Parade: What’s Going On? is a performance, a happening, and a celebration of mixed-gender and queer identity. It invites participants to engage with art through queerness, transforming public space into a dynamic scene of movement, disruption, and collective energy.
STUDIO LDB+ / Lieven De Boeck (BE)
The parade features 12 performers, each adorned in a uniquely crafted costume and accompanied by musicians. These costumes function as inhabited paintings—garments that embody diverse queer and gender identities, designed to be worn in a ritualistic dance that serves as a form of artistic denunciation. Initially activated by the performers, some costumes may later be taken over by audience members, turning the event into an interactive and communal experience.
Conceptually, the project draws inspiration from the works of Brazilian artists Hélio Oiticica and Lygia Clark, who explored art as an interactive and transformative practice that requires personal engagement. Parade embraces this philosophy, allowing participation to shape its meaning in real time.
What’s Going On? has been presented at the Sarasota Art Museum and the Untitled Art Fair in Miami in 2023, and the Horst Festival in Vilvoorde, 2024. Led by Lieven De Boeck and with Emma Revest, the parade is composed out of a dedicated team of volunteers, and the performance adapts in form and content depending on the context in which it is staged. For its upcoming presentation at the Trouble Festival at the Botanique, a new iteration will be developed and the music will be performed by Carlotta Armbruster – trombone, Florian Stadler – accordion and Christina Fuchs – soprano saxophone.
Studio LDB+ is a multidisciplinary art studio led by Belgian artist Lieven De Boeck, exploring identity, language, and space through performance, installation, and visual arts. The studio challenges social norms, queerness, and collective participation, transforming public spaces into interactive experiences. Blending research, activism, and aesthetics, its work has been exhibited globally, redefining art as a space for dialogue, disruption, and inclusion.
Infos
| DATE | CONTENU |
|---|---|
| 2025/04/191600 |
19.04.2025 16:00 Botanique, Saint-Josse-ten-Noode |
Botanique terraces, gardens and metro station, free access.
Photo’s: Antoine Doetsch, Bryn Verbeken
Concept Performance : Studio LDB+, Lieven De Boeck
Collaborator concept: Emma Revest
Volunteers: Anne-Sophie Rouillere, Antoine Doetsch, Billy Tschuy, Bryn Verbeken, Gabriel Meessen, Marie Annaert, Noé Massonneau, Oscar Curtill, Rachael Moore, Toan Daubin, Zarina Gibadulina
Music: Carlotta Armbruster (trombone), Florian Stadler (accordion), Christina Fuchs (soprano saxophone)
What’s Going On? is the final form of The Archive of Disappearance, Breaking Free, a PhD research project of Lieven De Boeck at the Hortence Research Centre at La Cambre-Horta, ULB. Production: Le Botanique cultural centre.
