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Extending the Of mice and men With monkeys back in the lab in Leuven, right to die

© Lorenz Seidler

Erkenningsnummer P708816

Belgium becomes the first country in the world to abolish age limits on euthanasia 4

w w w. f l a n d e r s t o d ay. e u

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living

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arts

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agenda

Tippity-tap A largely forgotten genre springs into Brussels’ Bozar for the third annual Tap Tonight

activists work on alternatives to animal testing

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Portrait of the Artist After a couple of career detours and false starts, Flemish painter Michaël Borremans has found his voice, and critical acclaim in the process Christophe Verbiest

Flemish painter Michaël Borremans was resigned to making art for art’s sake when, unexpectedly, success came knocking at his door and made him a darling of the international art scene – just when it dawned on him that “making it” maybe wasn’t that important. We visited the artist in his Ghent home to talk art, success and the daily grind.

M

ichaël Borremans has become one of Flanders’ best-known contemporary painters, acclaimed around the world. But a fear of failure and the prevailing 1980s art mood almost led the Ghent-based artist not to take up painting at all.

When Borremans (pictured) was contemplating his next move after graduating from secondary art school, both the art world and art schools were under the spell of the German-dubbed Neue Wilde (New Wilds), a post-war neo-expressionist art movement.

But Borremans wasn’t interested in that.

“I wanted to learn how to paint like Titian,” he says, “not how to paint with tar or shit. I didn’t think I had to go to school to learn that.”

Instead, he was determined to absolutely master drawing before doing anything with painting. “I wanted to continue in that direction. Influenced by American underground comics, I hoped to become a graphic novelist.”

In the end, Borremans opted to study printmaking because it included a technical aspect. In the following years, he practised and practised to become a good illustrator.

He was in his early 30s when he eventually began `` continued on page 5

Flanders today

current affairs

f e b r u a ry 1 9 , 2014

MIVB holds protest strike Brussels’ transport workers protest suspended sentence for man who attacked colleague the scene after being called by his friend, the driver of the car, who was slightly injured and wanted to go to hospital.

The prosecution had asked for a sentence of four years, but the court saw no reason to send Vander Elst back to prison, where he had spent just over a month on remand following the incident. He had also admitted the facts from the outset and accepted his responsibility for Tahiraj’s death, the court said.

“This decision has led to a great deal of confusion among MIVB staff,” the three main trade unions said in a joint statement. “People are disappointed; they don’t understand it.”

“We want any action to take place in an organised manner,” said one representative. MIVB vehicles came to a virtual standstill on the day of the incident in 2012, and the protest continued for six days. The action held on Friday was originally planned to begin at 10.00, missing the morning rush hour, and end around 14.00. Instead the transport network was disrupted into the evening, with about half of all metro trains running and most bus and tram routes cancelled.

The family of Tahiraj said they were “disappointed” with the sentence, but will not appeal.

A silent march in 2012, two days after the death of public transport worker Iliaz Tahiraj

Hasselt girl finds stem cell donor Bart Swings takes fourth in Sochi against overwhelming odds The Flemish hopefuls in the Sochi winter Olympics have failed to seize any medals yet, although speed skater Bart Swings (pictured) came close with his fourth-place position.

The chances of Olympic glory for Belgium were slim, with a contingent of just seven taking part in the games. Swings, 23, was the best hope, turning his experience as an inline skater – he’s a fourtime world champion – into speed skating.

The 23-year old from Leuven has only spent one year in the sport, but it was enough to assure him a strong fourth place in the 5,000-metre race, just 1.13 seconds short of a bronze medal. Swings came in 10th, meanwhile, in the 1,500-metre event.

Another athlete switching sports was Belgium’s flag carrier Hanna Mariën, a former track and field athlete and part of the bobsleigh duo with Elfje Willemsen. They are aiming for at least a top eight position in the event, with the final on Wednesday of this week.

Speed skater Jelena Peeters, meanwhile, came a

in Leuven, where she has undergone chemotherapy in preparation for the transplant this week. This will be followed by a long period of isolation while her immune system is compromised.

“It’s going to be a difficult period with a lot of physical discomfort, but what a difference from a couple of weeks ago,” Danielle said. “Thanks to this anonymous donor, Rachel gets a new chance to fight on, and we’re unbelievably happy about that.”

Some 350 people in Belgium are waiting for a stem cell transplant but cannot find a matching donor. The Red Cross, however, received a record number of 8,564 applications to become a donor in 2013, largely as a result of widespread publicity.

AH © Courtesy Focus op Hasselt

Rachel De Doelder, the 15-year-old Hasselt girl whose mother put out an appeal for stem cell donors, has found a match, despite facing odds of 50,000 to one.

Rachel was diagnosed with leukaemia last year. Because she is adopted, her only chance of finding a stem cell donor was among the general public. She is of Congolese roots, so the population of likely matches was extremely small.

Rachel’s mother, Danielle De Doelder, and older sister, Merveille, turned to the media to address the African community in Belgium, from churches to football clubs to a former Miss World. Finally a donor was found who matches Rachel’s fibres to 90%, which is more than sufficient for a successful stem cell transplant.

Rachel is now in the Gasthuisberg Hospital

Rachel De Doelder (left) and sister Merveille

respectable 12th in the 3,000 metres. It was one place higher than her 13th position in last year’s World Championships and met her goal of making it into the top 15.

Snowborder Seppe Smits failed to make it out of the group stage and into the semi-finals in the slopestyle, a new winter Olympic event where the goal is to perform the most difficult tricks while getting the highest altitude off jumps. Leo Cendrowicz

Investigation into rapes by fake taxi drivers in Brussels’ Ter Kamerenbos Police in Brussels are investigating 29 alleged incidents of rape involving men pretending to be taxi drivers. The incidents took place over the last three years in the area of Ter Kamerenbos park and in each case involved a young woman travelling home alone after an evening out in the city. Since initial reports about the case of 23 rapes came to light last week, another six victims have come forward.

“The suspects posed as taxi drivers and took them to the Ter Kamerenbos where the victim was raped or sexually assaulted,” said Ine Van Wymersch, spokesperson for the Brussels prosecutor’s office.

No weapons have been involved in reports, she said.

The men are targeting women who have been

drinking. “A victim who is under the influence is not in a state to give consent to sexual contact,” said Van Wymersch.

Investigators are looking for several suspects, though they don’t necessarily think they are in contact with each other. One suspect was arrested last Friday. “The man denied the charges and has not been detained, but the investigation continues,” Van Wymersch said.

The prosecutor advised the public to always contact a reputable taxi company. Genuine licensed city taxis can be found in taxi ranks, have a chequered stripe down the side of the vehicle and are equipped with a light on the roof. Licensed taxi drivers also have a certificate with a photo that they are obliged to display inside the vehicle. AH

THE WEEK IN FIGURES

15,121

1,089

46,349

2,928

233

school allowances reclaimed by the Flemish government in the first 11 months of 2013 in cases of persistent absence, for a total of €5.1 million. In 2010, the figure was only 5,797 for €2.3 million

teenage pregnancies in Flanders in 2012, according to the welfare ministry, compared to 1,381 in 2008. The ministry says the reduced figure is due to successful prevention campaigns

fare-dodgers caught by Flemish public transport authority De Lijn last year – one in four of all passengers inspected. Most cases occur among tram passengers under the age of 25

dogs reported lost or stolen in Belgium in 2013, 21% more than the previous year. Chihuahuas, Jack Russells and border collies are the most-often reported

motorists fined for using parking spaces reserved for the handicapped in Brussels in last month.

Cars were towed away in 29 cases

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© Courtesy Focus op Hasselt

S

taff of the Brussels public transport authority MIVB held a demonstration in front of the city’s Justice Palace last Friday, in protest at the outcome of the trial of a man accused of killing an inspector.

The Brussels court found Alexandre Vander Elst guilty of unintentional homicide and sentenced him to 40 months suspended. He was also ordered to pay more than €50,000 in damages. The inspector, 56-year-old Iliaz Tahiraj, died after being struck to the ground in a dispute after a car collided with an MIVB bus on Havenlaan in Brussels in 2012.

Vander Elst was not involved in the accident itself: He arrived at

© Julien Warnand/epa/Corbis

Alan Hope

Flanders today

current affairs

f e b r u a ry 1 9 , 2014

face of flanders

WEEK in brief

Mediahuis, the joint venture between newspaper media companies Corelio and Concentra, will eliminate the equivalent of 155 full-time jobs, 50 fewer than originally announced. Unions said the true figure was 192 jobs and accused management of presenting “manipulated figures” that fail to take account of employees who have already left. In a vote taken last week, 90% of workers said they opposed the plans, with 70% prepared to take further action.

Following an absence of two decades, sheep have returned to the Zwin nature reserve on the border of West Flanders and Zeeland in the Netherlands, between Knokke and Cadzand. Last week, five sheep were released to graze the pastures in the reserve, as part of an EU-funded conservation project. Sheep, explained the Nature and Woodland Agency ANB, are the perfect animal for the management of grass landscapes, providing an economic and ecological way of ensuring no single grass type overgrows the rest.

A 31-year-old Belgian man accused of “homosexual behaviour” in Uganda has had the charges against him dropped, foreign minister Didier Reynders confirmed last week. Steven D was arrested in the Ugandan capital Kampala in January, together with a Kenyan friend. The two were later released on bail and their passports confiscated. Steven D learned the investigation in his case was being prolonged, while his friend had his

passport returned and was allowed to leave the country. Now Steven D has been told he may also leave.

Being gay is a criminal offence in Uganda and can carry a prison sentence.

Brussels-City has launched an appeal for ideas for a new role for Sint-Katelijne church in the centre of the city. The church has been closed for two years, in sore need of renovation to the interior. The city invites submissions not only from architects and developers, but also members of the public, schools and local residents. Entries received before 12 May will be considered by a jury chaired by Peter De Caluwé, director of De Munt opera house.

The Flemish Parliament has approved a new rule limiting the lump sum paid to a departing member to 24 months’ salary instead of 48 months. The minimum sum is equivalent to five months’ salary, with one additional month for each year served. To qualify for the maximum, a member would need to have served 19 years in the parliament, just short of four full terms.

Three surgeons from the Queen Fabiola hospital for sick children in Brussels have been acquitted by the Brussels court of appeal of carrying out unnecessary surgical procedures. The three operated on children between 1998 and 2011 for intestinal malrotation, a congenital condition affecting the gut. During the period, the hospital carried out up to eight times more such operations than other institutions. The doctors were charged with assault and found guilty in the first instance, but the appeal court ruled they had made their decisions purely on medical grounds.

Cable and internet service provider Telenet will consider setting up its own broadcasting service if it is not able to obtain a share of

OFFSIDE

De Vijver Media, which owns the TV stations Vier and Vijf, CEO John Porter said. Telenet’s plans to move into content creation have met with opposition not only from potential competitors of De Vijver but also from media minister Ingrid Lieten, who fears a distortion of the market. A deal with De Vijver is still the preferred route, Porter said last week.

The next Flemish government will have a minister responsible for animal welfare, ministerpresident Kris Peeters told a group of volunteers at an animal shelter in Melle, East Flanders, last week. Under state reforms, animal welfare is one of the competencies that shifts from the federal to the regional governments. While on the visit, Peeters received a list of six demands for the protection of dogs, including controls on imports and tighter rules on so-called puppy mills. (See related story, p9.)

The federal food safety agency FAVV will soon post a summary of its inspectors’ reports online.

The summaries will be “in layman’s language” and based on inspectors’ findings in restaurants, snack bars, friet stands and other places selling food. The decision was welcomed by consumer organisation TestAankoop. “The consumer has the right to be properly informed about any risk to food safety,” it said.

Organisations have called for harder and more shocking campaign materials against bullying, following the suicide last week of a 14-year-old boy from Erpe-Mere, East Flanders, who threw himself under a train after a long history of being bullied at school. “Just saying it’s not cool to bully and making up some dance steps … is ridiculous,” said Marc Michils, the former advertising executive who now heads the Flemish league against cancer. “Bullying, like smoking or driving too fast, can kill, and that calls for a tougher campaign with more shocking images.”

Alan Hope

Loo roll-gate As you read this, the federal justice system could be facing one of the most serious shortages with which it has ever been confronted. On 17 February, the contract to supply toilet paper to the courthouses and prisons of Belgium expires, and the new supplier will only be able to make a first delivery after three months.

If all went according to plan last weekend, an emergency supply was ordered from the old supplier in time to cover the gap. If not, the thing is almost too horrific to contemplate.

The justice system uses around 80,000 toilet rolls a year, we’re told, including the nice padded stuff for magistrates and judges. For some reason best known to the civil

service, the purchasing power for this crucial supply is in one person’s hands, so to speak, and that person has been off sick. Hence the delay and the last-minute rush.

And while federal justice minister Annemie Turtelboom has one crisis to face, down the corridor at interior, her colleague Joëlle

Milquet has problems of her own.

“The work of the police is being seriously undermined,” federal police chief Catherine De Bolle said in a letter to Milquet last week.

According to unions, cost-cutting measures by the government over the last five years total €157 million.

Many armoured jeeps used to accompany money transports is grounded as there isn’t enough money for repairs. Motorcycle police are short of protective suits and helmets. Three firearms ranges are closed for want of money for renovation works. Riot squads are going without bulletproof shields. And police were told not to fit winter tyres this year – one decision that turned out to be entirely justified.

© AtheneLive/Wikimedia Commons

Police in Antwerp have arrested three men and one teenager in relation to the recent gang-rape of two teenage girls in Willebroek, Antwerp province. The girls had arranged to meet some boys they knew through Facebook and were driven to a party in Willebroek, where they were raped. It is not clear whether they knew their assailants.

The four arrested include a 16-yearold and three men in their 20s.

Alan Hope

Bachir Boumaaza He has more than 700,000 followers on his YouTube channel, and his videos have been watched nearly 408 million times – including three million views for his 50-minute documentary on his “theory of everything”.

If you’re under a certain age, he won’t require any introduction, as he’s one of the world’s most famous professional gamers. If you’re over a certain age, on the other hand, we probably just lost you at “professional gamers”.

Bachir Boumaaza, better known as Athene, was born in 1980 to a Moroccan father and a Flemish mother in Antwerp. In 2007, he started making YouTube videos which show him, a friend and his girlfriend playing World of Warcraft (Athene is his WoW name). He then branched out into more personal videos and into social activism.

Last week Boumaaza was a guest on VRT’s Cafe Corsari, where he explained that gamers at the top of their, er, game are able to earn large sums of money by taking part in computer game exhibitions. He and his crew take some of their winnings, and the rest goes to charity through the organisation he founded called Gaming for Good.

Boumaaza, 33, has raised more than $10 million for charity, most notably for Save the Children.

He puts an enormous amount of time and effort into fundraising – on one occasion he had his head shaved for charity, but only one pledge at a time, over the course of 30 hours, for a total of $160,000. He’ll also make personal appearances in return for a donation to charity. He has also encouraged hundreds of other gamers around the world to donate their winnings through Gaming for Good, which has been featured in international media, such as CNN and Business Week.

“Gaming is a bigger industry at the moment than cinema or music; it’s booming,” he said, dismissing the view of gamers as spotty teenagers as “a huge misunderstanding”. Because the industry is so huge, many gamers donate to good causes, he said.

However he does it, the motivation remains old-fashioned enough for anyone to understand: “Once you’ve held a baby in your arms, you see what a difference you can make. Less than $10 can save a life. We’ve reached more than a million children.” `` www.youtube.com/user/AtheneWins

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

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 News Editor Alan Hope sub Editor Linda A Thompson SOCIAL EDITOR Robyn Boyle Agenda Robyn Boyle, Georgio Valentino Art director Paul Van Dooren Prepress Corelio AdPro Contributors Daan Bauwens, Rebecca Benoot, Derek Blyth, Leo Cendrowicz, Sabine Clappaert, Katy Desmond, Andy Furniere, Diana Goodwin, Toon Lambrechts, Katrien Lindemans, Marc Maes, Ian Mundell, Anja Otte, Tom Peeters, Senne Starckx, Georgio Valentino, Christophe Verbiest, Denzil Walton General manager Hans De Loore Publisher Corelio Publishing NV

Editorial address Gossetlaan 30 - 1702 Groot-Bijgaarden tel 02 373 99 09 editorial@flanderstoday.eu subscriptions tel 02 467 25 03 subscriptions@flanderstoday.eu or order online at www.flanderstoday.eu Advertising 02 373 83 24 advertising@flanderstoday.eu Verantwoordelijke uitgever Hans De Loore

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Flanders today

politics

What a relief How happy people are about the Oosterweel agreement (see right) depends on how much mobility or environmental concerns matter to them. To the parties in the government of Flanders, it is, in the first place, a relief.

The Oosterweel link, which will complete the Antwerp ring road, has been a millstone around the neck of an entire generation of politicians.

After a first proposal, which included the “Lange Wapper” viaduct, was voted down in an Antwerp referendum, it was up to the government of Flanders to come up with a new draft that all parties could agree on. The opposition from grassroots groups was fierce, while the procedure to get all the necessary permits and recommendation was a challenge in itself.

This is precisely why the agreement reached last week is such a relief to ministerpresident Kris Peeters. After all these years of debate and procedures, failure to produce an agreement before the elections would be a sign of weak leadership. For a while, he even doubted that his coalition partners N-VA, who top the opinion polls by a wide margin, would grant him this much. The doubts proved to be unneccesary. Peeters being a candidate in Antwerp province makes the relief even greater.

N-VA, too, are more than pleased with the agreement.

For years, the nationalists have stated that governing at Belgian level has become impossible, as the differences in views between the Flemish and the French-speakers inevitably lead to deadlock.

To counter this, N-VA’s adversaries have always cited Oosterweel as proof that issues become deadlocked just the same at the Flemish level. Moreover, N-VA and its unyielding stances were often called the root of all evil.

With Oosterweel, these counterarguments no longer hold true. The government of Flanders has proven that it can overcome differences and govern effectively (if slowly).

N-VA has demonstrated that it can be trusted in government and do more than squeak.

To SP.A also, the relief is immense. When an earlier agreement, the one that was voted down in the referendum, was reached, the then Antwerp mayor Patrick Janssens (SP.A) said “walk and don’t look back” – only to change his mind some years later. As a left-wing party, SP.A feels the heat from the Groen party and environmental groups. The party therefore hoped to get the decision done and over with, so that it can be forgotten as soon as possible.

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Federal parliament passes euthanasia law for minors

Belgium is the first country to legally extend the right to die to minors Derek Blyth

F

ollowing a heated and divisive debate in Belgium’s parliament last week (pictured), legislators ultimately voted in favour of extending euthanasia to terminally ill minors who are capable of making the decision. The vote makes Belgium the first country in the world to legally approve euthanasia without age restrictions.

The vote was carried by 86 votes in favour, with 44 against and 12 abstentions. Votes fell along party lines for Flemish parties CD&V and Vlaams Belang, which were largely against the legislation, while members of SP.A and Open VLD were for it. Votes among NV-A members were split.

Belgium is one of only three countries in the world to have legalised euthanasia, along with the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

Despite fierce opposition from the Catholic church, parliament approved legislation in 2002 to grant the right to die to terminally ill people aged 18 and over in cases where the person was in “constant and unbearable physical or mental suffering that cannot be alleviated”.

Now the country has gone one step further and lifted the age restriction.

According to government figures, 1,432 people chose to die by

© Benoit Doppagne / BELGA

Anja Otte

euthanasia in Belgium in 2012.

Many of those arguing the case for euthanasia for minors are medical professionals who have firsthand experience of the pain and suffering endured by youngsters in the terminal stages of illness. In an opinion poll, three in four Belgians said they supported the new law.

The new legislation has been carefully worded to ensure that euthanasia is only carried out in the most extreme situations. It states that the minor must be “in a hopeless medical state of constant and unbearable suffering that cannot be eased and

which will shortly cause death”. Any administration of euthanasia to a minor must be with psychiatric and medical approval and with parental consent.

“A step too far,” say bishops Opponents of the new legislation argue that the extension is not necessary because doctors can perfectly control physical pain and anxiety in terminally ill patients.

They also argue that it would be difficult to know if consent had been

Government approves BAM plan for Oosterweel link in Antwerp After years of uncertainty, the government of Flanders has approved the so-called BAM Plan to complete the Antwerp Ring, known as the Oosterweel link. That means work will begin in 2016 on a series of roads and tunnels intended to ease congestion on the ring road, particularly around the port area.

The BAM route had the backing of the city of Antwerp, the Port of Antwerp Authority and the government of Flanders, though it was opposed by local activist groups because it would increase pollution and noise in heavily populated areas of the city. The action group stRaten-generaal had hoped the government would choose the alternative Meccano Route, which followed a wider arc around the city. “By choosing the Oosterweel Link,” said Manu Claeys of stRatengeneraal, “the government seems to be sacrificing the health of hundreds of thousands of Antwerp residents for the sake of cutting a few minutes off the driving time.”

Earlier last week, the chair of the Groen party, Wouter Van Besien, criticised the BAM route for Oosterweel because he said it solved Antwerp’s traffic congestion at the cost of public health. “We have to find a solution to mobility, the traffic jams have to be eliminated, but we also have to think about people’s health, which means that air quality has to improve and noise levels have to be reduced,” he said.

Van Besien’s comments followed the release of a report by the Antea Group consultancy that concluded that the BAM option was better for traffic but that the Meccano option was better for the “liveability” of the area’s residents. Van Besien argued for the government to put its efforts into creating new tram lines and fast bus links out to the suburbs, as well as building bicycle superhighways that would take advantage of the increasing range of electric bikes.

© Courtesy De Standaard

5th column

f e b r u a ry 1 9 , 2014

The BAM plan will see construction of the A102 linking the R11 to the E19 at Ekeren and a tunnel under the Scheldt linking Antwerp’s ring road

Flanders’ transport minister, Hilde Crevits, remains convinced of the benefits of the new Oosterweel Link, which will cost an estimated €3.2 billion and be paid for through a toll on vehicles. “Faster journey times, less noise, better air quality, improved safety in the tunnels and the biggest social gains,” she tweeted after the decision. She also tweeted that “over the coming years we have to invest in tramlines, cycle paths, bridges and rush-hour bus lanes.”

The decision was welcomed by the Flemish employers’ organisation VBO, which lamented the rush hour situation in a city that was at the top of last year’s list of worst traffic congestion in Europe. “Each year that this decision is delayed leads to enormous loss for both employers and employees, as well as an economic loss of some €400 million,” it said.

Mobility organisation Touring was also relieved at the outcome. “Finally the government is doing something after years of frustration for car drivers, truckers and Antwerp residents.” DB

given in the case of young children.

As the bill was being passed, a protestor in the public gallery cried “murderers!” The Catholic church, too, was officially against extending euthanasia to minors. “We regret the passage of a law that, according to experts, is useless and full of flaws,” said a spokesperson for Belgian bishops. “The right of a child to choose death is a step too far.”

Flemish economist Paul De Grauwe sparked off a furious reaction just before the vote with his tweet: “Euthanasia on children. I can’t explain that to anyone outside Belgium. This is going to be worse for Belgium’s reputation than Dutroux.”

As the first country to abolish an age limitation on euthanasia, Belgium’s decision was widely reported around the world; international newspapers and TV stations were present in parliament to broadcast the results of the vote. CNN interviewed Open VLD president Gwendolyn Rutten, who said that “there is no age limit on suffering … if we were to draw a line, like 16 years or 14, that would be arbitrary. We decided that it’s better to leave that decision up to the person themselves, to the medical team, to the parents.”

Minister unveils mega floodwater holding basin The Flemish Environment Agency has just completed one of the biggest floodwater holding basins to be constructed over the past decade. Located on the Herk river in Stevoort, a district of Hasselt, the new basin is designed to reduce the risk of flooding the region around the river Demer.

“This basin will not only provide additional protection to Stevoort but will also help to reduce the danger of flooding in the region between Hasselt and Diest,” said environment minister Joke Schauvliege.

This region of Flanders is at high risk of flooding due to the presence of the rivers Gete, Demer, Herk and Velpe. The district of Stevoort has been flooded several times in the past when the Herk burst its banks.

Residents often criticised Hasselt city council for failing to take action, but the diggers finally turned up in 2010 to begin construction.

The new fully-automated basin, placed upstream from Stevoort to trap flood waters before they reach the village, holds 700,000 cubic metres of water. It can also retain sediment brought down by the floodwater to avoid the river silting up beyond Stevoort.

This latest project means that Flanders now has 40 floodwater basins with a total capacity of 22 million cubic metres. Three million cubic metres were added over the past five years at a cost of €19 million. DB

Flanders today

cover story

f e b r u a ry 1 9 , 2014

Portrait of the Artist Bozar exhibition in Brussels zooms in on Borremans’ recent work

Change of scenery But in 2012, Borremans suddenly lost his focus and struggled to regain it. “I still had ideas, but I couldn’t concentrate on the painting itself. I wasn’t worried at first, since this had happened before. Art is born from a need, and you shouldn’t force it. But when it persisted, I started to wonder and decided to look for a new space.”

His quest led him to an empty chapel owned by one of his friends. “The moment I stepped over the threshold, I knew I would be able to paint again. For a year, I worked very intensively there, and now I’m working here again.”

Borremans’ “The Preservation”

misjudge and paint too small, or vice versa.”

Errors of judgement are part of the work, the artist says. “It often happens that I work on a painting for a full day and, by the evening, realise that it’s not good. Then I clean the paint from the canvas and, the next day, start all over again. I learned from experience that trying to correct errors generally leads to an even worse painting. It’s like running a race: The more mistakes you make, the smaller the chance you’ll win. It’s as simple as that.”

Borremans says that, unlike some of his colleagues, he’s not the kind of artist who assiduously works every day and follows a regular schedule. “I envy artists who are able to do this, but I have to wait for the singular moment that my energy and focus culminate.

To get there, I need to prepare myself mentally.

For instance, when I’ve made up my mind about a painting, I sometimes force myself to wait a few days before realising it – until I have to paint. In such moments, I can surpass myself.”

While imperative for the artist, this kind of approach carries consequences. Art dominates Borremans’ life. “I’m like a firefighter – always on standby, and when the fire breaks out, I have to be here, in my studio.”

He says he enjoys travelling because it gives him ideas, but he worries when he’s away from home for more than a week. “I can’t paint when I’m lying on a beach.”

Sometimes I clean the paint from the canvas and start all over again Until a few years ago, the majority of Borremans’ pieces were relatively small paintings, often of less than 50 x 50 centimetres.

Lately, he has surprised audiences with much larger canvasses of up to 3 x 2 metres. The explanation for this evolution proves to be surprisingly mundane. “My eyesight has deteriorated in the past years. By using larger canvasses and bigger brushes, I have a better view of what I’m doing.”

He’s candid about this but adds that there’s also a more important, fundamental reason.

“I’ve been working on compositions that ask for larger canvasses, that physically need those bigger dimensions. Whereas before, my themes often needed intimacy.”

Borremans stresses that the situation isn’t as unequivocal as it sounds. “Sometimes I

© Dirk Pauwels

devoting most of his time to the brush and canvas. “I gave it a few tries before that,” he says, “first as an adolescent, then again in my 20s. But I found it extremely difficult. When I looked at works by others, I was convinced I would never grasp the art of painting.”

Still, the itch persisted, and Borremans decided to give it one last try. “I forced myself to focus only on painting. After four or five years, I finally exhibited a few paintings. And the rest is history, as they say.”

Now Borremans is everywhere. At the moment, he has two exhibitions in Japan, with a third one opening soon. And from this weekend, you can visit As Sweet As It Gets at Bozar in Brussels, a retrospective that will later travel to the US and Israel.

It’s been almost nine years since a major exhibition was devoted to Borremans in Belgium. The artist turned 50 last year, but that wasn’t the reason for As Sweet As It Gets.

Instead, he says, Bozar director Paul Dujardin suggested he prepare a solo exhibition for them. And it just so happened that the Dallas Museum of Art approached him about the same thing.

“One plus one became three,” says Borremans, explaining that between hitting Brussels and Dallas (in 2015), the exhibition will travel to the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. The artist serves me a cup of jasmine tea in his home in Ghent, where he also has his studio.

Even his vast living room has sometimes doubled as his workshop. “I’ve been working here since the mid-1990s, and I do so with great zest.”

© Peter Cox

`` continued from page 1

Almost all the works on view in the Bozar show were created after 2000. “I don’t see this as a retrospective of my whole career,” he explains. “I’ve tried to make ‘a best of ’, and I’m more enthusiastic about my recent work.

That’s normal, no?” Laughing, he adds: “Can you imagine me saying: ‘I used to make great works, but that’s not the case anymore’?”

Becoming serious again, he adds: “I think you can already see the essence of my oeuvre in the early works, but, stylistically, they’re more primitive. I think that as a painter I have evolved and keep evolving in an interesting way.”

Borremans’ works almost always begin with a photograph. “It’s an essential tool. I live in this day and age and use the means that are available.” Using models, props, decors and

Borremans has recently surprised with large canvasses like the 3 x 2 metre “The Angel”

costumes, he stages a scene and subsequently takes multiple pictures of it.

“In my mind, I’m already painting at that point. The photos don’t look like photos but more like paintings.” And Borremans sees art-historical precedent for this. “Where painters before used to make sketches as preliminary studies, I’m taking photos.”

When he ultimately begins painting, he looks at his computer screen. “It’s really positioned where a model would be, a couple metres away from my easel. With a remote control, I can zoom in on details.”

Borremans worked as a teacher at the Secondary School for the Arts in Ghent for more than a decade before his work began to make waves. Last year, painter Luc Dondeyne, a colleague of his at the school, told Flanders Today: “I remember the moment he became a star in the international art world. For him, it was quite a surrealistic experience. He didn’t expect it anymore.”

22 February to 3 August

“That’s true,” Borremans admits, explaining that as a young student he was very ambitious, to the point of arrogance, and convinced that he had a great career before him. “But it didn’t happen, and I realised after a while that it’s not the most significant goal. Being able to create the work you want to is much, much more important.”

It’s only when that knowledge dawned on him that, he says, he started to create “good work”.

First drawings that spread his name in small but important art circles, and later paintings that built his international reputation.

“Making those drawings gave me great satisfaction,” he says. “And I was thinking: If I can’t share them with the world, it might be the world’s error. I had already accepted my fate when success, unexpectedly, knocked at my door.”

His laughter fills the room. “It’s like with a woman. If you go after her too aggressively, she won’t fall for you.”

Bozar Ravensteinstraat 23, Brussels www.bozar.be

5

Flanders today

business

The Brussels-based carrier is to invest €100 million over the next three years to acquire two Airbus A319 aircraft and add nine destinations in southern Europe, including extra services to Ajaccio, Athens and Malta.

The company also plans to increase frequencies to Warsaw and Krakow.

Cars Audi The German manufacturer will invest in its Vorst assembly unit to produce the S1 model from 2016. The small sports car is derived from the A1 model already produced on the site.

The plant, which employs 2,550 workers, expects its future to be decided in the coming weeks as Audi plans to launch new models in the latter part of the decade.

Chemicals • Solvay The Brussels-based chemicals and plastics group is investing €7 million in a fine chemicals and cosmetics research facility in Singapore.

Education BSB The school in Tervuren has received permission for a €25 million investment to expand its teaching facilities and build a sports complex including a 25m swimming pool. The expansion is expected to be ready by September 2016.

Energy Electrawinds The ailing Ostend-based green energy producer has received a €184 million takeover offer from Wallonia’s Tecteo for its windpowered activities in Belgium and France.

Gaming Partouche The ailing French gaming group and casino operator is negotiating to sell Ostend’s casino to Knokke-based DR Gaming Technology.

Legal Lazareff-Le Bars The Paris-based law firm, which specialises in arbitration, has opened an office in Brussels to participate in the trend towards out-of-court settlements of business disputes.

Property Domo The Kortrijk-based textiles group is expanding its activities in the industrial property market with the development of the 300-hectare Ploesti business park in Romania and the renovation of the old Fabelta industrial site in Zwijnaarde, near Ghent.

Shipping Euronav The Antwerp-based shipping group is bidding $255 million to acquire three very large crude carriers and two Aframax ships belonging to the bankrupt US Overseas Shipholding Group.

The deal is backed by the Blackstone investment fund.

6

Proximus launches 4G in Brussels, but many residents have to wait Alan Hope

P

roximus, the mobile phone operator owned by Belgacom, launched its 4G network of high-speed mobile data in Brussels last week. The first phase will reach about 20% of the population, and the company promised full coverage by the end of 2015.

The next stage depends on the Brussels regional government.

Brussels operates stricter radiation norms for GSM masts than either Flanders or Wallonia, which means a company wishing to provide 4G has to install more masts. The major operators – Proximus, Mobistar and Base – were able to roll out 4G in Flanders with no trouble, but Brussels will have to wait, much to the displeasure of the operators and

© Francois Lenoir/Reuters/Corbis

Air Brussels Airlines

Brussels gets 4G network users.

Brussels’ environment minister Evelyne Huytebroeck stressed the government’s support for technological development at the launch. A new ruling on radiation has been approved and will come into force next month. “The new norm is one of the safest as far as radiation is concerned,” she said. “The people of Brussels will be able to make use of 4G while remaining protected.”

Belgacom estimates it will take 12 to 18 months for the full roll-out of the 4G network to the whole city.

Proximus’ 4G, which can only be used by a smartphone or tablet, currently covers 50% of the country, in 279 municipalities.

Belgacom CEO Dominique Leroy launches Proximus’ 4G in Brussels

Bourgeois calls for municipal action against Electrabel Flemish minister for the interior Geert Bourgeois has called on municipalities to take action against energy supplier Electrabel should allegations of tax evasion turn out to be true. The statement follows reports last weekend in De Tijd that said that the special tax inspection unit was looking into claims that the parent company of Electrabel, the French-owned GDF Suez, had used the Belgian subsidiary to avoid paying tax.

According to the report, Belgium’s energy regulator CREG discovered a system whereby GDF Suez overcharged its subsidiary Electrabel for gas by half a billion euros in 2012, based on the price of gas contracts examined by CREG involving neighbouring countries. According to CREG, this led to Electrabel making its first loss in years, which not only allowed GDF Suez to avoid paying tax on the sum overcharged but also robbed municipalities of their dividend

as shareholders in Electrabel Consumer Solutions. Eighty percent of municipalities are shareholders.

“If the facts reported by De Tijd turn out to be correct, then we’re looking at fraud,” Bourgeois said. “Then the municipalities will be the victims, together with the consumer.

I would advise them, as shareholders, to demand an explanation at the extraordinary general meeting of Electrabel Customer Solutions. Also, because I have a feeling there’s a current in the other direction, not only are the municipalities missing out on a dividend, they may also end up having to pay more.”

The Flemish government itself was not contemplating action, Bourgeois said. “In the first place it’s up to the municipalities,” he said. “They have enough in-house know-how.

They need to turn all of their attention to this, and we’re prepared to give them whatever support we can.” AH

First Ryanair flights from Zaventem sell like hotcakes Ryanair has sold 70% of its early flights out of Brussels Airport, which begin in two weeks. The low-cost airline is offering flights to 10 new destinations – Alicante, Malaga, Barcelona, Valencia, Palma, Ibiza, Lisbon, Porto, Rome and Venice – for a total of 196 flights a week. The company says it will create 1,500 new jobs at the airport in Zaventem.

Ryanair said that the first destination will account for 1.5 million new passengers a year for the airline, though the company is famous for exaggerating forecasts. Within five years, the airline foresees a doubling of its passenger

numbers in Belgium, from the five million who flew out of Charleroi last year, to an eventual 10 million out of both locations.

In response to the arrival of Ryanair at Brussels Airport, Brussels Airlines added new destinations of its own, including Seville, Montpellier, Corsica, Malta and Athens, as well as additional flights to existing destinations.

The company saw its passenger numbers go up by 12% in January compared to the same time last year to nearly 411,000 passengers. AH

Belgian Brewers launch first-ever national campaign For the first time ever, Belgian brewers have decided to launch an advertising campaign to promote all Belgian beers together. Last week in Brussels, the Belgian Brewers association presented its campaign slogan – Fier op ons bier (Proud of Our Beer) – and three TV ads, in which foreigners profess their love of Belgian beer.

In two of the ads, we hear from young women in China and Paris who have opened Belgian beer cafes. In the third, an American chef talks about cooking with and serving Belgian beers in his restaurant in Maine.

Foreigners may love it in no uncertain terms, but Belgians love to drink it less and less. The campaign is in part inspired by the continuing fall in the volumes of beer being consumed inside the country – from 100 litres each on average in 1992 to a mere 74 litres each in 2012.

It’s mostly pils that are seeing sales drop; speciality beers are on the increase. Pils brews, however, are often the core business of brewers of speciality beers. “Belgian beer in the rest of the world is considered a luxury product, but here in Belgium it’s become a bit ordinary,” said Sven Gatz, director of the Belgian Brewers. “We’d like to communicate that love and that passion that others have for our beer to the Belgians, too.”

Gatz denied his federation was encouraging alcohol abuse, following a study earlier in the week which showed one in two Flemish students drinks too much. “Of course not,” he said. “For years we’ve been encouraging the moderate use of alcohol, and we’re certainly not interested in creating a shrinking group of people who drink more; we want to see more people drinking moderately.”

The campaign was in fact being launched for the second time. A first campaign last October was shelved after it descended into controversy for the same reason, particularly as the holiday season was on the way, traditionally a peak time for consumption.

The new campaign has the support of the Flemish government’s marketing agency Vlam and can be viewed on YouTube by searching for “Fier op ons bier”. AH

Bruges in top seven of world’s most romantic destinations Bruges has been chosen as one of the seven most romantic travel destinations in the world by the news website Business Insider.

Bruges ranks alongside Bali; Buenos Aires; Charleston, South Carolina; Cinque Terre in the Italian Riviera; Fez in Morocco and the Greek islands.

“Fairytale Bruges will enchant

visitors,” the site says. “The city’s open squares, quaint houses and cobblestone streets create a romantic atmosphere, and couples can take boat rides through picturesque canals.” The site recommends splurging on a meal at three-Michelin-star restaurant De Karmeliet.

Bruges was also ranked 11th on the

© Jean-Christophe Benoist/Wikimedia Commons

week in business

f e b r u a ry 1 9 , 2014

list of the world’s best hotel cities by the search engine Trivago. That list is headed by the Italian resort Sorrento, followed by Dresden in Germany and Gdansk in Poland.

Brussels was 89th, six places higher than last year. Trivago’s rankings are based on the quality of a city’s hotels as reported by visitors to the site. AH

Flanders today

innovation

f e b r u a ry 1 9 , 2014

Inside Africa

week in innovation

Antwerp professor looks at sustainable solutions to Africa’s hunger problems

“Treat rare cancers in specialised hospitals”

Kelly Hendricks

Patients with a rare or very complex cancer should only be treated in hospitals with a special statute, the Federal Knowledge Centre for Health Care said in a report last week. All 119 Belgian hospitals are currently allowed to treat all kinds of cancers.

Pancreatic cancer, for example, is a very complex disease that requires immediate and difficult surgery. In 2011, 91 Belgian hospitals carried out this surgery, with half only providing four or less that year. Research shows, however, that it is essential for a hospital to have a lot of experience with pancreatic surgeries to ensure a reasonable success rate. The knowledge centre said that 20 similar surgeries per year should be the minimum.

N

utrition programmes by foreign donors in Africa typically focus on treatment and technical solutions, like vitamin and mineral supplementation. But a group of researchers, among them Patrick Kolsteren from the Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM) in Antwerp, say the time has come for a different approach – one in which African researchers and policymakers align agendas and produce research that works to prevent, rather than just remedy, the continent’s nutritional problems.

“The basic problem is that children are malnourished,” says Kolsteren, who works in the ITM’s nutrition and child health unit. “Given their lack of nutrients, the current approach to this problem – financed by international donors – is to give these children multivitamins.” By distributing these multi-nutrients, “you’re doing something,” he admits, “but you don’t address the fundamental problem”.

Eunice Nago Koukoubou from the Université d’Abomey-Calavi in Benin agrees. “In Benin, international agencies implement programmes intended to solve acute malnutrition,” she says.

“However, the real malnutrition problem in the country is chronic malnourishment.”

We need to shake up nutritional research in Africa and turn it upside down Reports from the United Nations and its Food and Agriculture Organisation support Kolsteren and Koukoubou’s claims. Malnutrition and high levels of food insecurity persist in sub-Saharan Africa.

While 14% of the global population is estimated

A researcher taking nutrition surveys in Ethiopia

to be undernourished, in sub-Saharan Africa, that figure rises to 33%.

Beyond its unsustainability, Kolsteren says, the conventional multi-nutrients solution may actually be harmful. “A study from Pakistan shows that distribution of multi-nutrients actually increased diarrheal disease,” she explains.

This is why the two-year EU-funded SUNRAY (Sustainable Nutrition Research for Africa in the Years to come) project, co-ordinated by Kolsteren in partnership with African researchers like Koukoubou, is asking donor countries and organisations to change their approach to solving food insecurity and malnutrition.

In those two years, Kolsteren and his colleagues interviewed 155 researchers and held three regional workshops in sub-Saharan Africa. “What we observed is that we need to shake up nutritional research in Africa and turn it upside down.”

Currently, donors define funding and research priorities outside Africa and then ask African researchers to participate. Instead, the Flemish researcher says, “the research agenda should be based on needs identified within the continent.

Calls for donors’ research proposals should then match this agenda.”

“Africa needs to take charge of research priorities,” adds Koukoubou, “if it is to beat hunger and malnutrition. Collaboration within Africa remains

very poor, is mostly descriptive and generates too little new evidence.”

The SUNRAY project identified four priorities to foster African-driven nutrition research: improving governance, increasing capacity development, improving information and communication and aligning research funding with African priorities.

These actions all aim to remedy what Kolsteren observed to be a communication gap between African researchers and policymakers. “Current research does not respond to policymakers’ needs.

They are instead overloaded with information that is not immediately useful for their policy decisions,” he says.

But after two years of EU funding, the SUNRAY project has come to an end, with no follow-up foreseen by the European Commission. “It’s a bit funny,” Kolsteren says, “right as we seem to be finding a solution, there is no way of continuing it – financed by the EU, anyway.”

Nevertheless, the SUNRAY partners are pushing ahead on their own. Calling themselves the International Knowledge Network (or just plain SUNRAY 2), the group is proposing an Africanled systematic approach or “knowledge hub” to break communication barriers in food nutrition research.

“We would try to set up centres in every country in sub-Saharan Africa,” Kolsteren says. “Then our colleagues would contact policymakers and find out what they need to know and why. We would take these questions back to the network and try to get answers.”

These centres would not only help build relationships between researchers and policymakers, but “would try to provide evidence for these questions based on what already exists,” Kolsteren says.

The second step would be to take these agendas and set out to find donors. “I think donors would be open to such an approach,” says Kolsteren. `` www.sunrayafrica.co.za

Flemish engineer’s light-powered cell keeps your mobile phone loaded

I

magine a mobile phone that you never have to charge. Or better yet, a wearable watch-sized computer that’s always on and never needs a new battery. These technologies and more may be here sooner than you think.

A Flemish engineer has invented a tiny solar cell that’s smaller and more powerful than any other light-powered cell currently available. Patrick Lantin of Genk calls his invention the DagLichtCel (DayLight Cell). The smallest version is only 2 x 3 centimetres, is wafer-thin and is powerful enough to keep a smartphone continuously charged.

Lantin’s technology is based on existing amorphous silicon solar cells, which are thinner than the more common crystalline solar cells – the kind used in rooftop solar panels to generate electricity. His innovation was to make these thin cells smaller and more efficient, boosting their energy output.

His cells also work on daylight, which means that they don’t require direct sunlight. They work even when it’s cloudy and during low-daylight hours, like early in the morning or just before sunset.

Lantin has tested a larger version of his DayLight Cell at home, which he used to power his television, computer, monitors and 20 LED lights. “It works,” he says proudly. “I know that it works.”

One company in the Netherlands is already using a version of this technology – a thin, flexible daylight cell – to power its products. Needless to say,

several other companies have expressed interest.

With recent media reports that Apple is working on a solar-powered iWatch, it’s easy to see why electronics companies would be eager to capitalise on a small, portable energy source.

According to Lantin, a major smartphone manufacturer tried more than 10 years ago to power a mobile phone with a solar panel that covered the back of the device. The problem was that people tend to leave their phones lying face-up, so the solar panel never had the chance to charge. Lantin’s light cells are small enough to fit on the front of a phone.

Lantin envisions uses for his invention that go beyond new and improved gadgets. He sees exciting implications for developing nations and remote populations. “Take the example of Kinshasa,” he says. “Many people living 20 or 30 kilometres outside of the city don’t have electricity.”

But they do have mobile phones. In order to charge them, Lantin says, they must take the bus into the city and go to a private charging station every four or five days. A phone with a built-in DayLight Cell would make this journey unnecessary, saving both time and money.

The DayLight Cell was developed with support from the Flemish government’s KMO-portefeuille, a subsidy for small businesses. Erik Vanhoof of Cleantech Industrial Group has been instrumental

Technopolis expands to Limburg Technopolis hands-on science and technology centre will set up activities in HouthalenHelchteren, Limburg province, to familiarise pupils with green technology. Currently Technopolis is only active at its headquarters in Mechelen, Antwerp province. The decision to work with the non-profit CleanTechPunt in HouthalenHelchteren was announced last week by Flemish innovation minister Ingrid Lieten. She renewed the management agreement between the government and the centre, ensuring Technopolis financing for the coming five years; the project has been allocated €50,000 a year. The new Technopolis centre will be in the former coal mining buildings of cleantech centre GreenVille, where companies focus on green energy and sustainable technology.

Several exhibitions and activities will showcase eco-friendly technology for visitors of all ages.

Imec opens new tower on 30th birthday

Detail of a micro DayLight Cell, which is powerful enough to keep a smartphone continuously charged

in securing research and development funds for the project. At a later stage in the development process, two faculty members at the Limburg Catholic University College, Marc Schreurs and Joel Claes, assisted with some of the technical calculations.

Lantin is optimistic that the production cost of the DayLight Cell can be made competitive with existing solar technologies. His hope is that his invention will contribute to economic growth in Limburg, with local talent developing applications for foreign and domestic companies. The cells themselves will be manufactured in China. Diana

Nanotech research centre imec celebrated its 30th birthday with the opening of a new tower that will serve as an office for more than 450 employees. The tower in Heverlee, a district of Leuven, was officially inaugurated last Thursday after about two-and-ahalf years of construction work.

To mark the occasion, coloured laser beams were projected from the tower to the city of Diest about 40 kilometres away. The artwork, the “Global Rainbow” by American artist Yvette Mattern, was one of the highlights of the annual art festival Artefact organised by art centre STUK. The tower should be ready for staff by the end of next month. AF

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Flanders today

education

f e b r u a ry 1 9 , 2014

An alternative to lab rats

week in education

Opponents want to end tests on primates as scientists seek new methods

New maritime campus in Antwerp

Andy Furniere

By the end of next year, the community education network in Antwerp will have finished uniting all its maritime study programmes in one campus in Antwerp’s Linkeroever district on the left bank of the Scheldt.

The campus will house students of the maritime primary school De Spits, navigation school Cenflumarin, the specialised study programmes of the centre for adult education in Deurne and the study stream Handel Haven Hinterland provided by the Royal Atheneum. The current boarding school in Linkeroever will be renovated and will provide modern living units for 155 students. The project is supported by the Port of Antwerp and Alfaport, the federation of port-bound businesses and logistics companies. The cost, about €11 million, is provided by the government of Flanders.

© Photo courtesy ADC

The recent announcement of new research on rhesus monkeys at the University of Leuven (KU Leuven) and the increase of the lab animal population at Hasselt University (UHasselt) have reinvigorated the animal testing debate. The Dutch/ Flemish Anti Dierproeven Coalitie (Anti Vivisection Testing Coalition, or ADC) is demanding a rapid ban on all tests on primates and the founding of a Centre for Alternative Methods.

F

Flemish students risk alcohol problems

Danny Flies of the Anti Dierproeven Coalitie wants to eventually see an end to all animal testing but says his organisation believes in a gradual approach

“In combination with a correct risk analysis, this should provide good monitoring of test animals’ welfare,” she says.

On 2 February, ADC organised a protest during the Patron Saint’s Day events at KU Leuven. The reason: The Flemish Fund for Scientific Research had allocated €793,500 to experiments using rhesus monkeys, which will be carried out between now and 2017 by the team of neurophysiologist Wim Vanduffel. Vanduffel plans to analyse the working of monkey brains to combat disorders like Parkinson’s disease.

KU Leuven currently houses about

I will never be able to examine the formation of a memory without using animals and heart failure. They will also be used for tests of medication and a small number of educational projects for medical students.

Belgium’s animal rights organisation, Gaia, announced that it was investigating possible legal steps, and the ADC is preparing a protest at the UHasselt rectorate next month. “The UHasselt example shows that the government is insufficiently monitoring the number of test animals in labs,” says Danny Flies, chair of the Flemish branch of ADC. Katleen Sottiaux, spokesperson for federal social affairs minister Laurette Onkelinx, say that last year’s regulation makes sure that 30% of the test animals are checked.

40 rhesus monkeys. Last summer, there was controversy with the news that Vanduffel would inject monkeys with cocaine to examine the addiction process. KU Leuven rector Rik Torfs recently announced a dialogue with the ADC, and Flies confirms that they are talking.

“We are currently focusing on the abolition of tests on all kinds of primates,” says Flies. In 2009, the Belgian government banned tests on apes, such as chimpanzees.

“Our final goal is to stop all animal tests, but we believe in a gradual approach,” explains Flies. “We are first targeting primates and then our priority will be to ban experiments on dogs and cats.”

Asked about a future abolition of

tests on primates, Sottiaux says that Onkelinx wants to minimise the use of these animals and impose stricter conditions.

Flies points out a survey by polling bureau Ipsos in 2012 among more than 1,000 Belgians showing that 79% want a ban on experiments with primates, and 81% want a ban on experiments with cats and dogs.

Certain researchers, however, fear that animal rights activists are increasingly impeding their research. KU Leuven Alzheimer’s expert Bart De Strooper recently told Flemish newspaper De Standaard that the resistance to experiments on primates in Europe will result in a scientific advantage for Asian labs, where animal testing is less regulated.

De Strooper said he also uses alternative methods, such as experiments with stem cells, but that these only replace animal tests in a first phase. “I will never be able to examine the formation of a memory without using animals,” he said.

He also denounced the increasing bureaucracy, which is making his work more complicated and more expensive. “For every mouse we use, we have to submit an extensive ethical dossier.”

Flies, on the other hand, demands stricter monitoring and asks that researchers with critical opinions on animal testing are represented on the ethical committees at universities. These committees decide whether individual projects involving animal tests should be allowed. Flies also feels that the pressure to publish is a reason for the continued focus on animal testing and that there should be more support for research using innovative, alternative methods, like stem cell experiments.

© Ocean/Corbis

ederal government figures indicate a decreasing use of animals in Belgian labs. In 2012, the 364 labs reported the use of 600,986 test animals, which is 9.6% less than the previous year and the lowest number since 2000.

Thirty percent of the recognised labs did not carry out animal tests in 2012 and only 0.00066% of test animals were primates.

Last year, the government enforced EU regulation in a new royal decree, aiming to limit the harm done to animals through common protection standards. The guiding principles are called the Three Rs: replacement, reduction, refinement.

Institutions shouldn’t use animals when there is an acceptable alternative, should reduce the number of animals used and should improve the methods to minimise animal suffering.

In contrast with this trend, UHasselt last month received an environmental permit to keep 3,720 test animals, while their previous permit allowed them just 120. The university, however, admitted that its facilities already housed about 1,250 test animals.

The animals will be used for research into multiple sclerosis, rheumatism

One of the Flemish pioneers in alternative methods is Vera Rogiers, toxicology professor at the Free University of Brussels (VUB). Her research group develops ways to test the safety of new substances, like drugs, without using animals.

Recently, her team succeeded in transforming stem cells into functional liver cells, making them ideal for testing the toxicity of substances.

In De Standaard, Rogiers declared her belief that progress in stem cell research and computer modelling will in time make animal tests unnecessary. “But I don’t expect this will happen in the next 10 years, and the alternative will still have its limitations,” she said.

Encouraging this kind of research should be the mission of a Centre of Alternative Methods, as promised in a royal decree of 2009. Sottiaux says the centre will be launched as soon as a sufficient budget is available and that it will be housed at the federal Scientific Institute of Public Health.

Flies hopes the centre will soon be established and that it will help Belgium become a leader in the innovative sector of developing and implementing alternative methods of research. “This policy would not just create scientific advantages,” he says, “but also result in economic benefits.”

Half the Flemish students in higher education are at considerable risk of developing an alcohol problem, according to a survey by the Flemish Association for Alcohol and Other Drug Problems. The association surveyed 20,000 students about their use of alcohol, drugs and medication and analysed the results with the help of Flemish universities and colleges. The research shows that, according to the standards of the World Health Organisation, half of Flemish students consume unhealthy amounts of alcohol – mostly beer. Men run a higher risk of developing alcohol problems; the number of male students who binge drink is double that of female students. Those living in student rooms with other students drink more during the academic year than those living at home or alone.

Vet association wants entrance exam The Flemish Veterinarians Association believes a non-binding entrance exam should be introduced to limit the stream of graduates into the profession. According to the association, too many students graduate each year, making it impossible for many to find work. Its figures show that one in three young vets leave the profession after five years. The surplus on the job market could also endanger the quality of the service, the association says, because some young vets receive insufficient practical experience.

The association points out that there is also a large influx of students from the Netherlands, who cannot study in their home country because of a lottery system.

9

Flanders today

living

f e b r u a ry 1 9 , 2014

week in activities Sound Week Concerts, readings, performances, workshops and activities, all dealing with the theme of sound and noise, at locations around Brussels. Highlights include a musical staircase, a concert of instruments made from trash and a sound discovery trail in the botanical gardens.

24 February-2 March, free, reservations required `` http://deweekvandeklank.be

National Walking Day In Flanders, walking is something of an obsession. This week there are public walking events in three locations: Opwijk (Flemish Brabant), Dienze (East Flanders) and Ypres (West Flanders). In Ypres, the trail winds through the front lines of the First World War, with routes between 5km and 35km. 24 February, start times 7.00-15.00, €2 `` www.nationalewandeldag.be

Flemish Heritage Event This annual festival in Geraardsbergen combines two historic traditions: A parade with more than 1,000 participants that tells the story of the city, and the Krakelingenworp, in which thousands of bread rolls are thrown into the crowd. In the evening, a bonfire is lit.

24 February, parade 15.00, bonfire 20.00, free `` www.geraardsbergen.be

Reismarkt The idea of this travel show is “travellers informing travellers”: no tour companies or tourism bureaus, just everyday people who love travel and want to share their knowledge. There will also be readings, panels and slideshows. 23 February, 10.00, Stadshallen, Markt, Bruges, €10, under-25s free

The cannabis question

Young Flemish liberals reopen debate on legalisation of marijuana Daan Bauwens

M

arijuana use is not exactly a taboo in Flanders. According to recent studies, it’s the most popular drug in the region among students and partygoers. With the Netherlands and its coffee shops less than a 30-minute drive away from some Flemish municipalities, this can hardly come as a surprise.

But according to Belgian law, sale and possession of marijuana are illegal.

Sort of.

Since 2003, a ministerial guideline has stipulated that prosecution of cannabis smokers caught with up to three grams will be given the lowest priority. In 2006, then ministerpresident of the Walloon Region and now prime minister Elio Di Rupo even suggested raising the allowed maximum to five grams.

All of which amounts to an inconsistent policy, according to both opponents and proponents.

Regular users have no choice but to illegally buy drugs, while local administrations can change the rules at will. This was demonstrated last September when the city of Antwerp switched to a “zero tolerance” policy so that users caught with less than three grams can now be instantly fined €75. A couple of months later, several offenders who refused to pay their fines were issued even heftier fines of up to €450.

In the meantime, the three-gram rule remains in force in the rest of the country.

According to Jong VLD, the youth division of the Flemish liberal party Open VLD, the law should be changed once and for all. “The time is ripe to legalise marijuana,” says Bert Schelfhout, president of Jong VLD. “This is not new; we have been calling for legalisation for the last 10 years.”

Schelfhout points to Colorado, which became the first US state to legalise recreational use of marijuana last year. “There is more acceptance for legalisation all around the world.

In Flanders, there is more political support than ever before.”

The young liberals say there’s more political support for legalisation in Flanders than ever before

For Schelfhout, legalisation wouldn’t just harmonise the rules and put an end to a “hypocritical” policy. It would also bring the abuses into daylight.

“This is our point of departure: Problematic use of marijuana goes unnoticed because sale and use are kept illegal. We cannot see the problem because everything is obliged to happen under the radar.”

In Schelfhout’s view, legalisation would, moreover, bridge the gap between users and non-users, drain the financial resources of criminal networks and help solve quality concerns.

“At this point, there’s no means of monitoring the drugs people are using,” he says, adding that the amount of THC, the chemical psychoactive component in marijuana, has dramatically risen in the last decade, causing health hazards. “We need to get this under control.”

Despite Jong VLD’s attempts to reopen the debate, legalisation won’t be on Open VLD’s agenda before the elections in May. “The debate will

take place after the elections,” he says.

The liberal youth members aren’t alone. The Association for Alcohol and Other Drug Problems unites more than 80 organisations that deal with prevention and treatment of drug addictions. Two weeks ago, the organisation, according to its president Marijs Geirnaert, launched an internal working group “that will examine the effects of the legalisation of cannabis”.

Even Ghent University criminology professor Brice De Ruyver, often portrayed as a strong opponent of legalisation in the media, has been thinking about the possible effects of making pot legal.

But, according to De Ruyver, Jong VLD’s proposal is taking it too far.

“Without a doubt, it’s a positive thing that a political youth movement is making a statement about the cannabis question,” he says, “but it is a bit naive to think that with a single pen stroke we can wipe out one of the most lucrative criminal sectors of the world.”

De Ruyver points out that the nitty-

gritty of the legislation remains muddy. “Nobody has been able to tell me up to now how the regulated system of cannabis sales by the government will exactly work. There are too many questions that have not been answered yet. We need scientific arguments for legalisation. In this proposal, I’ve seen none.”

The Ghent professor is currently working on a publication that will try to solve the many issues surrounding legalisation. The Interministerial Conference on Drugs – De Ruyver heads its General Drugs Cell – is also looking at possible new directions for the government’s cannabis policy. The results are expected to be announced this autumn.

“We shouldn’t forget that marijuana isn’t an innocent drug,” says De Ruyver. “One out of every three new cases in drug treatment is related to cannabis use.” And the professor already sees the writing on the wall.

“After the legalisation of cannabis, of course the next question will be – why cannabis and not the rest?”

`` http://reismarkt2014.wegwijzer.be

EcoKot is a new neighbourhood organisation and community centre bringing together residents, artists and students who want to make Antwerp a more sustainable city. The opening weekend festivities feature live music, green workshops, readings and a flea market. 21-23 February, Kattenberg 79, Antwerp, free `` www.ecokot.org

Batibouw The annual building and construction show takes place over 11 days, with two days for professionals only and nine days open to the public. The themes are affordable housing, zero-energy building and the revival of wood in interiors.

20 February-2 March, Brussels Expo, 10.00-18.30, €12 `` http://batibouw.be

10

BITE

Alan Hope

Competition on the menu When Flemish minister-president Kris Peeters recently kicked off his personal Ronde van Vlaanderen (Tour of Flanders) in the lead-up to the May elections, it was no accident that his first visit was to Maselis in Roeselare – a company working in the food sector with a long history and a strong international presence. The agri-food sector is of more importance to the Flemish economy than you might think.

The sector comprises 40,000 companies, employing 155,000 people, making it the largest single “cluster” of businesses in the economy. And, whereas in our last issue we found that Flanders doesn’t have enough land to feed itself, the agrifood sector manages to feed the world. Its trade surplus is €4.7 billion, and it accounts for 10% of the country’s global exports.

Flanders’ most-exported products are meat, vegetables and potatoes. The biggest earners, however, are drinks (including beer), meat, baked goods and vegetables.

So when representatives of the food industry met

© werktuigendagen/Wikimedia Commons

EcoKot

with Peeters, they brought with them a set of demands. The first was for a future government to do everything to improve competitiveness.

The refrain is a familiar one: It costs an employer a great deal in Belgium to employ someone.

According to the food industry federation Fevia, the competitive disadvantage is 21% compared to neighbouring countries.

The industry meanwhile has growth to offer, and jobs: no fewer than 7,000 new jobs in the short

term, if only the right kind of applicant could be found. But, like the technology industry as a whole, filling a job takes more than advertising a vacancy and waiting for the applications to flood in.

“Steps can be taken at the level of education,” Peeters explains. “So, the food industry is asking for apprenticeships of longer duration and for technical and professional training to be given their rightful respect.”

Last point: innovation. “New products account for 70% of our turnover,” says Fevia chairman Jan Van der Stichelen. “Innovation is therefore very important for our companies.” One major initiative by the government in that area is Food Pilot, a test laboratory in Melle, East Flanders. Jointly run by Flanders Food and the Institute for Agriculture and Fisheries Research, it comes fully equipped with the latest odour and taste technology to allow taste and smell profiles to be gathered and analysed entirely by computers – although the human nose will retain its place. `` www.foodpilot.be

Flanders today

living

f e b r u a ry 1 9 , 2014

The forgotten colony New app reveals the story of Flemish settlers’ attempt to colonise a section of Guatemala Toon Lambrecht © Photos courtesy Jan Crab

In 1843, settlers from Flanders were persuaded to join the effort to colonise land in Guatemala. It wasn’t a success. Now a group of academics and journalists have brought this period into focus.

B

elgium’s colonial history usually begins and ends with Congo, and few people know that the country also attempted to colonise a little piece of Guatemala.

An overgrown graveyard, some half-forgotten folk songs and a stack of yellowed documents are all that is left from this colonial experiment.

A group of Flemish academics, journalists and photographers, however, recently went looking for what remains of the colony in Verapaz, and the results of their research have been brought together in a historical app, the first of its kind.

The Belgian colony in Guatemala has never become more than a footnote in national history. It’s not exactly a story to be proud of. The colony stood for barely 10 years; the Belgian state never brought in the necessary resources or enthusiasm to make their ambitious plans succeed, and the project claimed the lives of dozens of people, most of them from East Flanders, lured by the promise of an overseas land of plenty.

Belgium may have been a young nation in 1840, but it had no shortage of colonial ambitions.

Colonies meant cheap raw materials, new markets and a place to ship off the unwanted poor. The ambitions of King Leopold I and the Belgian industrial elite suddenly became a lot more concrete when an opportunity presented itself in Guatemala. A British company with the melodious name Eastern Coast of Central America Commercial and Agricultural Company had several pieces of land under its management but could not fulfil its obligations to the Guatemalan government.

Belgium initially wanted to take over a stretch of land in the Verapaz district from the Eastern Coast company, but the coastal region of Santo Tomás proved more suitable for its plans. However, the name Verapaz stuck, and the colony was forever known by that name.

To give shape to the plans for an overseas colony, the state founded the Belgian Colonisation Company in 1841. A scouting mission was impressed by the “dense forests with their sombre colours”, but there was less consensus about the potential success of the colonial project.

But Belgium persevered. To recruit settlers, the company used strategic tactics, including luring settlers with folk songs about a heavenly land across the ocean.

In March 1843, celebration was in the air at the port of Antwerp, as

Tobias, a descendant of one of the original settlers, in Verapaz

two ships were loaded ready to set sail for Guatemala, accompanied by brass band music. On board the Theodore and the Ville de Bruxelles, the settlers awaited their departure, undoubtedly tense and full of expectations.

A third ship left from Ostend: the Marie Louise, the same ship that had made the earlier exploration mission. In total, 79 settlers took off that day towards Santo Tomás in overloaded ships, seduced by stories of the beautiful new colony.

After a voyage of two months, the Belgians arrived in the middle of a tropical downpour.

The disappointment must have been enormous, with no trace

The former colonial cemetery sits alongside a busy road, one of the relics of this almost forgotten bit of history

to the task. The colony quickly slid toward chaos, as scarcity of food, drunkenness and bickering dominated life. The arrival of a new director brought change, but not

The company had promised heaven on earth, but it turned out to be a tropical inferno of anything that looked like the promised paradise in the halfcleared jungle. But there was no choice for the settlers but to roll up their sleeves and get on with it.

The man appointed to lead the company, Pierre Simon, had died on the journey, and his successor, Captain Philippot, was not up

the one the colonists had hoped for. The new director tried to turn the tide by enforcing military discipline, but he failed. The fiasco dragged on until 1858, when the government of Guatemala had finally had enough.

A large number of the settlers came from East Flanders, from villages

such as Erwetegem, Sint-MariaLierde and Appelterre. During the first nine years, 350 people died, among them 182 Belgians. The planned colonial projects had all failed in what must have been a bitter, disappointing experience.

The company had promised heaven on earth, but it turned out to be a tropical inferno.

It never went on to become a paradise later, either. Santo Tomàs de Castilla is a typical tropical town: dusty in the dry season, muddy when it rains. Now it is a port city, busy with lorries full of fruit driving back and forth. At first sight, there is little that recalls the brief stay of the Belgians. But at the edge of the forest there is a slightly sinister relic of the colonial experiment. Behind a wall among the rubbish are a handful of weathered tombstones. It’s nothing out of the ordinary, except that the names on the stones remind

the visitor more of Flanders than Latin America. This is the former colonial cemetery, a most tangible relic of an old, almost forgotten story.

The story of Verapaz aroused the curiosity of a number of academics, mostly from Ghent University, and the result was brought together not in a book but a historical-photographic app, one of the first of its kind.

Verapaz: De eerste Belgische kolonie (Verapaz: The First Belgian Colony, €12.99) offers the history of the colony, testimonies of the colonists’ descendants and videos and photographs of the area today. You can even listen to those folk songs that were used to lure those 19th-century Belgians to Guatemala. ``www.verapaz.be

Then and now: What the settlers would have seen in 1854, and how the same site looks 160 years on

11

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SUBSCRIBE NOW FOR FREE Register now at www.thebulletin.be or mail “NEWSLETTER” to subscribe@thebulletin.be

Flanders today

arts

f e b r u a ry 1 9 , 2014

On revolt and revolution

The man behind the House of European History in Exile brings his new theatre piece to Brussels Jacqueline Fletcher

H

e only graduated from Brussels’ RITS school of art in 2009, but director and playwright Thomas Bellinck has already created a stir. His fake museum, the House of European History in Exile, which he set up in 2013 in a dilapidated building in the EU quarter, fooled many into believing it was the genuine article – a history of the European Union. It became a hot topic in the international media. So much so, it even provoked a retaliatory speech from the vice-president of the European Commission.

The “museum” has just closed in Rotterdam and opens again in Vienna in May before, if all goes according to plan, travelling the globe. This work goes straight to the crux of our contemporary social and economic crises, encapsulating the issues in an informative, provocative and very entertaining nutshell.

It is also a calling card for an artist with a bag of creative tricks in hand and a perspective that could potentially generate a political tsunami.

Bellinck’s theatre piece, created with actor Jeroen Van der Ven, De Onkreukelbare returns to KVS in Brussels this month. Based loosely on the ambiguous personality of Robespierre and his shifting moral stance during the French Revolution, De Onkreukelbare (a pun on the Dutch for “incorruptible”) examines some of Bellinck’s cherished moral dilemmas in a startlingly aesthetic form.

Over an early morning double espresso, I ask the Flemish artist if the attention from the international press has gone to his head. “Oh, yes!” he says with a grin and resounding

peals of laughter. “I’m even more of a megalomaniac than I was before.”

© Stef Stessel

Flemish director and playwright Thomas Bellinck made his name last year with a fake “museum” about the EU. His new theatre piece, coming to Brussels’ KVS, examines issues of morality and democracy.

Maybe megalomania is the central theme of your work.

You don’t exactly shy away from controversial topics.

I wouldn’t say my work is overtly political – not in the sense that it’s like pamphleteering or agit prop. But I am intrigued by power and especially the relationship between power, history and myth-making. That’s largely what the “museum” is about, the way we have created fictions about our democratic processes and the relationship between EU institutions and nation states.

So many people came out of the “museum” and asked me if I was pro-Europe or a Eurosceptic. The over-arching perspective wasn’t clear, and that was the point. I really tried to steer clear of any kind of simplistic, direct point of view. I want to put the onus on the spectator to reflect on the material presented. I want my work to make people stop and think, especially about their responsibility in the democratic process and their understanding of how that process works.

The House of European History in Exile cut close to the bone, but your use of irony is often hilarious. It shows how absurd some of our fundamental beliefs are and it’s difficult to remember that this “museum” is a fiction.

What is fiction and what is reality?

What drives my creative work is the relationship between politics and history and the way we create mythologies that pass for reality.

How many people will vote for someone who will represent them in the European Parliament because they’ve read their manifesto? No, we vote for politicians who are familiar, someone who was a mayor here or there, a known face at the local level.

But we barely understand the relationship between national politics and EU policy-making. We’ve

Jeroen Van der Ven is alone on stage in De Onkreukelbare, the work he created with Thomas Bellinck

created this myth about the EU as this monolithic and bureaucratic weird monster dominating our national politics but in fact our national politicians play a leading role in dominating the EU through their membership of the Council of Ministers.

21 February to 1 March

Why did you choose the “museum” form rather than theatre?

Theatre tends to neutralise the issues, even when the material is powerful. You can put reality on a stage and people will still think it’s fiction. The “museum” form fudged the boundaries between reality and

De Onkreukelbare

(in Dutch with French surtitles) KVS, Arduinkaai 9, Brussels

fiction. Maybe one day I might want to make a movie or a documentary, because I choose the form that best fits the content and makes the maximum impact. But, equally, I don’t use my work to send messages.

People came out of the museum saying to me “Ok! So, what do I do?” But I can’t tell them; I want to raise questions rather than provide easy answers. Nonetheless, I hope the exhibition conveys a sense of shared responsibility. Protesting and complaining afterwards isn’t really as effective as taking responsibility in the first place. But our educational system doesn’t teach us how to glean a perspective on our modern history, and it doesn’t teach us to deal with complexity. We tend to over-simplify, but I like to engage with complexity; it requires us to take time and pause for reflection.

De Onkreukelbare is about Robespierre. Why? The play isn’t a biographical narrative.

Robespierre started out as a modest lawyer in Arras. He went to Paris as a Rationalist, a defender of human rights and an opponent of the death penalty, to fight for freedom, and he ended up creating the Supreme Being as well as the Reign of Terror.

He sent thousands to the guillotine.

Robespierre is an excuse to explore the mythology of revolution.

It took a hundred years and a chain of revolutions for the ideals of the French Revolution to become a reality. Our research evolved along with the media coverage of the Arab Spring. What’s the difference between revolt and revolution? Is the fall of a dictator the same as the transformation of a dictatorship into democracy?

What’s your next project?

We’re researching the forthcoming commemorations for the First World War. I think that gives scope for complexity.

www.kvs.be

Mind a Gap Anton Lachky/Anton Lachky Compagnie/KVS/EA Five dancers from Eastman, Les Ballets C de la B and Les Slovaks team up with choreographer Anton Lachy for a scintillating blend of virtuosity and innovative movement. 20 & 21 February, KVS, Brussels ``www.kvs.be

© Giannina Urmeneta Ottiker

More theatre coming soon became too powerful could be banished. Meierhans (pictured) looks at the way our identities are reflected in the type of constitution that governs us and asks the spectator to imagine what our lives would be like if we overturned the constitution. 26 & 27 February, Kaaistudios, Brussels ``www.kaaitheater.be

Some Use for Your Broken Claypots

Tauberbach: A Hymn to Life

Christophe Meierhans Performed in English by Swiss actor Christophe Meierhans, this play is based on the ancient Athenian voting system in which a political leader who

Alain Platel/Münchner Kammerspiele/Les Ballets C de la B/NT Gent/KVS Alain Platel’s latest choreography has already delighted international critics as he looks

at how to survive with dignity in almost impossible conditions.

26 & 27 February, Theatre 140, Brussels; 30 April to 5 May, KVS Bol, Brussels ``www.theatre140.be

Solid Gold and Jolie Caravan Productions/KVS/ Kaaitheater This performance brings the genius of Congolese hip-hop Dinozord back to Brussels in tandem with Ula Sickle, Jolie Ngemi and Yann Leguay. 21 & 22 March, KVS Box, Brussels ``www.kvs.be

13

Flanders today

arts

f e b r u a ry 1 9 , 2014

The first episode of The Voice van Vlaanderen, the reality show in which musicians audition, choose and train amateur singers, leading to a final winner, reined in more than 50% of Flemish TV viewers when it aired on 7 February.

Now in its third season, the show has three new judges, which could be the reason for its huge market share as viewers tuned in out of curiosity. Koen Wauters (of Clouseau) remains as a judge; the others are Axelle Red, Bent Van Looy (of Das Pop) and Regi (of Milk Inc). The Voice van Vlaanderen airs Friday nights at 20.35 on VTM.

Groeningen and Baetens sign with talent agencies Both director Felix van Groeningen and actor Veerle Baetens have signed with international talent agencies since The Broken Circle Breakdown was nominated for an Oscar for best foreignlanguage film. Groeningen has signed with the Creative Artists Agency (CAA) in the US. One of the biggest agencies for the representation of film professionals in the world, CAA also represents Matthias Schoenaerts. Baetens, meanwhile, has signed with ICM Partners, with offices in Los Angeles, New York and London.

Signing with international agencies is essential for film industry professionals to be considered for work in other countries, particularly in the US. After Flemish filmmaker Michäel R Roskam’s Rundskop (Bullhead) was nominated for an Oscar, he was called back to the US to make the film The Drop (previously known as Animal Rescue), which is set to open this autumn.

In related news, The Broken Circle Breakdown has been nominated for a French César for Best Foreign Film. The awards ceremony takes place on 28 February.

NederlandsLezen.be recommends Dutch books for learners The online site Wablieft, with news and information for those who speak Dutch as a secondlanguage, has launched the new site NederlandsLezen.be.

The site lists recommendations of books in Dutch for different levels of learners. Each entry includes an intro to the book, a fragment from the book and a lesson suggestion for teachers of Dutch. The site is especially useful for teachers and students but can be used by anyone for whom Dutch is not a first language. ``www.nederlandslezen.be

14

Researchers use X-rays to reveal the Ostend artist’s creative process Daan Bauwens

J

ames Ensor, the son of an English father and a Flemish mother, was one of Flanders’ most important modern painters. Predating Expressionism with his untameable fascination for the extreme and grotesque, he influenced generations of later artists. In Ostend – where he spent most of his life – he is still remembered today by the great-grandchildren of his local friends as “the man with the long, black coat”.

Despite Ensor having worked only in Ostend and Brussels, the world’s largest and most prestigious collection of his works can be found in Antwerp. The Royal Museum of Fine Arts (KMSKA) boasts 38 paintings and more than 600 drawings by the master. Based on this collection, KMSKA conservator and Ensor specialist Herwig Todts is now leading the Ensor Research Project: a unique multidisciplinary venture with the aim of reconstructing not the works of the artist, but the artist at work.

“We want to look into Ensor’s creative process,” says Todts, “through sound theoretical work – a thorough study of Ensor’s texts and letters – but also through material and technical research, using X-ray beams, infrared and ultraviolet light to see what’s hidden underneath the layers of paint.”

With these methods, the team can trace carbon drawings on the canvas from before the artist

“Ensor has fallen victim to too much speculation” started painting, as well as other previously painted images hidden under the final coat of paint. They can also detect the specific kinds of pigments Ensor used – chemical ones from the 19th century or organic ones from the 20th.

“Combined with the information we get from

New technology has released fascinating information on the works of James Ensor, such as that the artist’s own head used to sit where the painter’s skull now is in the famous “The Skeleton Painter”

his sketchbooks and other works, we want to recreate – concretely – which steps Ensor took from a cursory idea or a scribble on a piece of paper to the completion of a work,” Todts explains.

To better understand what exactly happened inside Ensor’s head during the creative buzz, Todts is also planning on involving creative artists during a later phase of the research.

“We are now examining the scans. But as much as I want to consult other specialists on our findings, I’d also like to involve artists in the process. I’d ask them: How would you take these kinds of decisions? I think we can learn a great deal from that.”

This is not the first time KMSKA has embarked on a project of this kind. In 2007, it launched similar research into the creative process of the Flemish baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens.

While Todts describes the Ensor project as “fairly unique”, he also points to the fact that museums all around the world nowadays seem to be “under the spell of artists’ creative processes”.

In Amsterdam, an exhibition about Van Gogh’s way of working has just finished, while

at the Gemeentemuseum in Den Haag, a show on Piet Mondriaan’s methods is now on. “Imaging techniques have considerably improved in recent years and have opened up new possibilities in research; that must be the reason behind the success,” Todts says.

Even though the Ensor research is still in progress, the team’s most important findings are regularly published on the project’s website.

“For instance, we discovered that in 1880, when Ensor moved from Brussels back to his parents’ house in Ostend, he started recycling used canvases from the time when he was a student.

Studies for nudes made way for still lifes,” Todts explains. “In 1896 he finished a small work depicting a skeleton, a painter with a skull standing at his easel (pictured). The skeleton is in a studio that we know from photographs is Ensor’s own studio. On the infrared image, we discovered that under the skull there’s a selfportrait. The artist decided to change his selfportrait into a skull.”

This might sound strange and gruesome, but according to Todts it’s not. “Ensor has fallen victim to too much speculation,” he says, “because of his love for skulls and masks. In the past, many thought he did this because he was feeling undervalued as an artist, that in some way he transformed his fear of loss of creativity and underestimation into a fear of death.

“With this research, we want to stay closer to the facts. We really hope we can get rid of this easy, romantic image of the underappreciated artist expressing his frustrations in grotesque paintings of skulls and masks.”

It is too early to draw any new conclusions about the artist’s personality, but based on the study of letters and texts Todts can already say that “the one-sided image of the frustrated, romantic artist doesn’t hold true. We need to focus more on the humour in his work. Ensor was said to be a deadpan jokester.” ``www.kmska.be/en/Onderzoek/Ensor

Royal Ballet’s Romeo and Juliet is an irresistible showcase of local talent

R

ich with romance, drama, political shenanigans, tragedy and tenderness, Romeo and Juliet, the ultimate story of impossible love, is irresistible. The Royal Ballet of Flanders captivated audiences (including the king and queen) at its world premiere last week at Ghent Opera House, and now it moves on to Antwerp.

Set to Sergei Prokofiev’s stirring score and based on Shakespeare’s tragedy, many eminent choreographers, including Kenneth MacMillan and Rudolph Nureyev, have upped their artistic currency with their own versions of the timeless saga. Slava Samodurov, at 39, seems set to do the same.

Born in Tallinn, Estonia, Samodurov is director of Russia’s Ekaterinburg Ballet. During his long career as a dancer, he’s performed the role of Romeo more than 200 times. This first-hand insight into the work must have helped while coaching the leading duo. For the premiere in Ghent, Wim Vanlessen as Romeo, delicate and boyish in stature, was completely compelling in his portrayal of the innocence and intensity of teenage obsession. Laura Hidalgo as Juliet, simultaneously frail and steely strong, terrified and intrepid, had us on the edge of our seats as she agonised before downing the sleeping draft.

Samodurov created his Romeo and Juliet specially for the ballet under its label Made in Flanders. The costumes are designed by Flemish fashion star Tim Van Steenbergen, whose work has been acclaimed on stage in productions by Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, Guy Cassiers and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, as well as on the catwalk.

Inspired by flocking and strutting birds, the stately ball gowns’ immensely long bronze or grey trains have to be swept and swished by the wearers and become a choreographic feature in themselves. The young lovers’ friends are dressed in flighty grey-black tulle skirts and sparkling bodices, or waistcoats and black pants for the men. They look racy, informal, almost unfinished, and so have a free and contemporary feel.

From curtain up, we’re led in and out of reality, rehearsal, fantasy and dream. The action is framed by British designer Anthony Macllwain’s decor. It’s a bright red, three-storied construction reminiscent of Shakespeare’s original Globe Theatre, but it also brings to mind the urban setting of that other popular Romeo and Juliet

© Marc Haegeman

Voice pulls in 50% of viewers

Uncovering Ensor © 1896, LukasArt in Flanders, Hugo Maertens / Sabam

week in artS & culture

remake: West Side Story, and America’s iconic wrought-iron fire escapes.

It’s perhaps not for the purist, but for me, the fusion of styles and references, Prokofiev’s enduringly evocative music and the beauty and ease with which the company take command of the material were a real treat. Oonagh Duckworth

21 February to 1 March

Stadsschouwburg, Theaterplein 1, Antwerp www.balletvlaanderen.be

Flanders today

agenda

f e b r u a ry 1 9 , 2014

Dancing their way into your heart

Concert

Tap Tonight

Brussels Ramona Córdova: The American singer-songwriter, who performs under his grandmother’s maiden name, presents his second album. Expect something fragile and precious

23 Feb, 15.00-19.00 Bozar, Brussels www.bozar.be

B

elgium is the unofficial European capital of dance.

Almost everyone’s heard of world-famous artists like Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, Wim Vandekeybus, Jan Fabre and others.

But did you know that there is another, as yet unexplored layer of excellence here too? The one led by Grégoire Vandermissen, director of the Fred Academy, and his Britishborn accomplice Sharon Miles. They are heading a dynamic American tap dance revival of which you can discover during the third Tap Tonight festival.

Irrepressibly enthusiastic, both Vandermissen and Miles (pictured) have just turned 50 but seem at least a decade younger. During

the festival, they will be dancing sequences reconstructed from mythical Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers routines.

Alongside them, a whole host of other artists from the higher echelons of the international tap fraternity have been invited to perform, including America’s Grande Dame of the tap renaissance, Brenda Bufalino, and the pioneering New Yorker Tony Waag. Swiss artists Costel Surbeck and Fabrice Martin are here, too, with the latter's international champion pupil Daniel Leveillé, who will surely bewitch audiences with his mix of eye-popping technique and tousled nonchalance.

If you’re quick, you can also sign up for one of the initiation or master

22 FEB 19.30 at Botanique, Koningsstraat 236

`` www.botanique.be

Classical Bruges

tap classes to be led on the two days prior to the festival by some of the eminent artists on the bill. Tap shoe hire is included in the price.

Entirely unsubsidised and born out of Vandermissen’s passion and sheer hard work, the festival is a brave and

worthy initiative, not least because tap is a dance form so infectiously joyful and geared to delight a wide audience that it deserves a life beyond the competition circuits to where, it seems, many great artists are still confined. Oonagh Duckworth

VISUAL ARTS

De Warme Winkel

Duane Hanson: Sculptures of the American Dream

www.desingel.bee

De Warme Winkel made a splash at the 2012 edition of Het Theaterfestival with San Francisco, a bizarre meditation on contemporary society described by its creators as a “crisis comedy”.

Now the contemporary Dutch troupe are back in Antwerp to present a new performance, Poëten en Bandieten. Although De Warme Winkel’s practice is always surreal, the concepts remain rooted firmly in history and contemporary culture.

Their inspiration here is Russia’s lost decade, the 1990s. It was a difficult time for Russian youth who were hardly attached to the old regime but hadn’t yet discovered the existential opiate of consumer capitalism. This generation is embodied by Poëten’s protagonist, Boris Ryzhy, who

CONCERT Neil Finn

11 May, 20.00

www.cirque-royal.org

deSingel, Antwerp

classical sense. In the radical 1960s, Hanson sought to shock with works like “Abortion” and “Trash”, but by the next decade he was content to simply show the public how dull, overweight and lazy they were. There’s a fat guy on a riding lawnmower. There’s a fat woman sunbathing. There’s a fat kid zoning out to his walkman. GV

`` www.concertgebouw.be

Exhibition Chinatown Antwerp: One of Europe’s major ports, Antwerp has a long history of contact with people and cultures from all over the world. This free miniexhibition tells the story of the city’s long-established Chinese community using photos, objects and personal stories.

Until 13 APR at MAS, Hanzestedenplaats 1

`` www.mas.be

Brussels Sax200: The capital’s Musical Instruments Museum celebrates the 200th birthday of Adolphe Sax, the Belgian who invented the saxophone. Sax also developed hundreds of other, less successful instruments, many of which are on display during this year-long exhibition Until 11 JAN 2015 at MIM, Hofberg 2

wrote about the crime and nihilism around him before taking his own life at the age of 26 (in Dutch).

`` www.mim.be

Performance

Georgio Valentino

Brussels get tickets now

Koninklijk Circus, Brussels

New Zealand pop-rock icon Neil Finn (pictured) returns to Belgium after a long absence. The singer is best known for his time in the 1980s chart band Crowded House, which yielded hits like “Don’t Dream It’s Over” and “Something So Strong”. Now a solo artist, Finn hasn’t recorded an album

20 February to 25 May Museum van Elsene, Brussels www.museumvanelsene.be For 30 years, Duane Hanson presented his warts-and-all vision of American life in the second half of the 20th century, when the American dream more often resembled a nightmare of consumption and laziness. His hyperrealistic, life-sized sculptures are either grotesque or mundane; there is no place in his art for beauty in the

22 FEB 20.00 at Concertgebouw, ’t Zand 34

Antwerp

PERFORMANCE 28 February to 1 March

Piotr Anderszewski: The award-winning Polish pianist returns to Bruges, where he impressed audiences two years ago with his interpretation of Bach and Schumann. On this occasion he also performs works

by Beethoven and Janácek

in over a decade. So it was only natural that he’d want to celebrate the release of this year’s Dizzy Heights in a big way.

Brussels is his last stop on a marathon world tour that begins in Australia and wends its way across North America, Ireland and Great Britain before arriving on the Continent. GV

FESTIVAL Flagey Piano Days 19-23 February

Flagey, Brussels

A festival is born. The inaugural edition of Flagey Piano Days brings together some of the world’s finest pianists, including Jean-Philippe Collard, Jorge Luís Prats and Anna Vinnitskaya, winner of the 2007 Queen Elisabeth Competition. Last year’s winner, Israeli pianist Boris Giltburg, makes an appearance, as well. Another highlight is the festival’s closing concert, in which the 24 singers of the Flemish Radio Choir (pictured) and guest pianist Julien Libeer commemorate the centenary of the outbreak of the Second World War with a selection of works by wartime composers.

Maurice Ravel’s epic suite Le Tombeau de Couperin, written for fallen friends, sets the tone. Every concert is followed by a meet-andgreet with the artists. GV

www.flagey.be

De verwondering (The Wonder): Bart Meuleman’s stage adaptation of Hugo Claus’ kaleidoscopic 1962 novel about the dark side of Flemish nationalism. Claus, one of Flanders’ most distinguished authors, considered the book to be his finest (in Dutch) 26 FEB to 1 MAR at KVS, Lakensestraat 146

`` www.kvs.be

Festival Ghent Mind the Book: The fourth edition of this literary festival assembles an international roster of authors for four days of events. Topics include politics (Noreena Hertz, Christophe Meierhans), psychology (Andrew Solomon), the arts (Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker) and more (in English and Dutch) 20-23 FEB at Vooruit, SintPietersnieuwstraat 23

`` www.vooruit.be

15

Flanders today

backpage

f e b r u a ry 1 9 , 2014

Talking Dutch

VoiceS of flanders today

A hipster’s guide

Tejal Rao @tejalrao My story for @tmagazine about Flemish chef @kobewulf, who is up to great things in Dranouter http://nyti.ms/1ctwgzn

Derek Blyth

CONNECT WITH US

© Ingimage

T

hey’ve been around for a while in London and Berlin.

Now hipsters have arrived in Flanders, according to the newspaper De Morgen, which recently devoted an article to this new social trend.

De hipsters gaan voor een parka of leren biker jacket en maken het geheel af met een blits paar sneakers, bij voorkeur van Nike – hipsters wear a parka or leather biker jacket and finish off the look with a trendy pair of sneakers, ideally by Nike, De Morgen informs us. Een baard of snor zijn geen must have, maar wel nice to have – a beard or moustache isn’t essential, but it certainly adds to the look.

Girls can also be hipsters, we are told. Ook de meisjes zweren trouw aan hun Nikes, maar voor een stel naaldhakken uit het duurdere segment draaien ze hun hand niet om, denk aan het Zweedse Acne Studios – the girls also swear by their Nikes, but some of them wouldn’t turn up their noses at a pair of the more expensive type of stilettos: Think Swedish Acne Studios. Alles liefst in het zwart: heel wat hipsters zijn allergisch aan felle kleuren – everything should be in black: Many hipsters are allergic to bright colours.

When it comes to music, it gets more complicated. Het draait rond finesses – it’s all about finesse. Miley Cyrus is tot op zekere hoogte cool, Lady Gaga niet. Katy Perry al helemaal niet, maar Beyoncé dan weer wel – Miley Cyrus is definitely cool beyond any doubt, Lady Gaga is not. Katy Perry definitely not, but Beyoncé is.

You can easily tell if your friends are hipsters from the places they hang out. De koffiebar blijft nog steeds de natuurlijke biotoop van het hipstervolk – the coffee bar is still the hipsters’ natural habitat. Het is immers de uitgelezen plek om aan de buitenwereld te tonen dat ze drukdrukdruk bezig zijn – it’s still the perfect spot to demonstrate to the outside world that they are hard at work.

Want vergis u niet, hipsters gaan voluit voor succes. Het codewoord is “projecten” – Because, mind you, hipsters do everything they can to succeed. The code word is “projects”.

In Gent vind je ze in koffiebars als Café Labath, Clouds in

Leah Budke@leahcb It was raining today in #ghent so I waited for my tram inside the castle. #onlyinbelgium pic.twitter.com/7f34lJbH82

Shelby Foster @ShelbyDel I’d like to thank @Avicii for making my study abroad experience 100x cooler by tearing Antwerp up last night! #topthat My Coffee en Panorama. In Antwerpen bestellen ze hun latté bij Normo of Coffeelabs – You find them in Ghent in coffee bars like Cafe Labath, Clouds in My Coffee and Panorama. In Antwerp, they order their lattes in Normo or Coffeelabs.

Still not sure if you’re a hipster? Then check what’s in your kitchen cupboard. Hipsters zijn vaak ook foodies – Hipsters are often foodies, De Morgen confirms. Hun keukenkasten puilen uit met amandelmelk, gojibessen en quinoa. Kilo’s lijnzaad en sloten Ayurvedische kruidenthee – Their kitchen cupboards are overflowing with almond milk, goji berries and quinoa. Kilos of flax seed and Ayurvedic herbal tea.

The final test is how you get around town. Met een hippe racefiets. Ja, ook de meisjes – with a hip racing bike. Yes, the girls, too. And all listening to Beyoncé, but not Katy Perry.

Tweet us your thoughts @FlandersToday

Poll

a. Excellent idea. Cars are pollutants, and paying for what you contribute to the problem is perfectly fair

69% b. The idea is all right, but the fees being considered are too high

8%

c. Motorists already pay a fortune for petrol and taxes. Why should we pay more?

23% to put the car on the road, followed by an excise duty for every litre of petrol you consume – was sufficient to the problem. Namely, that cars cause pollution, and car owners need to pay for whatever measures are necessary, from prevention to mitigation.

So the debate, as far as we are concerned, is over. Flanders Today readers are ready to cough up for the right to drive a car. Where do we sign up?

Next week's question:

Animal rights groups have called for tighter controls on animal testing in Flanders’ laboratories (see p9). What do you think?

Log in to the Flanders Today website and click on the VOTE button on the homepage!

16

In response to: Proximus launches 4G in Brussels Julian Carroll: Would be nice if they could first get their 3G network working better than it presently does around Brussels.

In response to: Eight Flemish beers in world’s top 100 Hank Stewart: Yes, there is a US bias to this list. Almost embarrassingly so. Almost. But so many US brewers have taken inspiration from European brewers, especially the Belgians, it’s just as much a tribute to them. And yes, as a result, the US is making killer beers these days.

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the last word

Belgium’s three regions are beginning a trial project to charge a fee of up to nine cents for every kilometre we drive. What do you think?

My, aren’t we green? In a surprising result, more than two out of three of you are perfectly happy to pay a fee to drive on Belgium’s roads, thus shifting the burden of taxation from owning a car to using that car.

Fewer than one in four thought the current system – where you pay a tax

Robin Wauters @robinwauters Just read that “half of Flemish college and university students drink too much alcohol.” Honestly worried about the other half.

Home and away

Bitter pill

“Fans who are not travelling to Brazil will still be able to experience the games as if they were there. It will even smell like grass.”

“There is indeed a group of older pharmaceuticals where you have to wonder why they’re still on sale, especially when a better alternative exists.”

Silver screen

For art’s sake

“If I want Hollywood to see me as I really am, then the braces have to go.”

“If I only had three months to live, I’d spend three months painting really hard.”

The Football Union plans to turn concert halls like the Sportpaleis and Vorst National into football temples for Red Devils matches during the World Cup

Actress Veerle Baetens prepares for the Oscars in just over two weeks

Pharmacology professor Marc Bogaert of Ghent University on Test-Aankoop results showing that one in 10 drugs on sale has no effect or has dangerous side effects

Flemish painter Michael Borremans (see cover story)

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