Who has the right to claim a flower?

“Still Life with Flowers, 2024” is a participatory performance that invites the audience to co-create a flower composition as an exercise in privilege. The performance suggests that the focus on flowers in various art forms is a testament to power and presents moments when a claim on flowers challenges who is entitled to centre flowers in their art and in what way.

Olga Spyropoulou (FI)

In “Still Life with Flowers, 2024”, the discussion about flowers is a discussion about how one is expected to perform in a system of power.

The performance’s argument is illustrated with several references: a 1890’s review of the Cercle des femmes peintres’ exhibition, published in La Jeune Belgique, whose author claims that “as long as women stick to an art similar to that of embroidery, it is exquisite, otherwise they lack the gift of composition”, poems such as Noor Hindi’s Fuck Your Lecture On Craft, My People Are Dying that begins with the line “Colonizers write about flowers” and Hanif Abdurraqib’s How Can Black People Write About Flowers at a Time Like This, and performances such as Anne Imhof’s Sex at Tate Modern (2019) where burning flowers were offered to the audience members, and Khadija Baker’s Performing Community Garden (2021), in which various potted plants were named after people who died or were displaced as a result of violence in their communities.

Olga Spyropoulou’s artistic media are performance art and poetry. Born in Athens and based in Helsinki, she is interested in how we relate to one another and experiments with various modalities of spect-actorship and non-hierarchical methodologies. Commitment, trust, and accountability are crucial elements in her performance practice.

Olga Spyropoulou | Website

Infos

DATE CONTENU
2024/04/261900 26.04.2024
19:00 > 19:45
Studio Thor, Brussels
Réservations
 

Participative performance 

Content note: the performance addresses systemic inequalities and the violence they might produce always in relation to flowers.

In the framework of “Time For Live Art”. Project co-funded by the European Union (Creative Europe programme).

THE NEXT PERFORMANCE ART GENERATION

(Pas si) Fragile! the Next Performance Art Generation is a biennial springboard for emerging artists working in performance art: Its formula modifies with each new iteration. 2024’s edition will unfold at Studio Thor, which has been running the project ever since 2020, at Les Halles de Schaerbeek and at La Balsamine.

As with previous iterations, (Pas si) Fragile! will feature a host of young artists who have recently graduated from Wallonia-Brussels’ visual arts schools. These institutions devote part of their curriculum to performance art, responding to the new dynamic generated by these practices within the professional artistic field.

This year its scope will differ somewhat, however, for this endeavour will be expanded to include the presentation of work by some fifteen young artists from right across Europe: Finland, Greece, Ireland, Poland and Slovenia.

In total, some thirty emerging artists will animate this intensive three-day programme, at the intersection of local practice here in Belgium and two projects featuring an international dimension, namely Performing Identity and Time For Live Art.

Follow the guide!

Partners

(Pas si) Fragile ! 2024 is a production by Studio Thor, in collaboration with ENSAV – La Cambre, Les Halles de Schaerbeek and La Balsamine as part of the Time For Live Art and Performing Identity projects. With the participation of Maison des Arts, commune de Saint-Josse and the Polish Institute. With the support of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation (Service de la Danse and Brussels Promotion), Wallonia-Brussels International, and the European Union (Creative Europe and Erasmus+ / strategic partnerships). The professional programme has been developped with the collaboration of WBTD and the Wallonie-Brussels Center in Paris.

Belgian selection made thanks to the suggestions of erg, Le 75, ARBA/ESA (ISAC), Arts², Beaux-Arts de Liège, Académie des Beaux-Arts de Tournai.

Time For Live Art brings together Studio Thor (BE), New Performance Turku Biennale (FI), MIRfestival, Athens (GR) and Infinite Present / Glej, Ljubljana (SI).

Performing Identity brings together ENSAV – La Cambre (Brussels), ESA Le 75 (Brussels), Magdalena Abakanowicz University of the Arts (Poznan, PL), Burren College of Art (Ballyvaughan, IE), in collaboration with the festivals Verao Azul / CasaBranca (PT), New Performance Turku Biennale (FI) and (Pas si) Fragile ! (BE).

About

(Pas si) Fragile! the Next Performance Art Generation is a biennial springboard for emerging artists working in performance art: Its formula modifies with each new iteration.

The 2024’s edition will unfold at Studio Thor, which has been running the project ever since 2020, at Les Halles de Schaerbeek and at La Balsamine.

Press kit

Three components

In all, some thirty emerging artists will animate this intensive three-day programme, at the intersection of local practice here in Belgium and two projects featuring an international dimension, namely Performing Identity and Time For Live Art.

The Belgian platform: a selection of ten young artists (for eight individual projects), who have graduated over the last three years from visual arts schools in Brussels and Wallonia. They were chosen following a call for applications launched by a jury comprising the respective programme coordinators from Les Halles de Schaerbeek, La Balsamine, and Studio Thor. Those artists invited have graduated from Erg, ENSAV – La Cambre, ARBA-ESA (ISAC), Le 75, Beaux-Arts de Liège, Arts2 (Mons) and the Académie de Tournai.

Time For Live Art: this project, supported by the European Union’s Creative Europe programme, brings together four European organisations involved in organising performance art festivals: Studio Thor/Festival Trouble (Brussels, project leader), New Performance Turku Biennale (Turku), MIRfestival (Athens), and Glej / Infinite Present Festival (Ljubljana). This project focuses on several themes revolving round the question of “time” and performance art. This showcase, (Pas si) Fragile!, forms part of this pan-European project and will incorporate a welcoming session for all professionals concerned where they can jointly reflect over the place of these emerging artists, in addition to programming seven Belgian, Greek, Finnish and Slovenian artists.

Performing Identity: As part of this project promoted by the European Union’s Erasmus + / Strategic Partnerships programme and led by ENSAV– La Cambre, fifteen young European performers at the conclusion of their training at art schools in Belgium (ENSAV – La Cambre), Poland (UAP), and Ireland (Burren College of Art) have been travelling around Europe ever since November 2022 with a view to participate in a series of workshops and view other artworks in Brussels, Lagos (Portugal), Ballyvaughan (Ireland), Turku (Finland) and Poznan (Poland). These fifteen emerging artists will now present performances as part of this festival. Four students from Brussel’s ESA le 75 have also been closely following the project, taking a creative, multidisciplinary documentary approach, giving rise to a unique online platform and two IRL forms which will be presented over the course of this springboard edition.

Box Office

The day pass gives access to all the evening’s performances, subject to availability.

 

PASS & RESERVATIONS

Please arrive at a good time to take your pass.

Required booking

Please note, 3 performances require advance booking:

No more tickets available on our online shop? Try your luck by joining the waiting list on site!

Adresses

Studio Thor

Rue Saint-Josse, 49

1210 Saint-Josse-ten-Noode

 

ENSAV – La Cambre

Abbaye de la Cambre

1000 Brussels

 

Les Halles de Schaerbeek

Rue Royale Sainte-Marie, 22a

1030 Schaerbeek

 

La Balsamine

Avenue Félix Marchal, 1

1030 Schaerbeek

 

Lovina Spa

Tour & Taxis

Avenue du Port, 86C

1000 Bruxelles

Practicalities

Some of the performances are durative, with entry and exit possible, others are ambulatory, others require active participation, and still others require you to wear (or not wear) an outfit! Don’t hesitate to consult the various pages dedicated to the performances for more information on the practicalities.

The guide (coming soon), which will be available on our website but can also be consulted on our website, will help you find your way around the evening.

Contacts

+32 (0)2 223 26 00

info@thor.be