. The latter was China’s official beer of the World Cup in 2014, as Jupiler was here. Last year it became the brand associated with China’s basketball league, at the same time as AB InBev brands Budweiser, Hoegaarden and Stella Artois made strong progress in the Chinese market. Last year AB InBev sold 75 million hectolitres in China, with a market share of 19%, to become the third largest brand – after Snow in first place and Tsingtao in second. \ AH

\ INNOVATION

march 9, 2016

Cities, slicker

week in innovation

Enter the smart era: book explores the future of urban living

From 2017, household energy subsidies in Flanders will change drastically. Several individual subsidies will be phased out, but there will be high subsidies for total renovations, Flemish energy minister Annemie Turtelboom has announced. Subsidies for roof insulation will be gradually phased out, those for double glazing will be cancelled and only the subsidies for “super insulating” glazing will remain. Subsidies for wall insulation and solar boilers will be lowered, while those for heat pumps will increase. The move should encourage more people to invest in renovations, Turtelboom said.

Andy Furniere More articles by Andy \ flanderstoday.eu

A new book by digital researcher Pieter Ballon looks at the potential and the challenges involved in making our cities smarter through technology.

he intelligent use of technology like apps and sensors is gradually changing urban areas into smart cities. This evolution holds various opportunities but also brings up many challenges, not least concerning privacy. A new book – called Smart Cities – by Pieter Ballon, of Flanders’ digital research institute iMinds and the Free University of Brussels (VUB), shows the way to a better urban future. “Smart city” may sound like an academic concept, but it’s a concrete trend that’s steadily transforming urban life. Many city dwellers already check public transport timetables or book taxis using apps. In Barcelona, a frontrunner in this respect, sensors in rubbish bins streamline waste management and apps guide drivers to the nearest empty parking spot. “Last year we entered the smart era,” says Ballon (pictured right). “More and more, the virtual space corresponds to our physical space.” The new era follows that of the smartphone and social media, which made the virtual space more personal. The “smart era” is the result of the development of things such as wearable technology, cloud computing, data analytics and the internet of things – the idea that everyday objects can be made to communicate across digital networks. The increasing miniaturisation of technology makes it easier to integrate the digital applications in cities, which are continually expanding. According to Ballon, smart innovations can improve cities in four principle domains: security, mobility, cleanliness and the local economy. “But there is not one technocratic way to change cities,” says Ballon. “Local authorities will need to take measures adapted to specific needs and the policies will be coloured by the ideologies of the various urban policymakers.” At the Smart Cities presentation in Antwerp cultural venue De Studio, Antwerp mayor Bart De Wever and his Ghent counterpart Daniël Termont highlighted their different policies. De Wever emphasised Antwerp’s efforts to digitise administrative services, develop smart traffic signs and integrate intelligent security cameras that can be programmed to recognise certain situations. Termont said he wasn’t a proponent of a focus on security cameras,

Drastic changes to energy subsidies

VUB finds gigantic particle accelerator

Pieter Ballon’s new book was launched last month in Antwerp

stressed Ghent’s ambition to keep cars out of the centre as much as possible and underlined the need to involve people so they become “smart citizens”. A good example of a smart citizens project is the Fix My Street app, with which people in Brussels can report problems in the public space to the local authorities: for example, waste and damaged roads. De Wever and Termont pledged their support for innovative startup companies, which are essential in coming up with practical solutions for urban problems. Antwerp is currently setting up the StartupVillage, a centre where start-ups can grow comfortably, with the help of iMinds. Termont pointed out how Ghent’s support helped the start-up Showpad, which creates “mobile briefcases” for salespeople, to develop over a few years into a company with branches in London and the US. Ballon recognises the efforts Flemish cities are making but says they are not yet putting forward clear and concrete goals. He also fears cities are working in a fragmented way, with insufficient collaboration. “Flanders is increasingly becoming one urbanised area and has great assets that would make it a frontrunner in the smart city domain,” he says. “But the Flemish government should encourage more co-operation between cities.” In Finland, for example, the six largest cities can only receive government subsidies for smart city projects if they collaborate, a measure that has made the country one of the pacesetters in Europe. Ballon also hopes the government will establish a permanent structure to set up regional living lab projects to test initiatives in areas

such as mobility on a regional level. iMinds has already set up a permanent living lab project in Antwerp, the City of Things, in which Antwerpenaars will be invited to test the different applications of the internet of things. The smart city evolution also brings certain dangers, for example concerning privacy. Els Kindt of the University of Leuven, who worked on a case by Belgium’s Privacy Commission against Facebook, points out that communication using smartphones with wireless networks is enough to identify who exactly is carrying that smartphone. “Governments have to keep control over the way the data is used, with the help of experts,” she says. “If technology is used in traffic, the private operators should not get the data about cars’ number plates for example.” To protect citizens’ rights, the working of the Privacy Commission should also be strengthened. Data protection expert David Stevens of telecoms company Telenet says the technology does allow for the tracking of users’ behaviour, but emphasised the company’s intention to respect privacy. “From the start of the development of each product, we check the privacy aspects thoroughly,” he said. “It’s essential for governments to keep companies like Google, Uber and AirBnb in check and discuss more than just taxes and licences,” says Ballon. “Governments have to keep a grip on the virtual public space by making clear regulation arrangements and checking whether companies respect them.” Another challenge for Flanders is the provision of real-time data by the governments. “This can then

be used by companies to develop innovative apps,” says Ballon. Digital communications company Digitopia from Brussels, for example, recently created the Citie app to update the promotion of the retail sector in the West Flanders city of Roeselare. Ballon hopes to see a transport app developed soon that assembles all real-time data of the various public transport, taxi, car-sharing and bike rental possibilities in a region, including the option to buy tickets. “That would convince more people to leave their car at home,” he says. He says governments urgently need to commit to action and, with the help of experts, ensure that the cities of the future make the best use of the technological opportunities. “We are now building the urban infrastructure of the future and have to ensure that we get off to a good start,” he says. Policymakers also have to make sure that life in the city doesn’t become too regulated, he adds. “Cities represent adventure, accidental encounters and surprising discoveries,” says Ballon. “It will be an essential challenge to preserve the dynamic and chaos of urban hotspots in an intelligent way.” Smart Cities is published in Dutch by Lannoo

The Milky Way galaxy seems to contain a gigantic particle accelerator, probably in the form of an enormous star, according to a research team at the Free University of Brussels (VUB), led by astrophysicist Stijn Buitink. While the cosmos is full of flying objects, from comets to elementary particles, scientists generally believed that they came from sources very far away, like black holes in other galaxies. The VUB researchers, with the Dutch Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen, have found that there are also particles with such extreme energy produced in the Milky Way, most likely by a gigantic star. According to the scientists, the particles could form excellent research material for further research into particle physics. The team’s findings are published in the science magazine Nature.

UGent team develop healthier sweetener Scientists at Ghent University have developed an enzyme with which they can produce a new sweetener that is low on calories, stimulates the growth and activity of bacteria in the colon and doesn’t damage teeth. According to the scientists, the healthier sweetener, called kojibiose, is an ideal substitute for classic sweeteners like sucrose and fructose. It’s not only better for the teeth, it also works as a prebiotic – a food substance that improves intestinal flora. The researchers are now examining, with the food sector, how to commercialise the discovery and bring it from the lab to the supermarkets. \ AF

\ EDUCATION

march 9, 2016

Waste less, want less

week in education

Odisee develops app to help construction workers reduce heat loss Senne Starckx More articles by Senne \ flanderstoday.eu

odisee.be

n most houses, it’s not so difficult to identify the various places where energy and heat inevitably escape. These “nodes” can be found, for example, where floors meet walls, where walls merge into roofs, or where chimneys cut through roof tiles. Other examples of nodes are windows and door openings, flat roof domes and dormers. Nodes can not only result in significant heat loss, they are often also at the root of humidity and mould problems. This is why it’s crucial that nodes are properly designed and implemented during the construction process. When nodes are properly integrated, they tend to receive an honourable mention in a building’s energy performance certificate. To help construction workers, site managers and students to construct nodes properly, the Aalst campus of Brussels’ Odisee University College has developed an app that guides users through the many different node designs. The developers describe it as “a practical tool that can be used on-site and that guarantees the energy quality of a building”. The app covers roughly 30 nodes, which are each explained in detail through a 3D animation that describes how to construct the node step by step. “That’s a major difference with the current situation on building sites, where plans are only available in two dimensions,” says Filip Van Langenhove, architect and researcher at Odisee. “The nodes in today’s constructions, however, are too complex to be represented in 2D.” For each node, the app also offers additional information about construction-related physical properties, like heat insulation, air and water density. “This information can easily be consulted via icons,” explains Van Langenhove.

Filip Van Langenhove (centre) with workers on a construction site. The new app uses 3D animations to explain how nodes are best built

This interactive “node construction manual” is based on three basic principles that require little calculation and are applicable to most node types. One of these principles is “the line of least resistance”. Van Langenhove: “When separate insulation layers can’t make contact with each other and when other insulating parts aren’t possible, you have to make sure that the path followed by the heat from the inside to the outside is as long as possible. This line of least resistance has to be at least one metre.” For teachers, apps can be a useful tool to offer learning materials in a new format. That’s why

Odisee has decided to start using the new app in its bachelor’s programme in construction. The Flemish employment and training agency VDAB has also shown an interest. The agency, which also retrains the unemployed, wants to incorporate the app into its curriculum of sustainable building techniques. “All the different techniques are presented in a highly visual way – without complicated jargon or long elaborations,” says Jelle Loosveld, a construction training expert at VDAB. “So the app is suitable for newcomers to the field and for people who speak Dutch as a second language.”

Extra lessons for students in disadvantaged Antwerp districts School students living in Antwerp neighbourhoods with the highest levels of poverty will in future be able to follow six to 10 extra hours of lessons a week. It is hoped that the project, called Antwerp Children’s Zone, will improve learning deficits in the districts. The initiative is being spearheaded by Antwerp’s education alderman, Claude Marinower, who was inspired by similar projects in New York and Rotterdam. The pupils will be able to attend extra lessons in mathematics, music, languages

and theatre, among other options. A specialised team will also examine the youngsters’ situation at home to ascertain whether there are problems with housing, parenting or finances. The goal is to give disadvantaged students more opportunities to finish school and to move on to higher education. According to Marinower, the percentage of Antwerp youngsters leaving school without a diploma is double the Flemish average. “We refuse to accept that children will not have opportunities later in their lives because of their

background and environment,” said Marinower, who also said that he hopes Antwerp businesses will play an important role in providing jobs to youngsters who finish secondary school. Whether the project would apply to both primary and secondary school students has not yet been announced, and specific neighbourhoods have not been identified. It has also not been established whether the extra lessons will be voluntary or obligatory. Those decisions will be taken by the summer, said Marinower. \ Andy Furniere

Q&A Erwin Goegebeur is the head of the visual arts department at PXL University College in Hasselt, which will launch its first Englishlanguage Master’s programme this autumn Which artists are involved in the new programme? The first “master studio” is in Object & Jewellery with David Huycke, an artist-researcher in his own right. The second is Peter De Cupere, who is starting a new fine arts studio, Open Lab, based around the senses – not only seeing and hearing, but also touch, smell and taste. This is aimed at young artists who want to leave the traditional confines of painting or sculpture. The third master studio is in graphic design-typography, called Typo & Type to Read. This is built

around Ann Bessemans, whose research explores how hard or easy it is to read certain typefaces. These people already have an international network; they teach, organise workshops and take part in exhibitions all over the world. How closely will students work with these artists? Each student chooses a track and benefits from the expertise, teaching and personal contact with one of the artists. But of course

the programme includes other teachers as well, and the size of our institution guarantees regular individual contact and feedback.

to our own students who prefer to finish their degrees in English. And we hope that all local students will benefit from the presence and experience of the foreign students.

How many spots are there for students? There is no quota, but we can’t accept everybody who applies. There is a very direct approach in the Master’s, sometimes one-on-one, so we cannot accept 20 or 25 people per studio.

What types of careers might the programme lead to? In the fine arts, we are preparing people to become artists, so the aim is to inspire them with the possibility of adding new context – smell, touch or taste – to their art. People can also look at teaching or research, maybe through a doctorate. With Object & Jewellery and graphic design, people can start professional careers or start their own businesses, or again become an artist in their own right. \Interview by Ian Mundell

Can Flemish students also enrol? Yes, the programme is open

Private partners limit school access

According to Groen, many schools built through the Schools of Tomorrow publicprivate partnership are not allowed by the private partners to open their doors for community initiatives such as sport clubs. Schools of Tomorrow, launched in 2006, is a consortium of the government of Flanders, BNP Paribas Fortis and AG Real Estate. The private partners finance the design, construction and maintenance of the schools for 30 years, during which time the schools pay the partnership a usage fee for each after-hours activity. Groen says AG Real Estate and several subcontractors are discouraging the use of buildings because of wear and tear and are mostly interested in minimising their costs.

Leaders call for online registration City leaders in Antwerp and Ghent have called for streamlined online registration systems for first-years in secondary education. The aim is to prevent parents from camping out at schools to ensure a place for their child. Antwerp’s education alderman, Claude Marinower, wants an online registration system at a city level and hopes to set up it up next school year. Elke Decruynaere, his counterpart in Ghent, however, does not want a solution at city level and is calling instead for an obligatory registration system across all of Flanders. According to the education ministry, all schools that want to choose an electronic registration system can do so already.

Future teachers to address diversity Fourteen Flemish university colleges will adapt their study programmes so that students training to be pre-school teachers can better deal with diversity and poverty among children. The project, called Kleine Kinderen, Grote Kansen (Little Kids, Big Opportunities), is being co-ordinated by education minister Hilde Crevits and the King Boudewijn Foundation. Methods and materials will be developed to support teacher trainers, new teachers and future teachers. Every team at university colleges will create a customised plan to make adjustments in their studies. Klasse, the Flemish education department’s multimedia platform, will set up a campaign to convince teachers to use the tools and methods provided. \ AF

\ LIVING

week in activities Gladiator Festival A weekend of fun and entertainment, Roman-style, with 250 live re-enactors portraying gladiators, soldiers, artisans, merchants and musicians of the classical world. Includes storytelling, demos, food and more. The festival is being held in conjunction with the exhibition Gladiators: Heroes of the Roman Colosseum at the Gallo-Roman Museum. 12-13 March, 10.00-18.00, Tongeren city centre; free \ hands.be/gladiatoren

Stargazing Days For two nights, public observatories and amateur astronomers will set up their telescopes in 25 locations throughout Flanders, and you can get expert assistance while looking at the moon, planets and stars up close. Find a location near you via the website. 12-13 March, across Flanders; free \ sterrenkijkdagen.be

St Patrick’s Day Celebration A festival of Irish sports, culture and music, plus food and drink, to celebrate Ireland’s national holiday. Games for the kids and hurling and camogie demonstrations. Don’t know what those are? Come find out. 13 March, 12.00-17.00, Jubelpark, Brussels; free \ tinyurl.com/stpatricksbrussels

Spring Garden Show Is your green thumb itching to get busy again? The beautiful themed gardens of Hoegaarden are the setting for a spring garden fair, with plants for sale, guided tours, expert advice, information on ecological gardening – and a free Hoegaarden beer for every visitor. 13 March, 10.00-18.00, De Tuinen van Hoegaarden, Houtmarkt 1; free \ detuinenvanhoegaarden.be

Creativa Brussels Belgium’s biggest fair for crafters and DIY-ers, including needlework, sewing, cake decorating, paper crafts, flower arranging, jewellery making, ceramics, home decor and more. Workshops for adults and kids, plus exhibitions of art quilts and Swarovski crystals. 10-13 March, 10.00-18.00, Brussels Expo, Belgiëplaats 1, Brussels; €12-€13 \ brussels.creativa.eu

\ 10

The eyes have it

Belgium’s first ‘glasses stylist’ changes minds and faces Lisa Bradshaw Follow Lisa on Twitter \ @lmbsie

brilstylistejoke.be

ost people spend more time choosing a special outfit they’ll wear once than choosing the glasses that will sit on their face every day. That is a problem that Joke Amend of Optiek Joke in Destelbergen, just outside of Ghent, is trying to solve. Amend is no ordinary optician. She is a brilstylist, or eyeglasses stylist. Having been a dispensing optician for some 20 years, she decided to improve her ability to advise clients on which frames to choose. So she took a colour and style course in Ghent and followed that up with an actual glasses styling degree in the Netherlands. When she started the new service a few years ago, she was the only professional eyeglass stylist in Belgium, and she is still one of only two. While most opticians can lead you in the right direction in terms of frame basics, Amend (pictured) spends 90 minutes getting to know you – your preferences, your personality, your lifestyle, your job. And your face. Because there’s more to buying a pair of glasses than meets the eye. “It’s all about the whole design,” Amend says as I sit for my styling session. “How thick is the bridge? Where does it sit on your nose? How close together are your eyes? It’s the same principle as buying the right clothes to hide problem areas. A pair of glasses can make your nose look larger or smaller, your face look rounder or longer.” First, she determines your “season”, or which colour palette you should be working with (I’m a summer). Then she uses clever tricks to pinpoint the shape of your face. Mine is diamond, which means the temples of my glasses should always sit above my cheek-

“You have to feel confident wearing them”: Joke Amend finds your perfect frame in Destelbergen

bones, never right on them. Even my prescription makes a difference when choosing the right frames. And the whole time, she’s figuring out what your glasses should be like based not just on how you look, but also who you are. “Do you want a stronger look, or a softer look? It’s very important to get a feel for how people want to present themselves.” Although every client is different, Amend never forgets her three most important guidelines. “When you walk into a room, it needs to be you in the glasses and not a pair of glasses with you behind them,” she says. This doesn’t mean that funky glasses with character are out, but that you need to be able to carry them off.

Secondly, “your eyes still need to shine behind the glasses,” she says. “People need to feel comfortable making eye contact with you when you’re wearing them.” And finally, “you have to feel confident wearing them. There’s no point to eyeglass styling if the person doesn’t feel good about the frames when they walk out of here.” When the consultation is done, Amend pulls out 15 or 20 frames with potential. We then spend another hour poring over them, eliminating them one by one. Asked if people need to be convinced to come out of their comfort zone, she laughs when she responds: “Always!” But she is careful not to be pushy, she says. “It’s not about convincing; it’s about advising. But when someone

BITE Scottish beer pub Brewdog sets up shop in Brussels Exporting beer to Belgium might seem like an enterprise doomed to fail. But for Brewdog, it’s just another territory to conquer. Brewdog launched in 2007 when two enthusiastic home brewers, James Watt and Martin Dickie, took out some “scary” bank loans, bought some secondhand equipment and set up in Fraserburgh, at the top corner of the east coast of Scotland. They now have 17 Brewdog pubs worldwide from Stockholm to Sao Paolo, following a strategy that anyone can make beer, but not just anyone can make a “beer experience”. Last autumn, they opened in Brussels. The Brewdog pub is on Putterij directly across from the row of bus stops that run alongside Central

Station. It’s located in the former Sabena terminal, which operated in the days when people would take a shuttle bus to the airport, in the days when Belgium had its own airline. By local standards, it’s a massive space, all on one floor but doubly high. The bar is roughly L-shaped,

both arms lined with 32 beer pumps for draughts – split into roughly half Brewdog’s own brews and half guest beers from other breweries. Those include Boon kriek, Zinnebir and Curieuse Neus from En Stoemelings. But it’s the Brewdog beers you came to discover. With names like Punk

comes in for a consultation, they change a little. The more they try on different frames, the more they get used to the idea. This is why it’s so important to be able to tell someone not just that the glasses look good but why they look good.” Utterly converted, I walk away with two frames. One is a bit dark and chunky and the other more sophisticated, albeit bright blue. When I ask if most people are walking around with the right glasses, Amend tries to be diplomatic. “I think there’s plenty of work left to do.” Styling sessions are carried out at Optiek Joke on Fridays and Saturdays and are free with a purchase of frames and lenses. Otherwise the cost is €125

brewdog.be

IPA, Hardcore, Jack Hammer and Dead Pony Club, each one is more daring and extreme than the last. Flavours range from (quoting the menu here) burnt caramel, citrus and tropical fruit to forest fruits, pepper and grapefruit. The tap beers aren’t very high in alcohol, but the bottled beers are: Cocoa Psycho is 10%, AB 19 carries 13.1% and the Dog D is marked 16.1%. Prices are also extreme, even for the city centre: That last one costs €18.80 for 33cl. The pub has many different ways to arrange yourselves: a large communal table and smaller tables, booths, sofas and, last but not least, a 20-square-metre terrace overlooking Spanjeplein. Snacks and finger food are available. \ Alan Hope

march 9, 2016

A whole lotta love

Couple introduces locals to the joys of acroyoga in Brussels and Ghent Sarah Schug More articles by Sarah \ flanderstoday.eu

belgiumrolfing.com/acroyoga

hile California beaches and London parks are filling up with acroyogis, Belgium is still new to the trendy practice that fuses yoga, acrobatics and Thai massage. A Flemish-Greek teaching duo now give curious locals a chance to get a taste of the increasingly popular workout. When entering the walk-in class led by Bart Adins and Christina Markouli in a large, lofty studio in the Sint-Gillis municipality of Brussels, I feel instantly welcome; the air is alive with chatter and laughter. After a short round of stretching, the circle ceremony – where all participants introduce themselves – serves as a bit of an icebreaker. It’s also a rather necessary exercise, as things are about to get intimate. Acroyoga involves a lot of touching, which might push some attendees past their comfort zones. Ask yourself the question: Am I OK with holding a stranger’s naked foot in my hand? Essentially, acroyoga is a partner-based practice where two or more people work together to form poses while balancing on each other. Here, you won’t do your handstand on a mat but on someone else’s body. Even the most basic poses look impressive and, admittedly, slightly intimidating. But don’t let this put you off: Acroyoga doesn’t require any previous gymnastic or acrobatic experience at all. “What’s much more important is to be openminded,” says Adins. “It’s less athletic and more a playful exploration of movement. Contrary to popular belief, even beginners manage very well, which is very empowering for them.”

Christina Markouli and Bart Adins demonstrate an acroyoga pose during a recent class

All positions, graced with fitting names such as High-Flying Whale or Back Bird, are demonstrated in detail by the instructor couple before the participants try them out themselves in teams of three.

Surprisingly, I even see a quite petite woman as a base, giving support to a much larger man: Technique is clearly more important than strength in acroyoga. The trios take their time to find

I love this sport so much because of the immense feeling of community The “base” is the person on the ground, giving support to the “flyer” on top, while the “spotter” offers a helping hand and makes sure no-one falls.

the right positions, carefully manoeuvring their bodies until they find stability. There is no pressure, no competition and no embarrassment when a position

doesn’t work out. And nobody gets hurt. As communication is key, there’s a lot of talking going on – quite a change to the introspective, meditative nature of traditional yoga. “You have to really feel and listen to the other person and anticipate your partner’s movements,” Adins explains. Acroyoga first emerged in the late 1990s at two yoga schools – one in Montreal and one in California. But the sport only really gained momentum in recent years, when celebrities – from Lena Dunham to Adam Levine and Ashley Judd – started posting photos of the visually beautiful workouts on Instagram. Acroyoga has taken social media

50 weekends in Flanders: Art galleries in Brussels Flanders Today has launched an e-book with ideas for how to spend a year’s worth of weekends. Visit our website to get your free copy of 50 Weekends in Flanders. We’ll also print one of our suggestions every week here, too. Brussels is simply stuffed with art galleries, from the large and well-established to the small and innovative. Once you’ve visited all the Flemish capital’s museums, there’s no shortage of new art to discover. 67 This striking co-operative gallery hotspot is located in two rambling buildings formerly occupied by a

law publishing firm. The lofty 19th-century rooms have been taken over by five commercial galleries, including Jan Mot, which occupies the former library on the ground floor. Catherine Bastide exhibits her artists in a room with faded murals, while Micheline Szwajcer occupies a stunning series of white interiors. \ janmot.com

LA LOGE Anne-Claire Schmitz organises art events and talks in an old masonic lodge in Elsene. She invites artists and dancers to create new works specifically for this mysterious Art Deco temple (pictured). \ la-loge.be

by storm and is now a major tool for its avid fan base to exchange tips and learn about new positions. Adins and Markouli are the perfect example: They met through an acroyoga Facebook group. “In the beginning, we were just a bunch of friends meeting up and trying to imitate what we saw on YouTube videos,” Markouli remembers. The few acroyoga teachers in Belgium today all have ties going back to this passionate, self-taught little crew. Adins and Markouli provide the lessons in both Brussels and Ghent. Although social media is largely responsible for acroyoga’s recent rise, the movement was initially meant as an antidote to a society that is increasingly ruled by internet technology. One of its main goals is to encourage human connection and foster physical and emotional interactions. In the end, you will only be able to master the positions with the necessary amount of communication and overall trust. No wonder some psychologists even prescribe acroyoga as couple’s therapy. At the end of the session, everyone once again gathers in a circle, which has visibly become closer. “We start out as strangers and end by massaging each other,” Markouli says. “This is exactly why I love this sport so much – because of the immense feeling of community.” Acroyoga proved to be a fun, relaxing and rewarding experience that is uplifting in the literal sense of the word – even and especially for first-timers. For those who are still hesitating: No, you won’t break your neck, and you don’t need special talents. Just an open mind. TINYURL.COM/50WEEKENDS

former brewing hall where you can engage in heady discussions next to enormous copper brewing vats. \ wiels.org

by Victor Horta. The gallery exhibits some of the most inspiring artists working in China, including photographer Ren Hang and collage artist Ghost of a Dream. \ galerieparisbeijing.com

WIELS This acclaimed modern art centre is located in the old Wielemans-Ceuppens brewery, a striking concrete building from the 1930s. Wiels hosts exhibitions by edgy contemporary artists and has a smart cafe located in the

ARGOS International video art is screened in a rugged concrete industrial space near the canal zone. The building is divided into a range of unusual spaces and includes an intimate screening room called the Black Box. \ argosarts.org

PARIS BEJING This gallery displays contemporary Chinese work in a beautiful Art Nouveau townhouse designed

JOHN & ROSE This spacious art cafe brings a creative energy to downtown Brussels. It has a relaxed Nordic mood, with pale wood tables, vintage armchairs and plants growing in old wooden crates. You can eat a simple lunch of soup and salad or just sit with a coffee and a newspaper. The owners organise monthly art exhibitions, film screenings and concerts. \ johnandrose.be

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95% of parents said BSB was their first school of choice* “The French/English bilingual programme is what attracted us to BSB and has been an enriching experience for our girls. The children clearly enjoy going to school and have fun whilst learning.” Mrs Nikla Lancksweert from UK, who chose BSB for her children.

Your No.1 school of choice *

According to a recent independent parent survey

To find out why, visit www.britishschool.be/whyBSB

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\ ARTS

march 9, 2016

Good heavens

week in arts & CULTURE International Opera Award nominations for Flanders

This year’s Klara Festival puts spiritual passions centre stage Ian Mundell follow Ian on Twitter \ @IanMundell

klarafestival.be

This year’s edition of Brussels’ classical and new music festival focuses on a theme that is deeply linked to Christianity and at the same time universal in its appeal.

fter exploring love and passion last year, the Klara Festival in Brussels this year turns to passion in the religious and spiritual sense. “The festival is conceived as a collage, a combination of universal stories about passion and compassion,” explains Klara artistic director Hendrik Storme. The festival has its roots in Western classical music, so interpretations of the Passion – the suffering and death of Christ – naturally come to the fore. “It’s obvious that the link between Christianity and passion is very strong,” says Storme, “but on the other hand I think that passion is a universal subject, which is not limited to Christianity. All the world religions have dealt with this subject.” So the festival includes a number of projects by artists from other traditions as well as artists who take an innovative approach to the Christian Passion. The most ambitious is And You Must Suffer, a music theatre presentation of Bach’s St John Passion that will have its world premiere at the festival. The oratorio will be performed in full, bracketed by new pieces from Flemish composer Annelies Van Parys. Then at the heart of Bach’s Passion – an intentional piece of symbolism – there will be a new composition by the avantgarde Palestinian-Israeli composer Samir Odeh-Tamimi. This takes its text from The Arab Apocalypse, by Lebanese poet Etel Adnan, which reflects on the suffering of people caught up in the Lebanese civil war during the 1980s. The semi-staged performance by the Flemish baroque orchestra B’Rock and the Wroclaw Philharmonic Choir will also feature a video installation by Mirjam Devriendt, inspired by Flemish religious painting and Wim Delvoye’s striking interpretation of the 14 Stations of the Cross. This tells the story of the crucifixion with rats, their bodies posed and X-rayed to produce shadowy, strangely transcendent images. “By using X-rays, he is showing things that normally you cannot see,” says Storme. “He is externalising very internal things and that is a nice metaphor for what we aim to do in this production. The idea was to reflect on the heart, the inside, of a Passion. It’s a reflection on religion, but it’s also a reflection on the meaning of art and music, and of Passions in our society and the way we have to present them to a contemporary audience.”

Opera Vlaanderen has received four nominations for the International Opera Awards, which takes place in May in London. La Juive, which premiered last April, was a new production of the 19th-century grand opera by Fromental Halévy about the young woman Rachel who is torn between Christian and Jewish worlds. It has been nominated for both Best Chorus and Best New Production. Lithuanian soprano Asmik Grigorian has also garnered a nomination for her role as Rachel. A design nomination goes to Rebecca Ringst for her work on Richard Wagner’s Tannhäuser, which premiered last September. operaballet.be\

Flemish photographers up for Sony prizes

Chinese conductor and composer Tan Dun’s Water Passion will be performed by the Flemish Radio Choir and the Brussels Philharmonic Soloists; Polish composer Zbigniew Preisner conducts the Wroclaw Philharmonic and Choir; Klara’s artistic director Hendrik Storme

The festival includes two other Bach Passions. One is a more traditional interpretation of the St Matthew Passion, with John Eliot Gardiner conducting the Monteverdi Choir and the English Baroque Soloists. The festival’s title this year – Erbarme dich – comes from a line in this Passion: “Have mercy, my God, for the sake of my tears”. The other comes from Chinese conductor and composer Tan Dun (pictured), whose Water Passion will be performed by the Flemish Radio Choir and the Brussels Philharmonic Soloists. “This uses the St Matthew Passion as a point of departure, but he has added other texts, from different religions, telling different stories,” Storme explains. Dun has also added water, both as a musical element in the performance and to create its visual identity. Other visual treats in the festival include the installation of Bill Viola’s Martyrs in the St Michael and St Gudula Cathedral in Brussels.

These four video works, originally commissioned by St Paul’s Cathedral in London, show striking, stylised deaths by earth, air, water and fire. “The installation is about suffering and passion, but it is also about compassion. So I thought it would be the ideal project to present in Brussels,” Storme says. The festival will also screen the whole of the Dekalog, Krzysztof Kie´slowski’s series of films inspired by the Ten Commandments. This leads up to a concert in which Polish composer Zbigniew Preisner will conduct his score for the films, performed by the Wroclaw Philharmonic and Choir. “It is quite rare for him to tour with this music,” says Storme. Other performances exploring the festival theme include Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, Mahler’s Third Symphony and song cycle Das Lied

9-24 March

von der Erde, Schubert’s Death and the Maiden and Bruckner’s Ninth Symphony. You can also compare Schubert and Pergolesi on the Stabat Mater, and Hayden and Pergolesi on Christ’s final words from the Cross. Some of these performances will be conventional concerts, while others are more innovative. The Human Requiem, for example, is a presentation of Brahms’ German Requiem in the Hallen van Schaarbeek, more usually a home to contemporary dance or circus performances. “The audience will be surrounded by members of the choir, and at a certain moment the choir will start to sing,” Storme explains. “This will feel a bit different, because you will not know that you are standing right next to a singer. So, there will be a dialogue between the singers and the audience. That makes it a very powerful production.”

Across Brussels and Flanders

Four Flemish photographers have been nominated for the Sony World Photography Awards, the world’s largest photo competition. Their photos were selected from a record 230,103 entries from 186 countries. Maroesjka Lavigne from Ghent and Annick Donkers, who is from Antwerp but is currently based in Mexico City, were nominated in the Professional section for a series of photographs. Lavigne is nominated in the Landscape category for her series Land of Nothingness featuring the geography and animals of Namibia. Donkers’ Lucha Libre Extrema series illustrating a violent style of wresting in Mexico is nominated in the Sport category. Petra Van Borm, who was born and raised in Flanders and is now a professional underwater photographer in the Canary Islands, and Dennis Vandermeersch of Kortrijk, also an underwater photographer, were nominated in the Open section, which is judged on a single photo. Van Borm’s shot catches a swimmer training for a triathlon (pictured). Vandermeersch’s black-and-white underwater shot of a crocodile was taken in the Mangroves of Cuba. \ worldphoto.org

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\ ARTS

The movie that never was

Artist Rinus Van de Velde puts himself in the picture in Ghent’s SMAK museum Christophe Verbiest More articles by Christophe \ flanderstoday.eu

SMAK.BE

An exhibition in Ghent by Flemish artist Rinus Van de Velde has a cinematic feel, with sculptures as props and drawings based on homemade film sets.

“H

ave a look round while I finish writing this text,” says Rinus Van de Velde, still busy preparing his new exhibition at SMAK, Ghent’s museum of contemporary art. On the wall of a huge room hang nine monumental charcoal drawings, each accompanied by a long text, telling a somewhat surreal story. In recent years, Van de Velde, who was born in Leuven in 1983 and now lives and works in Antwerp, has become one of Flanders’ most striking artists. He grew up in a family with an interest in the arts. “We had loads of books, and when we travelled to Florence, for instance, we would visit the Uffizi Gallery,” he recalls. At first his parents thought his ambition to become an artist was a whim. “Once they realised it was serious, they stood behind my choice,” he says, before adding with a laugh: “Maybe it’s because I have two older brothers with ‘serious’ jobs.” Van de Velde was first struck by art when he was 17. “I went to Paris to see a retrospective of Fauvist art, and it blew me away completely. It was the first time I had connected with visual arts so strongly. Afterwards I started reading a lot about art, and slowly I began drawing, first copying the old masters, later more contemporary artists.” He studied sculpture at Sint-Lucas in Antwerp, but soon realised that drawing was his medium. Van de Velde based his new show, Donogoo Tonka, on a mock film screenplay from 1920 by French author Jules Romains. “I discov-

Rinus Van de Velde’s “What isn’t, can be done’, I continued”, 2016, part of Donogoo Tonka at Ghent's SMAK

ered it by accident in a New York shop,” he says. “It swept me off my feet because of the links it had with my own work.” Six years later, when SMAK asked him to create an exhibition of his work, he decided to use the book as a guide. “I selected nine key moments from the screenplay. For each of them I built a set in my studio, photographed them and made drawings based on the photos. The exhibition is a storyboard of a film that will never be made.” Some elements of the sets he and his assistants built are also on show. “The room measures 20 by 20 metres,” he explains. “There were drawings on the wall, and the rest of the room was empty. I did that once, in Malaga, and afterwards I thought: ‘This is so unnatural; I should have put something in the middle of the room’.” But showing objects is not just

a sign of Van de Velde’s dislike of empty space, it also points to a changing artistic practice. He refers to them as both props and sculptures, and by calling them sculptures he makes them works of art. “True,” he says. “By placing them in the museum they have become artworks. They are finished pieces and won’t be altered again. They can exist without their relation to the drawings.” There’s another element that encouraged Van de Velde to exhibit these props-turned-sculptures. “For the first time, there’s some colour in my work. I like it. I’ve been trying recently to use colour in my drawings. But until now I’ve never been happy with the result, so I don’t want to show them. And I’m not fond of talking about these efforts. It’s work that no one has to see, which lends me an enormous freedom: I can do whatever I want.”

Which generally means tearing them up. He still has a lot of desire to draw in black and white. “There’s a whole world to explore for me, and black and white has some advantages,” he says. “I find it interesting that we see the world in colour, but once it becomes fictitious, it’s in black and white. It’s a clear difference. More importantly, I can draw quickly, I don’t have to think about what colour to use. That would distract me.” As usual, Van de Velde is one of the main characters in this new series of drawings. To cut a long story short, he plays a suicidal man who dedicates his life to a fraudulent geography professor who has invented – to gain academic prestige – the city of Donogoo-Tonka.

Until 5 June

More visual arts this week David Altmejd: L’air

Guillaume Bijl

Arpaïs Du Bois

You don’t have to convince Canadian artist David Altmejd that there’s beauty in ugliness. His sculptures often use elements that refer to nature, but in a decaying or disjointed way. He’s also known for his convoluted sculptural installations that defy the viewer. In L’air (The Air) he presents an ensemble of sculpted heads, a group of sculptural matrices in mirrored glass and some new entries, this time in bronze instead of plaster, in the ongoing series Bodybuilders. Though, you’ll see, the bodies aren’t built the way you’d expect. Until 9 April, Xavier Hufkens, Sint-Jorisstraat 6, Brussels

Antwerp artist Guillaume Bijl is famous for his reconstructions of seemingly everyday spaces (a supermarket, an auction house or a shop that sells mattresses) in museums or art galleries. The meaning lies in the contrast between solemn art spaces and the reconstruction of the mundane. His 70th birthday this month and receiving Antwerp province’s Visual Arts Prize seemed like good reasons for CC Mechelen to show four of his huge installations. Until 8 May, CC Mechelen, Minderbroedersgang 5, Mechelen

Every night, Antwerp artist Arpaïs Du Bois picks up her sketchbook and starts drawing. It is, to paraphrase the title of her new show, about finding a way to live in the world. A night’s work can result in three drawings or in 20. When she has an exhibition coming up, she goes through her dozens of books and makes a selection. At Dr Guislain, she presents her drawings in dialogue with the museum’s permanent collection: no artworks, but objects that were used in the long history of this hospital and psychiatric centre. A great, but still highly underrated, artist (pictured). 5 March to 29 May, Museum Dr Guislain, Jozef Guislainstraat 43, Ghent

\ xavierhufkens.com

\ cultuurcentrummechelen.be

\ museumdrguislain.be

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In the end, the character manages to solve the professor’s problems: The fictitious city is really being built. “The fiction becomes a reality: That’s what attracted me to this book, since that’s precisely what I’m doing all the time.” In his drawings, Van de Velde creates what he calls a fictitious reality. Is the character he put in the drawings the guy he wanted to be? “More a person that I could have been, under different circumstances,” he answers. “Of course, I don’t want to be the suicidal guy in the recent drawings. But it’s interesting to present other versions of myself. Don’t get the illusion, though, that you can learn from my work who I am. I’m not making an exhibition to reveal myself to people. That would be boring.”

SMAK

Jan Hoetplein 1, Ghent

\ AGENDA

march 9, 2016

Jazz unites the city

CLASSICAL

Leuven Jazz

Brussels Novus String Quartet: One of Korea’s leading chamber music ensembles performs interpretations of masterpieces by Mozart, Mendelssohn and György Ligeti. 16 March 20.15, Flagey, Heilig Kruisplein

Across Leuven

12-20 March

www.leuvenjazz.be

or the fourth consecutive year, Leuven’s festival will be serving a broad menu of all things jazz, from concerts by acclaimed and emerging artists to movies, lectures and exhibitions. There’s even a quiz. Nearly all of the city’s cultural organisations are involved. The biggest names are lined up in the 30CC Schouwburg and Het Depot. But there’s also a lot of activity in smaller venues and bars, such as Oratoriënhof, De Libertad and At The Bebop, where the contagious Ethio-jazz grooves of the amazing Black Flower quintet (pictured) will launch an attack on your hips. At the Minnepoort theatre, several Flemish musicians are revisiting the oeuvre of the almost forgotten Hammond virtuoso André Brasseur. The rising jazz funkateers of STUFF. are even booked twice, in different venues.

This year’s headlining shows include the British bassist Dave Holland and the American saxophonist Chris Potter, with their ensembles. At the age of 21, Holland was discovered by Miles Davis, who took him from the London club scene to New York, where he would become a sideman on iconic albums such as Bitches Brew. He recorded his first album as a bandleader in 1972 and has been around ever since. Potter played as a sideman for Holland, which helped him evolve into one of the leading saxophonists of his generation. Since Leuven Jazz emerged out of the now defunct Kulturama city arts festival, organisers 30CC and Het Depot instigated collaborations with local actors with a profound interest in jazz. Cinema ZED will screen – for the first time in Belgium – a unique documentary

\ flagey.be

PERFORMANCE Brussels

on the life of Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong, art gallery ’t OOgenblik displays photographs by Jos “The Jazzman” Knaepen and Museum M even offers a Sunday morning jazz concert, as an appetiser for a guided tour of the Sarah Morris exhibition. \ Tom Peeters

CONCERT

PERFORMANCE

Matt Watts

Dimitris Papaioannou: Still Life CC De Breughel, Bree

10 March, 20.15

debreughel.be

Philadelphia-born singer-songwriter Matt Watts paid his dues as a teenaged troubadour, touring rural America with a guitar and not much else. His roaming days are over now. Based in Antwerp for the past several years, Watts has honed his brand of contemporary folk and earned invitations to support local heroes like Dans Dans as well as international artists, among them Marc Ford of the Black Crowes. This intimate concert showcases compositions from his 2014 album Songs from a Window. Local group Roots open the show with their Flemish brand of Americana.

18-20 March, 20.00

De Singel, Antwerp desingel.be

Marthe Donas: The Belgian Avant-Gardist: Exhibition of the work of the Antwerpborn painter, the only Belgian woman to be a major force in the international avantgard movement, thanks to a gender-neutral pseudonym. Until 5 June, Fine Arts Museum, Fernand Scribedreef 1 \ mskgent.be

FILM Brussels

Vincent Glowinski

Yoga at the Museum

Vincent Glowinski is a known quantity in Brussels. The Parisian street artist has been based in the capital for years and has even helped transform the landscape of his adopted hometown with several large-scale murals. One such intervention, “The Jungle”, changed the face of the Botanique. Now the formerbotanic-gardens-turned-culturalcomplex invites Glowinski inside to modify its Museum room. The artist takes his inspiration from natural history, planting fossils and skeletons from the Botanique’s history – and possibly his own. The exhibition also features works by Glowinski’s mother, Agnès Debizet, making it a very personal affair for the artist. \ GV

botanique.be

22 April, 12.00 Yoga is a holistic experience, so what better way to practice than in a room with six monumental, site-specific paintings celebrating the meeting of body and mind. The works that comprise Awakenings of Consciousness were painted by Nobel Prize-winning FrenchChinese novelist Gao Xingjian as a bridge between literature and the visual arts and make an ideal setting for the lunchtime yoga sessions, led by guru Laia Puig Escandell. The museum organises two sessions a month, and space is limited so they tend to sell out early. March is already booked; now is the time to reserve your mat for April. \ GV

Kinshasa Electric: PolishCanadian choreographer Ula Sickle and three dancers from the Democratic Republic of Congo perform to the international sounds of DJ Baba Electronica, featuring sweeping rhythms and trance-inducing beats. 10 March 20.30, Westrand, Kamerijklaan 46

Ghent

ACTIVITY Botanique, Brussels

Dilbeek

VISUAL ARTS

VISUAL ARTS Until 17 April

\ englishcomedybrussels.com

\ westrand.be

Greek artist Dimitris Papaioannou wears many hats. The formally trained painter has also distinguished himself as a choreographer, comic-strip artist and stage director. Something of a national treasure, it was Papaioannou who was commissioned to conceive and direct the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. It was lauded the world over. Since 2014, he has been touring with his contemporary dance production Still Life, which sees seven performers inhabit a visually stunning world created through multimedia and practical effects. The production has visited a dozen countries across Europe and the Americas. \ GV

\ Georgio Valentino

Irish Comedy Night: St Patrick’s Day special featuring standup by Irish comedian Rory O’Hanlon and Northern Irishman Paddy Lennox, hosted by the Antwerp-based Irish comedian David Hayden (in English). 15 March 20.00, English Comedy Brussels, Boondaalsesteenweg 8

get tic

kets n ow

Royal Museums of Fine Arts, Brussels fine-arts-museum.be

Agnès Varda cycle: A closeup look at the filmography of the Brussels director, featuring screenings of four films that best illustrate her knack for capturing feelings within relationships. (Tickets to the film cycle come with a discount ticket for the Varda exhibition Patates & Compagnie in the Museum of Elsene, and vice versa). Until 12 April, Flagey, Heilig Kruisplein \ flagey.be

TALK Aartselaar (Antwerp province) Lieve Blancquart – Wedding Day: The Flemish photographer talks about her photo series on various types of weddings around the world and what they reveal about a culture’s norms and values (in Dutch). 10 March 20.15, CC Aartselaar, Della Faillelaan 34 \ cultureelcentrumaartselaar.be

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\ BACKPAGE

march 9, 2016

Talking Dutch You didn’t say 17 dwarf hamsters Derek Blyth More articles by Derek \ flanderstoday.eu

ust when you think you’re beginning to get the hang of a foreign language, some new expression comes along to floor you. The Dutch writer and comedian Paulien Cornelisse put her finger on one such problem in a recent article. She noticed that people had started to say dat meen je! – oh really! instead of dat meen je niet! – you don’t say. She gave this example: Mijn nicht heeft zeventien dwerghamsters – my niece has 17 dwarf hamsters. Dat meen je niet! – You don’t say! It’s complicated, Cornelisse says, because obviously the person did say that her niece had all those dwarf hamsters. But the speaker used the expression Dat meen je niet to show that she was a little uncomfortable with the idea. Je wil alleen maar zeggen – you really just want to say, dat je zelf blij bent dat je niet zeventien dwerghamsters hebt – that you’re happy that you’re not the one with 17 dwarf hamsters. But now people have started to say Dat meen je! – which translates literally as “you mean that”. Daar wordt hetzelfde mee bedoeld als ‘dat meen je niet’ – And what they mean is exactly the same as “You don’t say” – literally, “you don’t mean that”. Confusing, no? Cornelisse argues that the new expression might be more accurate. ‘Dat meen je’ klopt eigenlijk beter – “You mean that” actually sounds better, want je zegt het dus alleen als iemand iets wel meent – since you’re only going to say it when someone really means something. Toch klinkt het fout – But it sounds wrong all the same, omdat het op een geschokte, ongelovige toon wordt uitgesproken – because it’s spoken in a shocked, unbelieving tone, in plaats van als

een statement – and not just as a statement. In het Engels bestaat een dergelijk fenomeen – a similar phenomenon exists in English. Here the expression “I couldn’t care less” means the same as “I could care less”. Apparently, the expression “I could care less” was first used in the 1960s in the US. Cornelisse argues that the expression “I couldn’t care less” is more logical. Het betekent dat je je niet voor kan stellen dat er iets is dat je minder belangrijk vindt – It means that you can’t imagine anything you could care about less. Whereas “I could care less” is less strong. Denk je blijkbaar dat er dingen nog wel minder interessant kunnen zijn – you are clearly thinking that there are some things that could be less interesting. In other words, Americans really should be saying “I couldn’t care less.” (Unless, that is, they still have a little bit of care left, in which case they could care less.)

VoiceS of flanders today In response to: NMBS to launch wi-fi pilot project on OstendEupen line Maroun Kaye: Finally, all my nagging about this subject to them worked :D

In response to: KU Leuven opens alcohol-free pop-up bar Peter O'Reilly: That’s brave in Belgium.

In response to: Motorist drives three kilometres on pre-metro lines Paul Lamb: He said, “you close my vehicle tunnels, I take your tram tunnels!”

Mojan @Lunnox_ My fingers are weird but I got a really beautiful ring in Antwerp

Jean-Francois Gagne @JFGnorD Looks like I’m going to Ghent next week. That was unexpected but I’m looking forward to that. Welcome Europe ! ^_^

Alix Staines @alixstaines I can’t find golden syrup ANYWHERE in Leuven and I have so many waffles/pancakes to eat but nothing to combine them with

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47% Of course we’re all lucky the situation wasn’t much worse. The only reason there was no collision is because he drove through a station, and an alarm was sounded. A slight majority of our readers agree with the handling of the situation. Yes, it’s true that he disrupted traffic for hours, and he

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the last word

Should the man who drove into a pre-metro tunnel in Brussels be faced with a hefty bill from the city?

He was the darling of social media last month: the man from Flanders who drove his SUV into a premetro tunnel in Brussels and kept going for three kilometres until he had to be hauled out of South Station by transit authorities. He is facing a huge bill for the rescue operation on top of the traffic fine.

LIKE US

Take me to your leader “In truck platooning, two or three trucks ride in convoy behind each other. The lead driver determines the speed and all movements of the other trucks. The followers imitate the behaviour of the leader via GPS, wi-fi and radar.” Krista Walsh of Volvo Trucks explains an experiment due to take place next month in Flanders involving four convoys of self-driving trucks

Hear us roar “We’re switching over from the plucky Us to the offensive Us.”

To have and to hold “Even if you do have to get divorced, at least you have a great experience to look back on.” Inge Van Roosbroeck has married Jonas Wielandt, chosen for her by experts on the reality TV programme Blind getrouwd (Blind Marriage)

Financial security “Gambling is a bit like putting your money in the bank: One day you hope to get it all back.” An anonymous gambling addict interviewed in Het Nieuwsblad explains how gambling is not at all like putting your money in the bank

CD&V president Wouter Beke feels his party needs to make itself felt more in the Flemish coalition

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