In the early stages of their trajectories, young artists are confronted with different players from art education and the professional field that have an influence on their further development and the career path they will take. These gatekeepers can vary greatly per art discipline, but they always play a major role in forming the artistic identity of the young artist on the one hand and a sustainable artistic career on the other.
Therefore, in the framework of the city festival for tradition and renewal, Baroque Influencers, the Young Academy (Jonge Academie) and the Antwerp Port House (Havenhuis) are organizing a series of debates that question the care for our new generations of artists. Together with gatekeepers from the arts sector, art schools (from students to policy makers) and other stakeholders in Flanders, these debates seek layered answers to the question of how aspiring artists develop into full-fledged sustainable players in the field. The goal of this project is to uncover not only the differences, but more importantly the similarities between these players in order to come up with an overview of best practices that we can use to send young artists into the field. How can the different art fields reinforce each other? We particularly focus on the role of art schools in higher education: how do they deal with the growing market and how can the market treat the training programs respectfully? How do art schools in our country do care and aftercare for aspiring artists?
On three Wednesdays in October 2023, we will bring together a group of the aforementioned gatekeepers from one cluster of arts disciplines and debate how all of these players impact the trajectory from art student to full-fledged artist. Every Wednesday afternoon we hold a live exhibition within which we meet and engage in this conversation. This encounter is documented through video recording and editing, transcription, audio clips, photographic recordings and drawings. These remains testify to our live moments and are added to weekly. In this way, the exhibition grows organically during the month of October. Although numerous art disciplines are recognized in Flanders and there are many overlaps, for practical reasons we chose to divide the art field into three clusters: Mixed Media and Film; Performing Arts and Music; Visual Arts and Art in Public Space. Within each cluster we will work on the same questions, so that at the end of the month we can foresee a final moment where we bring these different fields together to arrive at an overarching state of affairs.
On Wednesday afternoons, we fill the installation ‘Zoekstadion’ (‘Searching Stadium’ ) with people who want to engage in a conversation about career starters in the specific artistic fields they work in, as artists themselves or as facilitators. Visitors can sit down among the speakers and listen or participate. Or they can walk through the installation as they listen to the live discussions. Meanwhile, filmmaker Ayham Qomoq will capture the discussions from various viewpoints within the installation, a graphic designer will visualize the discussions through drawings on the walls of the installation, a simultaneous translator program will transcribe the discussions on screen, and each speaker will bring an object they deem relevant to the theme and which will be added to the installation, and as such the installation will grow after each Wednesday.
Friday 7 October 2023
Internal opening reception
Wednesday 11 October 2023 14:00 – 17:00
Mixed Media & Film
Host: Christina Stuhlberger | Co-Host: Sander De Ridder
Speakers: Eva Van Tongeren, Vincent Stroep, Pascal Vandelanoitte, Ben de Raes, Nikol Wellens, among others.
Wednesday 18 October 2023: 14:00 – 17:00 (in collaboration with Articulate)
Performing Arts (Spoken Word, Drama, Dance and Music)
Host: Kevin Trappeniers en Annelies Van Assche | Co-Host: Kurt Bertels en Zoë Gyselinck
Speakers: Tuur Marinus, Karen Joosten, Mokhallad Rasem, Nikol Wellens, Amina Iddrisu, among others.
Thursday 19 October 2023
Internal JA-Day on location at the Antwerp Port House
Wednesday 25 October 2023 14:00 – 17:00 (in collaboration with Articulate)
Visual Arts and Art in Public Space
Host: Nicolas Baeyens + Lodewijk Heylen | Co-Host: Kevin Trappeniers
Speakers: Sergio Servellón, Stella Lohaus, Laurence Petrone, Maarten Inghels, Bart Vanderbiesen, Vedran Kopljar, Nikol Wellens, among others.
Friday 27 October 2023 15:00 – 18:00
Wrap-up Symposium
Hosts: Nicolas + Annelies, hosts of the Working Group
Guest speakers: to be confirmed.
Follow Search-Stadion on Instagram or Facebook:
@zoekstadion #zoekstadion
ArtWork runs from 6 to 31 October at Search-Stadion in the Port House in Antwerp. To mark the kick-off the Port House will be open until 10 p.m. on Friday 6 October 2023. From 6 p.m., we are also happy to offer you a glass and a bite to eat.
Search-Stadion is open Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Saturday from 9.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. Closed on Sundays.
Search-Stadion is located in the entrance hall of the Port House, which is freely accessible to all. Would you like to visit the entire Port House? Then don’t forget to book a guide in advance via Experience Antwerp.